Page 41 of Outrageous

Once she was standing a few feet away from the mirror, Godric stood behind her, chewing the inside of his mouth while he considered the best place to start. He’d seen short hair on women plenty of times as it had been all the rage on the Continent. Some women even wore it shorter than his. He’d not been engaging in flattery when he’d told her she’d look good with any style of haircut, but he didn’t want to make it shorter than she wanted.

He looked up and met her eyes in the mirror. “How long do you want it?”

She hesitated and then held her hand at the level of her jaw. She’d already cut the fringe—just a bit above her elegant black brows—so all he had to do was cut the sides and back. And also fix some of the jagged areas.

Godric got to work.

* * *

Eva realized two things as Godric cut her hair. First, she loved having his hands on her body, even if it was just to absently reposition her while he cut.

Second, she loved having short hair already. It was so liberating to watch the heavy strands fall to the floor, as if she was casting off weights that had held her down.

As she’d suspected, Godric did a better job than she had. Indeed, he was working with meticulous care and she could see the finished result was remarkably even. That wasn’t as easy as it looked, given the amount of wave in her hair. And the shorter he cut it, the more the hair appeared to curl. But he worked without speaking, occasionally making satisfied grunts or soft noises of displeasure, biting his lower lip with his strong white teeth, and even sticking the tip of his tongue between his lips once. He was attractive all the time but became transcendent when he wasn’t scowling or wearing that irritating superior smirk.

When he got around to the right side, where she’d done her hacking, he made a soft clucking sound and met her eyes in the mirror.

“It’s a good thing you called me in when you did.”

Eva couldn’t help smiling. “You are doing a lovely job. I would have come to you sooner if I’d known you possessed such skills.”

“Hmmph.” He returned to his trimming, but she could see he was pleased.

A few moments later he stepped back and straightened his back with a groan. “I should have had you stand on something,” he groused.

Eva shook her head and when the hair settled it looked like a curly black cap. Because the cut had removed so much of the weight, the hair fell just slightly above her jawline, but it looked good. She met his pensive stare in the mirror and grinned. “I like it a great deal. What do you think?”

His pale blue gaze seemed to darken as his eyes flickered over her reflection, and Eva felt her breathing hitch.

“It looks well on you,” he said, his voice somewhat harsh, his pupils most certainly dilated. Eva could not look away from their reflection in the mirror. They made, she knew, a remarkably handsome couple. He so tall and muscular and fair and she so feminine looking—an admission that did not, for once, bother her. She watched his hands settle on her shoulders, the span of his palms dwarfing her.

His eyelids became heavy and his smile was odd—sensual but . . . resigned? He turned her easily and then took her chin and tilted her to face him.

She thought she’d be ready when his mouth covered hers, but the shock of his warm, soft lips was as great as it had been the first time. His free arm slid around her body, pulling her closer while he held her steady for his exploration. He pressed his hips against her and a low groan escaped his lips when his erection pressed against the stiffness of her stays. He kissed her less gently this time, almost challengingly, his tongue teasing as if he was waiting for some response from her body or mouth, but she didn’t know what.

Eva looked into eyes heavy with desire and knew this wasn’t the mocking man in the carriage. His touch was so light—his mouth, his body, his hand . . . she fought the urge to mash herself against him, the tension inside her spiraling in ever larger circles.

He traced her lips with the tip of his tongue, the touch unlike any she’d ever experienced: soft, wet, insistent. When he began to insinuate himself between her lips she instinctively opened to him. The sound he made, one of animal need, cut the tenuous restraints on her self-control and she thrust herself against him, earning an even deeper growl.

She knew what the stiff ridge between them was; his hardened state was the physical manifestation of his desire—for her—and she opened her mouth wider to him, wanting to encourage his confusing but arousing plundering. He delved and explored, caressing and stroking her tongue, teeth, and even the top of her mouth. When he began to move away, she closed her lips around him, sucking him back in.

This time the noise he made was needy and desperate and he pulled her tight, flexing his hips and grinding his hardness against her midriff. He pulled away from her mouth, his body stooped to accommodate the difference in height as he held her in a tight embrace, his breathing ragged.

“We need to stop this,” he said, the words hot and damp against her temple. But he made no move to pull away.

“I don’t want to stop.”

He inhaled sharply at her harsh voice or immodest declaration, or both. “Eva—”

Eva turned her head slightly and encountered his exposed neck. He smelled of salt and skin and heat. She flicked him with her tongue before she knew what she was doing, tasting him. He shuddered and held her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. It didn’t matter; she licked him again, this time lowering her mouth over the pulsing vein and sucking him, the way one sucked the ripe flesh of a plum or peach, as if she did not want to lose a drop.

He made a guttural noise that sounded like surrender, his hands moving up and down over her hips, back, shoulders, finally settling on her bottom, which he grabbed with both hands and squeezed, holding her tight as he flexed his hips in suggestive thrusting motions. Eva knew exactly what he wanted. Mia had seen to her education in that area when she’d told Eva and her sisters about the sexual act and how it could bring just as much pleasure to a woman as a man, but far more often.

As a result of her knowledge, Eva knew why she was swelling, becoming wet, more sensitive, wanting. The feeling was similar to the one she experienced in her bed, alone. But it was so much more overpowering to experience it with another person. With him.

She savored her body’s responses while she sucked and licked, moving her mouth lower, pushing her face into the folds of his neckcloth, nosing him like a cat or dog learning a new scent.

“Eva—”