Her tongue darted over her lips as another wave of heat flushed through her veins.
Think. Think!
She could not. She was so enraptured and curious over what she was watching that her mind was completely blank.
“You appear pleased at what you see,wife,” his husky voice taunted.
A tremble ran down her spine, even as she shook her head.
“This is…” she rasped. “You are…”
“Yes?” Damien mused.
Her eyes drew down to his shaft again, its girth and length still wrapped tightly in his fist.
“Eyes up here, angel,” he teased.
Her eyes snapped up to his at once.
“What... what you are doing is very improper,” she finally got out.
He let out a husky chuckle, but he tucked himself back into his breeches; the act sent a strange wave of disappointment through Caroline.
“You know, you have a penchant for showing up whenever I am in a state of impropriety,” he mused, moving to his feetas he fastened his breeches. “One might start to think youlikecatching me in such a state.”
“No,” she blurted out, but just like when she was speaking to Argyle, she felt the lie on her tongue. That was what her protest was—a lie. For even if she denied her attraction to Damien, even to herself, she knew what was true. She knew that shewanted him;she wanted tosee and feelmore of him.
“Are you so very sure?” Damien asked, taking a slow step toward her as his eyes remained locked on hers. “You see, I have noticed something about you.”
Caroline began to nibble on her bottom lip as another tremble moved down her spine. He took another step closer, but she did not move. She felt transfixed, as prey did when it locked eyes with its predator. A part of that creature surely knew it was about to be devoured, and yet despite such knowledge, it still could not move, could not look away from the predator’s deep gaze.
“What is that?” she whispered, feeling her heart begin to hammer as he drew closer.
He was standing right in front of her now, his massive body radiating warmth and tension as his head loomed above hers, forcing her to crane her neck to meet his eyes. He leaned toward her, and she unwittingly closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate.
She shivered as she felt Damien’s warm breath on her cheek, her lips, and then the line of her throat—and yet, no matter how close he felt, he did not touch her.
“Your pace when you speak,” he whispered in her ear, and a soft sigh fell from her lips. “It quickens so very slightly when you lie.”
Caroline’s eyes snapped open, startled, and she was met with a smile of satisfaction upon Damien’s handsome face.No onehad ever been able to detect her little fibs.
“Tell me I am wrong,” he coaxed, his one brow perking in challenge. “Tell me you did not stand there and watch me because youwantme.”
Heat flushed to her cheeks, but as she reached for the lie, she found herself unable to say it. He had caught her. He would know.
“Damien...” she whispered, his name a plea. Though what she was pleading for, she was not quite sure.
“You wonder what I feel like just as I wonder about you,” he rasped. “Don’t you? When you saw me stroking myself, you wanted to know what it would feel like to have your hand wrapped around me instead.”
Caroline drew in a shaky breath, her heart hammering with exhilaration as she walked the fickle line between what she wanted and what shetoldherself she wanted. She could no longer hold back or deny the pull he had on her. He was right. She had desperately wanted to touch him.
“How do you—”
“Then touch me,” he murmured.
Before she could think, before she could talk herself out of it, he reached out and took her hand in his, and guided it slowly downward. Her fingers made contact with the hard heat of him through the fabric of his breeches, and a soft, helpless sound escaped her lips. She was on fire, but then—
“Your Grace!” Mr. Stones called, followed by insistent knocking.
