Page 33 of A Perilous Passion

“I must insist—” she attempted when he lifted for a breath.

“Hmm?” His mouth was on hers again, moist and hot, and his hands grasped her shoulders, holding her in place.

She brought both hands up to his chest and pushed, eager to say her piece, but her treacherous lips clung to his, refusing to be torn away from the exquisite sensations he evoked.

With another great summoning of effort, she forced a gap between their bodies and gazed up at him, her fingers lodged in his lapels.

As she tried to marshal her thoughts into the rejection she meant to administer, she saw he was no longer in his Grecian costume. When had he found the opportunity to change?

“My lord,” she managed at last. “I insist you leave at once. I came only to tell you that, and bid you good night.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ve waited this last hour for you, and I want to ensure my time wasn’t wasted.”

“And what, exactly, do you mean by that?” she asked, and immediately wished she hadn’t.

“Let me demonstrate.” He pulled her against him again. This time he didn’t seek her lips, but instead found the lobe of her ear. As he suckled and tugged at it, his fingers began to lightly stroke her neck, sending ripples of sensation across her skin.

She was pressed against the whole hard length of him, feeling his every movement reverberate through her, awakening an avalanche of feelings and making her pulse race.

As his fingers and lips lulled her into a sensuous daze, her hands stole up his body of their own volition, under his jacket, grazing his muscled rib cage beneath the thin linen of his shirt. The shirt was loose—he must have changed in a hurry.

Dare she caress the flesh beneath? What response would it provoke?

She soon found out.

“Little witch!” he exclaimed, releasing her earlobe, only to plunder the exposed skin below her throat.

Her head went back as she arched her neck, reveling in the soft brush of his mouth across her skin. Her breasts pushed shamelessly against his chest.

As he kissed his way up her throat and nipped at her lower lip, his hand slid her shawl down, then hooked itself in the shoulder of her gown.

Too beguiled by the teasing movements of his lips over hers, it was a moment before she realized he’d skillfully freed one breast and cupped it in the warmth of his palm.

Her heart flew to her throat, and stopped. Her whole body stilled, all her attention centered on his hand.

She should pull away, slap him, scream for help! His mouth had left hers, so she was free to call out, and she was free to move away, but her traitorous fingers dug into the expanse of his back and refused to let go.

A deep sigh escaped her as his lips touched her breast and roved over the skin. Oh, what delicious wickedness! Her other breast felt the touch of the cool night air, too, and she marveled at his skill, at the way he had, in a few brief moments, dared more with her than Justin ever had.

His fingers gently pinched one nipple, his teeth the erect bud of the other. Pleasure surged through her, like a huge wave crashing on the strand. Her knees buckled, and she flung her hands behind his neck to stop herself from crumpling to the ground.

After teasing and suckling her into a frenzy of expectation, his lips met hers again. She kissed him back ravenously until her tongue was saturated with the taste of him. Her body felt as if it were no longer her own. He was now its master, and like a child’s stringed puppet, she responded to every skillful touch, every movement of his practiced fingers.

Just when she felt her surrender was complete, he abruptly drew away and pinched the bridge of his nose. It looked like self-rebuke.

Clearly, he regretted what had just happened.

“Sir, you make a mockery of me,” she said, her heart squeezing as she wrestled her gown back over her shoulders.

“No, I assure you,” he said. “I was obliged to hire a horse tonight, so it’s not one I’ve had time to get used to. Just a moment’s unpleasantness. It will soon pass.”

Which reminded her. “Rafe,” she said, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing the small bottle, “I brought this for you.”

He twirled it between his fingers. “What is it? I can’t read the label in the dark.”

“It’s the visiting doctor’s remedy against summer rheum. I thought it might work against a sensitivity to horses, too.”

He chuckled softly. “Thank you. I’ll try anything that stops me sneezing at an inopportune moment. Trust me, I’ve no wish to rouse the entire Allston household while I’m seducing you.”