Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,78
seen him more clearly, had known the fire those eyes were capable of igniting.
A tremor of anticipation coursed through her. Swallowing hard, she spun on her heel, fought to calm her steps as she made her way to the door, closed it, and turned the lock.
When she swung around, it was to find him already there. How could a man of his size and sturdy muscle move so silently? But then from the beginning his elegance had been incomparable, like a large ship gracefully slicing through water.
Taking her slender wrists, he clamped one large hand around both of them, lifted them over her head, and held them securely, yet tenderly against the door. She felt no discomfort, knew he would leave behind no bruising.
“Do you remember the day you first came to me that I told you not to give anything too easily?”
He’d lowered himself slightly, so she didn’t have to tip her head back too far in order to meet his gaze. She nodded.
“Never give anything too quickly. Make him want. Make him beg. Make him believe if he can’t have you, he will die.”
“How do I do that?” She sounded breathless, could barely hear herself for the blood rushing through her ears.
Again, he used no words, but within his dark eyes, she saw the answer. He was going to make her want, make her beg, make her believe she’d die if she couldn’t have him.
It was so dangerous to trail his fingers along the soft skin beneath her chin. Each stroke made him want. Made it harder not to beg. Convinced him that he’d die if he couldn’t have her.
But he couldn’t have her.
Since Sally Greene had asked for his protection, two maybe three dozen women had been under his care. An assortment that would rival a sweetshop when it came to choices. Strikingly beautiful. Plain. Voluptuous. Slender. Stocky. Tall. Short. Funny. Kind. Sweet. Coarse.
Not once had he ever been tempted by any of them. He’d easily adhered to his personal code of conduct. They lived under his roof. They were not available to him. He effectively built a wall between himself and them that lust couldn’t climb or shatter. He enjoyed engaging them in conversations, spending time in their company. But every action, activity, and moment had been platonic. He’d been able to hug them in celebration, embrace them in sorrow.
He couldn’t even look at Althea without his cock wanting, and that was becoming a problem. Therefore, this lesson was for him as much as it was for her. A reminder, a reaffirmation of his vow.
But if she touched him, he’d be lost. Just as he’d been in the carriage when he’d had more than a taste of her, just as he’d been the night in the library when he’d kissed her.
Therefore, he held her wrists, cushioned against his palm so the wood of the door bit into his knuckles rather than her sensitive skin. He took his time caressing only the flesh that was naturally exposed by the cut of her frock. Another lesson. Yearning did not require nudity.
She was a fast learner. Her lips parted, her breaths shuddered as they sawed in and out of her lungs. The blue in her eyes darkened, the gray turned silver. Her long, golden eyelashes fluttered, and then she opened her eyes wide as though determined to hold his gaze, to be defiant, to not beg.
But eventually she would.
He turned his hand so now his knuckles, rougher than his fingertips, skimmed along the silken expanse. How could she be so damned soft?
How was it that she smelled of freshly cut gardenias? Surely, she hadn’t bathed after finishing her luncheon. He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t need the image of her soaking in a tub filling his head. Water sluicing over those lovely breasts he’d caressed, kissed, suckled. Ah, to see them in light now. To know if those nipples were dusky or pink. To know all the various shades of her.
But that was not where this lesson needed to go. Not where it could go if he was to maintain control.
He opened his eyes, grateful to see that hers were still open so he could fall into the depths of them. It was a dangerous surrender, but he could limit the length of his captivity. He lowered his mouth to her cheek. “Are you aware you have three freckles?”
“I hate them.”
“Don’t. They have the ability to mesmerize. Did you have more when you were a child?”