oddly rebellious at the moment.
Therefore, Sophie remained perfectly still when Lord Jack cupped the back of her head and tilted her face up to his. Her heartbeat hammered in her throat as his mouth descended to cover hers.…
The impact stunned her. The first time his lips had touched hers, the barest pressure had felt like fire. This contact was more like a lightning bolt—No, a dozen lightning bolts assaulting her at the same time.
He dragged his lips over hers slowly, then more forcefully, before letting his tongue part the seam and sweep inside. He kissed her deeply, sending a blaze of heat shuddering through Sophie that made her very blood sizzle.
Wanting to let herself dream just for a little while longer, she closed her eyes and melted against him. His maleness surrounded her—his hands, his mouth, his intoxicating scent. After what could have been a moment or a lifetime, she felt herself falling backward, but Lord Jack was only easing her down so that she lay on the table. With one strong arm supporting her, he leaned over her, his hard, virile body pressing against hers while his sensual mouth worked its potent magic.
His embrace was so profoundly arousing, Sophie thought she might die from pleasure, and when his hand moved to her breast and began lightly fondling the peak through her gown, she moaned. She felt so dazed and lost, she only vaguely heard someone calling her name.
Lord Jack froze at the unexpected sound, however. When her great-aunt’s voice came again from the vicinity of the doorway, he abruptly broke off his kiss, while Sophie struggled to gather her fractured wits.
“Sophie, dearest, are you here?”
He murmured another quiet curse, evidently frustrated by the untimely interruption. Disappointment flooded Sophie, swiftly followed by alarm that she might soon be discovered. Not wanting to be caught in such a flagrant display of passion, sprawled on a library table, welcoming the sensual assault of a brazen pirate who was not only a stranger but her family’s chief enemy, Sophie scrambled upright.
With similar urgency, Lord Jack helped her down from the table, then grasped her hand and whisked her toward the rear of the library, into a reading nook created by a tall bank of shelves.
Breathing heavily, Sophie managed to find her voice. “I am coming, Aunt Eunice,” she called before whispering to Lord Jack. “Quickly, you must hide!”
Gesturing toward the draperies that covered the French doors, she indicated his escape route.
His grin flashed white while a devious sparkle lit his eyes. “What will you give me to disappear?”
“This is not the time for games!” she hissed frantically. “Please, you have to go.”
“Very well,” he murmured with a theatrical sigh. “But this is not over, beauty.”
To her surprise, he pressed a quick, heated kiss on her lips, then slipped behind the curtain before she could aid him with a shove. Clearly his audacity knew no bounds, Sophie thought with exasperation and relief.
Straightening her disheveled gown, she came out of the nook just as her aunt entered the room.
“I thought I might find you here, poring over some literary tome,” Mrs. Eunice Pennant remarked. “I wish I could avoid my guests as easily. Did you forget I arranged this ball for your sake?”
Sophie had never liked lying, especially to her favorite relative, so she settled for a small prevarication. “I just needed a momentary respite from the dancing, Aunt.”
Her elderly great-aunt’s penetrating gaze surveyed her, making her very aware of her hammering pulse and flushed cheeks. Mrs. Pennant’s sharp glance then shifted and settled on the library table, where Lord Jack Wilde’s cutlass still lay gleaming in its leather scabbard.
“A respite, you say? Honestly, Sophie. I never expected you of all people to be lured in by a rogue.”
Embarrassed heat flooded her when she realized she’d been found out, but her response was cut off by her great-aunt.
“We will continue this discussion later, after my masquerade ends. Your parents are wondering where you went, and Dunmore has been asking for you. For now you had best put on your mask and cover your hot face. And do straighten your hair. You don’t want to give the impression you have been indulging in a torrid love affair.”
“No, of course not, Aunt,” Sophie murmured meekly, grateful her elderly relative was on her side.
She found her mask on the sofa and slipped it on. Yet as she followed her aunt from the library, Sophie couldn’t help but cast a wistful glance behind her, wondering if Lord Jack was