“Only as much as the rest of it.” She stuttered a little as he pressed his lips to the delicate flesh of her inner wrist.
“Surely I don’t need to explain that you are a desirable woman.”
He did not add that her romance with Chisolm proved as much.
Her eyes flashed with uncertainty. “But you want—” Then she clamped her mouth shut.
Freddie.
Her sister hovered like a ghostly specter over them. And though Lucien longed to deny it, that would be disingenuous given thathis long-held affection was the very reason he stood here in the first place. And no doubt Alex would be insulted by such a bald-faced lie.
So instead he settled for the simple truth: “I wantyou.” Then he pressed his mouth to hers with an urgency that was all too real. Alex gasped against his lips and drove her fingers through his hair, bringing him even closer. Lucien had to grip the edge of the desk with one hand to keep his balance.
He couldn’t believe he had ever thought her cold and unfeeling. The woman was a whirlwind. Or a summer storm that rolled in without warning. But Lucien had come prepared.
Their kisses turned deeper as Alex opened her lips to welcome his tongue. Though he might not have much experience with the rest of it, Lucien was a man who dearly loved kissing and Alex matched his enthusiasm. She caressed his shoulders before palming his upper arms. Lucien instinctively flexed under her touch and she let out a purr of approval.
Lucien dragged his lips along the smooth column of her neck. “Tell me what you want,” he said hoarsely by her ear.
Alex met his eyes. “I rather liked what you were doing.”
Lucien immediately continued. He nibbled the flesh just below her ear and Alex arched against him. “Oh God,” she whispered.
He nearly melted at her words. Then he did it again. Harder. This time her response wasn’t intelligible but she gripped the nape of his neck and held him there. Lucien smiled against her skin and obliged. Then he deeply inhaled.
“I love the way you smell,” he growled. “Like fresh ink and paper.”
Alex rasped a laugh. “So, like an office?”
Lucien shoved the chair out of the way and set her on top of the desk, then pressed the tip of his nose to hers. “A veryappealingoffice.”
She gave him a coy smile and smoothed her palm down his chest. “Take off your jacket.”
He had never removed an article of clothing so quickly. Her eyes glinted with humor as her hands continued to stroke his front. One began to wander a little lower, but Lucien halted its progress. “Another time,” he said as he dragged his hand down the length of her thigh. “I have something to prove today.”
Alex tilted her head. “You’re so certain there will be another time?”
Oh, but helovedwhen she teased him.
Lucien licked his lips and leaned in close once more. “I intend to convince you I deserve the opportunity,” he murmured by her ear and heartily enjoyed her responding shiver. He scattered broken kisses across her neck and jaw while he found the hem of her skirt. She then shifted in place and together they hiked up the swathes of dark fabric.
His breath caught at the sight of her black silk stockings. A length of fine embroidery wound up the side of each leg. Lucien squinted and looked closer. Then he smiled. They were tiny pink rosettes set on a green vine. Heneverwould have expected such whimsy from her. Lucien looked up and found Alex watching him closely. He ran a finger along the length of one thigh. Even softer than he imagined. “How adorable.”
Her cheeks turned nearly the same color as the rosettes. “Years ago my sisters started giving me embroidered stockings for my birthday as a joke. But I’ve fully embraced the novelty on my own now,” she said with a smirk.
Lucien wondered what other delightful objects he would find on her stockings.
If you get the chance.
He silenced the thought and kissed her. Hard. Time to prove himself.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a soft moan. Lucien slid a hand up her thigh and stopped to caress the band of skin where her stockings ended. Alex moaned a little more and gripped him tighter.
“Show me,” he rasped. “Show me how to please you.”
“Higher.”
He immediately obeyed and cupped her through the soft cotton lawn of her drawers. She was so impossibly hot.
