The Unexpected Wife - Jess Michaels Page 0,43

too hard on yourself,” she insisted. “For four of those days you were riding to and from Twiddleport and handling me. If you throw out that time, you’ve only been on the case half a week.”

“You will soothe me even if I don’t deserve it,” he said.

“I would argue that you do deserve it,” she said.

He was silent a moment, simply staring at her in the quiet room. Drawing her in with those light brown eyes, making her feel tingles in her body that could only lead to trouble and confusion and…and…oh God, pleasure. She could only hope they would bring pleasure.

He cleared his throat and fiddled with some papers on his desk. “The problem with working for those in power is that it’s difficult to get information. They want an answer, but not to reveal anything embarrassing to get it. So it’s a constant tightrope act.”

She nodded. She could see how that would be true. Those of a certain sphere liked to remain high above regular people by pretending to be perfect. Men like Owen were a reminder that they weren’t. The amount of pushing back against that had to be powerful.

“Well, you have me,” she said. “I can ask questions that perhaps you couldn’t. And if I am not a good tool for you, you are a resourceful, seductive man. I’m certain you’ll figure it out.”

He came around the desk, and now there was nothing between them. He held her stare. “Seductive?”

She gasped. Had she said seductive? Blast and damn, she hadn’t meant to—it was just the word that had popped into her head in that moment.

“Er, I…” She bent her head and fought to contain herself. But when she looked up at him again, his pupils were dilated to nearly black, and he at last reached out a finger to trace it across the top of her hand. She shivered with the contact, so delicate, almost chaste, and yet her body reacted so powerfully.

Her mind equally so. The desire for this man becoming so loud in her head that it drowned out reason, resistance, prudence.

“You know you are seductive,” she whispered. “You must know I can’t…I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to be better than my desires, more than those impulses. But I feel what I feel.”

He swallowed, and for a moment she could see the struggle plainly on his face. A mirror of her own, it seemed. An argument with himself about whether he should let propriety take the reins, or surrender the way she was.

She couldn’t breathe as she awaited his response, though she had no idea if she wanted him to give in or push away. Either outcome had its benefits, although being rejected in the midst of this trial didn’t sound fun.

“Celeste,” he whispered, his voice rough and low. “Celeste, Celeste, Celeste.” Each time he said her name, he lowered his head and she lifted to him until their mouths touched.

Relief flashed through her, but it was quickly erased by other feelings. Powerful feelings that lit like flint on dry tinder when he cupped the back of her neck and his tongue slid past her lips.

She shivered against him, sensation rolling through her like powerful waves, settling in the most sensitive places. Only this time he was kissing her in a private room where they wouldn’t be interrupted. And that meant she didn’t have to pull away.

She didn’t want to.

But he had more control and he moved to step away. She tightened her hands across his back and looked up at him as he parted his lips from hers. “I don’t want to do something you’ll regret later,” he whispered.

She caught his hands and drew him toward the settee where she stopped. “The only thing I’ll regret is walking away. Everything has been terrible, Owen…everything but you. If you want me, if I’m not mistaken that you feel the same powerful draw as I do, then give me something good. I just want to feel something good.”

He shut his eyes and let out a low, rough curse. She smiled at the idea that she could tempt him. Torment him. He was so strong that it felt odd to have such power. He caught her in his arms again, kissing her as he lowered her back on the settee and partially covered her with his body.

“I feel the same thing you do,” he promised her, his voice reverberating against her throat as he pressed his lips there. “I dream of you, Celeste.