With each declaration he dropped his head a little bit, until their mouths were just a breadth apart.
Her breath hitched. Was he going to kiss her? She wanted him to.
Eyes closed, she waited for what seemed like an eternity, before warm lips touched hers. The most erotic sensation swept over her, and she leaned into the kiss. His tongue sought entry into her mouth, and she parted her lips, allowing it.
She reached up, circling her arms around his neck, her fingers teasing the curls at his nape.
He pulled her closer and she arched her body into his. The feeling foreign but welcoming. She didn’t want it to end. When their tongues entwined and danced wickedly together, a soft moan escaped from her lips.
She needed to take a breath, but she didn’t want to break the contact. Didn’t want the sensation to stop. Her belly was on fire. Her core heating. She wanted more. Even though it was wrong, she didn’t care.
Pushing her against the wall, he leaned his body against hers, breaking the kiss, but trailing his lips down her neck. She gasped for air. Goose pimples broke out on her skin. It was so hot in the hallway.
And then she remembered where they were. In the hallway. For all to see. What if Nicholas came up? He would kill them both.
It took all her strength to push Alexander away. As soon as his lips left her skin. As soon as his body no longer covered hers, she was cold. She wanted the warmth he provided. Craved it. But it wasn’t proper. They couldn’t be found in such a compromising position. Especially after Nicholas had forbidden them from doing so.
“We must stop,” she whispered. Her lips felt swollen from Alexander’s kisses, and she touched her fingers to them.
Alexander looked like he’d been burned. His gaze snapped to the end of the corridor where the stairs were. “I find the need to apologize to ye again, lass.” He gave her a wicked grin. “But I would be a liar if I said I dinna want to kiss ye again.”
She blushed. Hard. She wanted to kiss him again, but she didn’t say that.
“Ye should go back to your guests.”
“Ye are my guest,” he said quietly.
“Aye, but I had already left the group. What excuse did ye give for leaving? Dinna ye think my brother will get suspicious for ye being gone so long?”
Alexander sighed. “Ye make an excellent point.” He grasped her hand and brought it to his mouth, his lips lingering on her soft skin. “But I would much rather stay here.”
“Ye canna. Besides, apparently, Gwen made plans for me and her today that I must get ready for.”
He nodded. “For that, I will let ye be to do whatever it is ye need to do.”
She turned and started walking away, her legs so unsteady that she was certain she wasn’t walking in a straight line.
“Clarissa,” Alexander called from behind her.
She paused and looked over her shoulder at him.
“Dinna forget. I would ne’er agree to such an arrangement. E’en if I didna have feelings for ye, I still wouldna agree. Ye deserve the world, no’ to be treated as property.”
With that said, Alexander turned on his heel and headed back down the hall toward the stairs that would lead him to where everyone else was.
Finally in her room, she closed the door and collapsed onto the bed, sinking into the soft blankets. She couldn’t stop touching her lips. Couldn’t forget the feel of Alexander’s lips on hers.
It was such a wicked sensation. She wanted to feel it again.
Alexander’s confession of what really happened was like a weight being lifted from her shoulders. She’d thought everything he had done up to that point had been a game. A part of a bigger plan that he had schemed. She was happy to find out that wasn’t the case, but also embarrassed with herself for believing that he would do such a thing.
She’d known Alexander all her life. She’d never known him to be anything but upstanding and loyal. A gentleman. After all, her brother would not be friends with any unsavory character.
A knock sounded and she called out.
Gwen peeked her head in. “Are ye all right? I saw Alexander come after ye.” She shut the door behind her and joined Clarissa on the bed. Her eyes widened.
“What?”
