AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“For you to listen to me.” She reached out to take his arm and pull him back to the bed. He pulled it away from her grasp, not letting her touch him, though he abandoned his effort to leave the bed. “Why are you avoiding me?” she asked.
She intended to tell him everything now. The truth about her past and the fact that she loved him, yet her lips found different words to say. “Because I wish to,” he said with sternness.
“Why?”
“My reasoning I do not have to share with you. Not yet, anyway,” he muttered.
“What does that mean?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.
“That doesn’t matter,” he said stiffly. “Any other questions before I tip you out of my chamber?”
“You would actually push me out of here?” she asked, folding her arms.
“I got you out of a chair once, I’m pretty certain I can get you out of my chamber if I want to,” he said with pride to his tone.
“You kissed me to get me out of that chair,” she pointed out.
“Well, I won’t be doing that this time,” he said, turning and climbing out of the bed. Hearing the words crushed her.
“Was kissing me really so awful?” she asked, breathily.
“Kissing you was never awful; the reason you kissed me was the problem.” He spoke sharply as he stood. To her disappointment, on his lower half he was wearing some loose trousers, but her gaze landed on his open chest again as he crossed the room, just as she comprehended his words.
“What reason?” she asked, confused by it. “You may remember that I initially told you there could be no more kisses between us.”
“A novel seduction tactic, I’ll give you that,” he remarked, turning to a wardrobe and flinging it open.
“Seduction?” she asked, turning on the bed and moving back to the other side on her knees to be closer to him. “What does that mean? You are not making any sense.”
“By taking your advances off the table, I guess you made me want you even more,” he said wryly. “Clever, very clever. I never had a lady do that before.”
“You’re still not making any sense,” she said, shaking her head as he snapped a shirt out of the wardrobe and placed it on the bed. He took out a waistcoat too and flung that down on her other side, preparing to dress.
“Give it up, Hermione,” he ordered. As he reached for the shirt, about to dress, Hermione snatched it off the bed and placed it behind her back, rising up high on her knees to put her body between him and the shirt. He came to a stop, inches from her front, his eyes wide in surprise.
“Give that back.”
“I will not obey your orders, remember?” she asked, painfully aware of how close his lips were to hers, and yet he would not kiss her.
“Fine, do not give that back,” he said with a smirk. “By the definition of doing the opposite of what I ask, surely you will give me my shirt back now?”
“No,” she said, lifting her chin up toward him. He leaned toward her, attempting to grab the shirt from behind her back, yet she resisted, pulling it even further behind her. When he grabbed for it again, she fell off balance.
She tumbled down to the bed, trapping the shirt beneath her, and Antony fell down too, falling on top of her and resting his body over hers with his weight balanced on the one forearm he rested beside her head. They were so close that Hermione could easily reach him and kiss him had she wanted to. She desperately wanted to, but she resisted, only just.
“Please, stop avoiding me, Antony,” she said his name softly.
“It is ‘Your Grace’ to you,” he said tartly although he didn’t retreat from her. He angled his head slightly, tempting her even more to kiss him.
“That’s not what you asked me to call you last week,” she whispered softly, reminding him of what they shared in the library. “You asked me to call you Antony.”
“Well, hearing you moan my name like that was something particularly…” he trailed off although he moved his lips down to hers, so close that she could feel his breath against her.
“You can hear me moan your name like that again if you like,” she asked. He didn’t kiss her though he growled in frustration about something. She was the one to reach up and connect their lips together, beginning the kiss. There was nothing slow about it, and he responded straight away.
He gave up trying to get the shirt and instead looped one arm under her waist, bringing her body up firmly against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto his kiss and pressing her body up to his as eagerly as she could.
As the kiss deepened, heightening the thrill and their senses even more, things began to change. Her hands went wandering, down across his exposed back and up the muscles on his chest. He moaned into their kiss at her touch, spurring her on and giving her more confidence. This time, she reached for his trousers, eagerly undoing the fastening around his hips, desperately wanting to explore him as he had explored her.
