Finally,finally,his lips touched hers. Sweet. So deliciously sweet. He savored her, head spinning, body thrumming. This wasn’t like the first time, when passion had overridden hissense. He wanted this. Wantedher. And he wanted her to want him.
Again and again, he slanted his mouth over hers, reveling in the heady intoxication of her kiss. He nibbled, suckled, feathered his lips over the corners of her mouth, and slid his tongue over the seam of her lips.
On a gasp of pleasure, she parted for him, tilting her head back in unmistakable welcome.
He was lost. Loosing a helpless groan, he eased his tongue into her moist heat. She tasted of sugar and salt, and for an insane few seconds, he fought a burst of humor. She tasted exactly right. A perfect union of savory and sweet. A beautiful, unlikely mixture that, somehow, when combined, aroused him to a peak he hadn’t even known existed.
Hunger for her, for all of her, every delectable inch, clawed through him. He wanted her clothes off, her body bared, her heat encasing him as she cried his name.
He wanted Annabelle more than he’d known he could want.
But not like this.
Shaking with the effort it took to bank his ardor, he dragged his mouth from hers and drew in greedy lungfuls of air. He cupped her cheeks between his hands and smoothed the pads of his thumbs over her cheeks.
She gazed up at him with passion-dazed eyes, and all he could do was stare at the vision she presented.
She was filthy. Golden hair covered in dust and ash, cheeks grimy. But the light in her eyes, the trust, the wonder, hit him like a blow.
“You’re beyond beautiful, Annabelle.”
Something shifted in her expression, almost as if what he’d said disappointed her.
He huffed out a laugh, dropped his hands to her shoulders, and surveyed her, head to foot. “Oh, don’t mistake me, darling.Babette will probably threaten me to within an inch of my life when she gets a look at you after this day’s work.” Sobering, he locked eyes with her. “I mean,you.”
Doubt, or possibly confusion, clouded her expression. She cocked her head, and he read her intention to ask him for an explanation—one he wasn’t prepared to give. Not to mention, he needed to get her out of here before he lost the battle with his own self-control.
“Let us get you back to the castle. Later, when you’re up to it, you can tell me what happened here, exactly.”
She nodded, but her gaze, centered on his mouth, said she wanted him to kiss her again.
Hell’s teeth. He took a giant step back. It was that or ravish her, right here, right now, and damn the consequences.
The distance seemed to bring her back to her surroundings. Her gaze shifted to the kiln pot chamber from which she’d emerged. Then she glanced around them. Her brows furrowed, seeing the disaster he’d created trying to free her. “Are earthquakes common in these parts?”
“No,” he stated, and cupped her elbow, guiding her toward the exit.
Now was not the time to tell her someoneand not somethinghad locked her inside.
Whoever he was, he’d made a grave error, because Sterling would not rest until he discovered who’d done such a vile thing.
He would see Annabelle safely back to the manse, then he would come back here to investigate. Hewouldfind out who’d terrorized her. And sooner than later, they would need to discuss what had just occurred between them. But first things first.
They reached the archway, and Sterling stepped aside, allowing Annabelle to exit before him.
Outside, she stopped in her tracks, and he nearly collided with her.
Only then did he remember why he’d come here in the first place.Damn it. In his hurry to get to Annabelle, he hadn’t even checked to make sure his passenger was still—
“Lucy isdead?” Annabelle demanded in a shrill voice.
—covered.
Chapter 21
Annabelle stared at the dead woman in stupefied horror. Lucy, dead? Had the villains who’d held her at gunpoint gone after the maid when Annabelle raced for the flats?
But, no. The innkeeper’s wife confirmed that she’d returned to the hotel. She’d spent the night, and then set off the following morning for London.
