Part 17 (2/2)

”Comfortable?” he asked.

”Enough,” she said, willing her heart to slow. Instead it sped faster.

”Do you require anything further? A gla.s.s of water, perhaps? Or an extra blanket?”

She shook her head. ”No, nothing.”

”I suppose I should be going.”

”Yes, I suppose you should,” she said, suddenly breathless.

Yet he made no move to leave and she did nothing to make him.

”I'll say good night, then. I know you need to rest.”

Her lips parted. ”I do.”

He lifted his palm from her leg; she instantly felt the loss, foolish as it might seem to feel that way.

Without a word, he pulled the covers over her and tucked them in snugly. But rather than step away, he moved closer. Planting a hand on either side of her, he bent near. ”I'd stay, if you weren't hurt.”

She studied him intently. ”If I weren't hurt,” she said in a near whisper, ”I just might let you.”

A light flared deep in his eyes.

She swallowed, wondering what had come over her tonight. Had she really meant to say that? Or was it the brandy talking?

But she supposed she must have meant it, since she'd let Leo past her bedroom door. Injured or not, she could have stopped him if she'd really wished to do so.

”G.o.d, you make it hard to go,” Leo said, his powerful arms caging her between them. ”I suppose I'll have to settle for a good-night kiss. I'll want more once you're better.”

And strangely, she thought she might too.

Then he was kissing her, his mouth commanding and persuasive, seductive and eager, as he led her down a path of dark desire and sweeping surrender. But he sought more from her than acquiescence, demanded her full and unqualified response.

Unthinkingly, she gave it, returning his kisses as he coaxed her lips apart and drew her deeper beneath his spell. His tongue circled hers in a slow, wet slide that made delicious s.h.i.+vers chase over her skin and heat spark like lightning in her system.

It was as if she were caught inside a storm, dangerous need cras.h.i.+ng inside her as he kissed her with an intensity she was helpless to resist. Blindly, she speared her fingers into his thick golden brown hair, the strands as soft as living silk beneath her touch.

Her mind floated away with the force of her pleasure, making her wonder if this was real or if she was still asleep and dreaming instead.

Then he was seated hip to hip with her on the bed, the bedclothes he'd so painstakingly tucked around her moments ago tossed to her knees. Before she quite knew how it had happened, the tie on her robe lay undone, the b.u.t.tons on her nightgown unfastened, as he scattered hot, sultry kisses over her cheeks and jaw and along the sensitive length of her throat.

Her fingers tightened in his hair as he moved lower, kissing his way over the flushed, tingling skin of her bare shoulders and chest before burying his face between her naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Wild tendrils of desire quivered through her, with want such as she had never known consuming her.

He raised his head and met her gaze, his eyes burning with undisguised l.u.s.t. ”Madame, you are exquisite.”

Without looking away, he dipped his head again and licked one of her pink nipples, circling the tip with a warm, wet stroke of his tongue. Then he blew softly, sending a gentle gust of air over her damp flesh to devastating effect before raking his teeth across her taut, aching peak.

She shuddered, then shuddered again as he repeated the process, driving her half-mad as he licked and circled, blew and nibbled over and over again.

Apparently not one to stint, he moved on to her other breast and played there with a leisurely thoroughness that bordered on torture. He teased her nipple with the same sinful magic he'd used before until she thought she might die from delight.

Just when she was sure she couldn't bear another moment of the emotions flooding through her, he cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, cradling one in each wide palm, and began to feast in earnest. He hummed low in his throat, making sounds of decadent satisfaction as he opened his mouth and drew strongly upon her.

The sweet suction radiated all the way to her toes, and even more strongly between her legs, where she was wet and aching with need. Gordon used to complain she was frigid and unresponsive; she didn't feel frigid or unresponsive now.

Still, Leo needed to stop. Already his embrace had spiraled far beyond the simple good-night kiss he'd promised. And far, far beyond her ability to control.

Yet just as she was gathering herself to push him away, he leaned up and kissed her again, taking her mouth in a fervid joining that made the last of her good intentions drift off into the ether.

He drew her down, deep where she couldn't seem to find the surface anymore, where her senses ruled unopposed. His fingers stroked her sensitized b.r.e.a.s.t.s, while his lips roved in lazy forays across her mouth and nose, cheeks and forehead and chin.

He traced his tongue along the edge of her ear, dipping in like a bee gathering nectar before nibbling just behind in a spot that made her quake. ”Whatever you do, don't move,” he whispered quietly.

Her thoughts hazy, she could only nod, eager to see where he would go next.

But it wasn't his lips that sought new territory, rather one of his hands that stole soft as a shadow beneath her nightdress. Up he glided, over calf and knee, then across the tender length of her thigh. Higher and higher he roved, fingers gliding and caressing until he reached the V of her thighs, where he paused in search of an even more intimate caress.

Her eyes flashed open and she laid a hand over his, the light wool of her nightgown bunched between them. ”Lord Leo?”

”Lady Thalia?” He smiled. ”Though might I suggest a less formal term of address considering our present situation?”

”Y-you need to stop,” she said.

”Do I? Are you sure?” He claimed her mouth again, his kiss turning her feverish and dizzy once more.

Below, he moved boldly to cover her mound, pressing the heel of his palm against her with a gentle yet devastating pressure. ”Let me. Just don't move. I don't want anything to hurt.” He kissed her again. ”At least nothing that won't feel good later.”

She trembled, wondering how she had come to such a pa.s.s. But then she didn't have time to wonder any longer as his fingers teased her nether curls and found the dampness gathered there. He kissed her again and continued his quest, tenderly stroking and touching her in ways that made it more and more impossible to resist.

She closed her eyes and searched for strength, fighting him, fighting herself.

But it was a useless effort, her hunger too overwhelming to deny. With a sigh, she let her hand go lax as she silently gave him permission to do as he wished.

Gently, he parted her thighs, s.h.i.+fting the knee of her good leg slightly upward so he could fit his hand fully between her legs. He teased her again, rubbing only the outer lips of her feminine core so that she grew even wetter, even more desperate. Her hands fisted at her sides as he continued his pa.s.sionate a.s.sault, each stroke more wicked than the last.

Voluntarily, she edged her thighs open wider and grabbed again for his hand-this time to pull him closer.

”Touch me,” she begged.

”I believe that's what I'm doing.” He teased her down low again, making her arch against him.

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