Ingrid was too stunned for a moment after he broke their kiss to hear what he said. Eventually, the words sunk in, and she found herself blushing. He was looking at her in the way a hungry Russian wolf would have looked at a juicy little peasant if the wolf had fallen in love with the peasant. She felt as if the passion he threaded through her veins might actually consume her completely.<br/><br/>Her whole body was tingling and vibrating madly as he held her. She felt something...oh...that was IT! Well, IT was getting very hard underneath her, pushing against her silk-covered rear. She wanted something, something more than the appetizer he had given her at dinner. She was suddenly wild for something more and yet unaware of how to ask without appearing wanton and weak to her fiance.<br/><br/>After all, they had met less than a scant 12 hours earlier at sunrise, whereas by sunset, they were touching each other in ways that were frighteningly familiar.<br/><br/>She shifted slightly in his lap, struggling for something to say and fighting the urge to reach in and kiss him again. Instead, she reached up and lightly ran her fingers over his cheek, feeling the roughness of his skin and reveling in it. Oh, how she wanted more of him!<br/><br/>"You do not think me wanton, my lord - I mean Alexei?" she asked shyly, averting her gaze. "I have more unaccountable things in the past two hours than in the whole of my life."