“Shall I blow out the candle?” Edward asked.
Mattie shook her head. She swallowed, found her voice, and spoke: “I want to see you.”
The comment seemed to hold him motionless for a moment. After a pause, he said, “You do?”
She nodded.
A smile lit his face. “Good. Because I want to see you too.”
Mattie was abruptly aware of her size, her wide hips and large breasts, her giant-like proportions—
“When I look at you, I think of Venus.”
Her thoughts stuttered to a halt. Mattie blinked and stared at him. “Venus?”
Edward nodded. “Statuesque.” He reached out and undid the topmost button of her nightgown, high at her throat. “Voluptuous.” The second button. “Beautiful.” The third button. “Exactly how a goddess should look.”
Her face was hot with embarrassment—from the compliments, from the
