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He frowned. “I’m sorry. I thought… Well, never mind. I understand.”
“It’s just… I’m a lady. And you were just kissing…”
Zach trailed a finger down her cheek to her chin, again tipping it so she met his gaze. “I’ve told you, that meant nothing to me.”
Sophie gulped. “Yes, but that’s not really the point. This is all improper. This isn’t me, Mr. Newland—”
“Zach. Please.” His coffee-colored eyes burned two holes in her skin.
Her lips trembled. “Z-Zach. You must believe me. I’m not a loose woman. I’m not like this.”
“Sweet Sophie, no one would ever mistake you for a loose woman. You are no doxy. You are as sophisticated a lady as exists.”
“If you believe that, why do you want me to…” The words clogged her throat.
He smiled, his teeth like dazzling pearls. Sophie’s knees weakened.
“My dear, did you enjoy what happened yesterday?”
Sophie shivered, her tummy fluttering. Surely he didn’t expect an answer. Besides, her response had proved she’d enjoyed it immensely.
“Your blushing cheeks are lovely, my sweet,” Zach said, cupping them and rubbing his thumbs gently over them. “No need to be embarrassed. I enjoyed myself yesterday, more than I even expected to.”
“Well, of course you enjoyed it,” Sophie said. “You’re a man.”
Zach let out a chuckle. “Point taken. I see you know a little about men, then.”
Only what Ally had taught her. She didn’t respond.
“I don’t know when I’ve had quite as much enjoyment as I had with you yesterday, and I didn’t even release.” He grinned. “But you did.”
Release? Another word for climax, maybe? A perfect word for the experience. She had been released from her shell, and she had soared, erupting in volcanic waves of pleasure, the sensation releasing every last shred of resistance, every last molecule of tension from her body.
Release…
Sophie melted. She had no strength left to resist this man. She knew better, but she wanted more of that freedom, that spontaneity, that…brazenness.
That release.
She turned her back to Zach, brushing the strands of curls that had come out of her coif off her shoulders with one hand. He took the hint and unbuttoned her gown. When he finished, he brushed it over her shoulders, and it landed at her feet. She turned her head at a faint click.
“Just shutting the door, love,” Zach said with a wink, turning the lock.
Sophie’s heart pounded as if a stampede of wildebeests were racing inside her chest. That elusive feeling, that delicious sensation she had experienced for the first time yesterday at Zach’s hands—the release—beckoned her. She throbbed between her legs.
Zach returned to her and clamped his mouth to hers once again.
She parted her lips and bravely thrust her tongue into the moist warmth of his mouth. She kissed him with longing, intensity, lust. She poured her essence into this meeting of their mouths, making their previous kisses nearly meaningless. She tasted, she teased, she taunted.
Zach broke the kiss with a loud smack. “My God, sweet, you’ve never kissed me quite like that.”
Sophie’s cheeks burned. She didn’t know how to respond.
Before she could, Zach turned her around, loosened her corset, and divested her of the tight garment. Then he brushed her chemise off her shoulders, her drawers over her hips and onto the floor. He removed her shoes and stockings. He was still fully clothed, and she stood before him, stark naked.
The urge to cover herself dueled with the desire to for him to see her in all her nakedness. She fought the first urge, standing, her pert breasts and her triangle of dark-blond curls in plain view.
“You are so very alluring, Sophie. I could look at you all day and never get enough of your
