She put a hand on the ruined doorframe. “I can’t come with you. Not after this.” Not after the feelings she had for him. “Please, let me go.”
His arm sneaked around her waist. He pulled her against his hard chest, his breath feathering her neck. “I’m sorry if Cowasj offended you, but don’t let his words upset you so much you want to leave. You’re my guest, and I’d love to have you in my house for a few more days.”
Something in her chest cracked. The kindness in his voice, the firm grip of his arm around her body, and his warmth seeping into her melted her heart. But if he knew she was deceiving him, he would toss her out his mansion.
“Please,” he whispered. His lips brushed the curve of her neck, and her knees weakened. “I promise, I’ll make amends for the way Cowasj treated you.” Another brush of his lips flushed the air out of her lungs.
His thumb drew circles on her waist, and even through the fabric of her bodice, her skin tingled, sending shots of pleasure right between her legs.
“I’ll make amends with my lips on your body.” His body shivered as he whispered the words.
Lord, the perfect words, in the wrong moment. “Does it mean you accept my proposition?”
He grazed her lobe with his teeth and kissed the curve of her jaw, shattering her determination. “Yes. I can’t stop thinking about you, naked, in my bed.”
Wetness pooled between her thighs. She’d lie if she said that a fumble with him didn’t tempt her.
And she needed to tell him the truth before going any further with the intimacy. She owed him that much.
Christopher turned her around, put a hand behind her nape, and kissed her hard. She barely had the time to part her lips that his tongue invaded her mouth. Her moan was swallowed by his passionate kiss. It was a clash of teeth and tongues, a kiss meant to conquer her fully, as if his repressed desire had exploded in that kiss.
He broke the kiss and touched his forehead to hers. “Don’t leave me.”
Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away. They were tears of fear, anger, and so much tenderness her heart hurt. A world of loneliness echoed in his words, and she wasn’t sure she was the right woman for him.
Not when she was lying to him.
“All right. I’ll come with you,” she said.
His arm tightened around her, and he squeezed her against him. “You won’t regret it.”
But you will.
