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Sounds of the sea still roaring in his mind. Desire for Mari eddying through his body. Desire and something else. A nameless emotion, welling like water under sand, eroding his defenses.
She slipped her hand into his and the simple gesture completely undid him.
All of his fine resolutions imploded. Codes of conduct?
Highly overrated.
If he were a controlled, regimented gentleman with a precise, perfectly ordered life, he might escort her back to her chamber. But he wasn’t controlled or perfect. He was riddled with flaws.
Flung into pieces like an exploded engine.
Not even caring if the servants saw, he clasped his arms around her slender body, pulling her so close he could feel her heart beating through thin, gauzy muslin.
Her lips opened to him, her tongue meeting his.
She stood on tiptoes and locked her soft arms around his neck. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her, one arm crooked under her knees, the other around her back, and carried her down the hallway, not stopping until they reached his chambers.
He kicked open the door, then kicked it closed again when they were inside.
Her tongue danced inside his mouth, quick and nimble, composing frenzied poetry. Need pounding through him like surf.
Claim her. Make her yours.
Up against the wall now. Next to the balcony door, which stood ajar. A breeze ruffled her skirts, cooling the sweat from his face.
Shift her body around him. Her thighs around his hips. His lips leaving her mouth but only to find her breast.
Feeling for her bodice, dragging it down.
Small, upturned breasts with ruddy nipples, straining over the boning of her corset.
He dipped his head and traced the contours of her breast with his tongue, spiraling closer and closer to the nipple until she moaned and her head fell back.
His lips closed around her nipple, suckling the taut peak.
Her fingers fumbled with his coat buttons. He lifted her arms, wrapping them more firmly around his neck, bracing her against the wall, and then he shrugged out of his coat and flung it aside.
He groaned, burying his head in her neck, cupping her round bottom through the fabric of her gown.
She framed his face with her hands, sought his eyes. “I need you,” she said fiercely. “I want you.” She lifted her hips, seeking his cock.
The friction was pure bliss and pure torture.
“Mari,” he groaned. “You want this? You want this as much I do?” He had to ask one more time.
“You’re thickheaded, aren’t you? Yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Listen to me, Edgar.” She caught his head between her palms. “All my life I’ve hid my true feelings and desires beneath a stifling cloak of obedience and silence. I’m through with it. Do you hear me? I want you to make love to me.”
Her words soaked through his mind until he was saturated with the need to believe that nothing mattered beyond this night, that being with her was inevitable, and he’d known this moment would happen from the first moment he laid eyes on her.
She wanted this. He wanted this.
The sea had washed into his mind, swept away years of denial and suffering. They would find so much pleasure tonight. It was waiting for them, around the corner. Only a few buttons and one scarlet bow away.
Outside, beyond the door, stars gathered to watch.
“Edgar?”
He lifted his head from her breast. “Yes?” He stilled. She was going to tell him to stop.
