The Unexpected Wife - Jess Michaels Page 0,66

making her even more ready?

Well, she wouldn’t argue with the man. He was far more the expert, after all.

He crossed to her in a few long steps and his arms came around her. She breathed in his scent, soap and leather and something that was uniquely this man. She reveled in the warmth and comfort of his arms around her, smoothing her back so gently, so protectively.

“Did you have a good time today?” he whispered.

She stared up into his face, marveling that she was offering herself to him quite shamelessly and yet he was still inquiring after her health and well-being. There was no one in the world like him.

And somehow he wanted her.

“I did,” she said with a smile she didn’t have to force. “Seeing Harriet again was everything I hadn’t dared to hope for. And Lena is wonderful. They are really in love.”

“They are,” he agreed softly. Wistfully? No, that couldn’t be true. “It is a wonderful partnership between them.”

She nodded. “I’m so glad Harriet is happy and has found someone who is her equal. And their welcome to me was…I was so pleased.”

“Not surprised, though,” he said, smoothing a lock of hair away from her face gently.

She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. His arms pulled in tighter and she wrapped her own around his waist. For moment she reveled in the fact that he was just holding her and it felt like home.

He felt like home, and she ignored how dangerous that idea was.

“I hoped I wouldn’t be treated differently, but my circumstances cannot guarantee that I won’t be shunned, even by old friends.” She sighed against his shoulder. “I couldn’t even blame them if they had gone the route of self-preservation.”

He made a rumbling sound in his chest. Displeasure at the thought. But the vibration of him against her was anything but unpleasant. She burrowed even closer to him and let one hand drift lower. Down his waist and over the curve of his backside. When she squeezed, the rumble in his chest was no longer a negative sound.

She lifted her head to watch his face as she squeezed again, this time a little harder. His gaze glinted in the firelight, suddenly much harsher and more intense than she had ever seen. He caught her chin, tilting her face toward his, and then his mouth came down and claimed hers, hard and fast and with so much purpose that her knees went weak.

She opened to him, welcoming him in as she lost track of time and space. She lost track of everything but the sensation of drawing her hands along his body, of him touching her in return, of his mouth colliding with hers, of the taste of him merging with her own flavor. God, how she wanted this man, in a way she had convinced herself she could not feel after her terrible experiences with Erasmus. But here it was and it was intoxicating.

Owen broke his lips from hers, his breath short as he stared down at her. Yes, the expression was still heavy with desire, but there was something else there too. Something…far more powerful. She tilted her head to find it, to identify it. She wanted it to be more than lust. She wanted it to be more than friendship.

She wanted more from this man, even if that was foolhardy and impossible. Even if it would only lead to both their ruin in the end, considering how utterly hazy the future was.

As if he sensed that desire, he spun her around so that her back was to him, cutting off her access to seeing him, watching him. Cutting off any hope she had of seeing what was in his heart. It was…disappointing, far more than it should have been.

But what wasn’t disappointing was that he began to unbutton her gown. So she leaned back into him, pushing aside those wild and foolish desires for something she couldn’t have. Instead, she focused on what she did have. And hoped it would be enough when all was said and done.

Chapter 18

As Owen unfastened Celeste’s gown, he kissed the side of her neck, sucking hard, then soft, back and forth until she found herself grinding her bottom against him. She had never realized how sensitive that spot was, how it sent vibrations of sensation ricocheting through her with even this simple touch. But it did. She heard whimpered sounds of pleasure in the air around them. Wordless pleas for more. They were