Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels #7) - Lisa Kleypas Page 0,33

languorous, sending waves of dizzying pleasure through him.

God help him, he would have died for what she was offering. To be inside her … to hold her for hours … he had to have this, no matter what happened afterward. Feverishly he kissed his way down her neck, feeling the movements of her throat as she gasped and swallowed.

Taking her head in a gentle clasp, he kissed her forehead and eyelids, and followed the slope of her nose down to the trembling bow of her upper lip.

“If that’s what you want,” he said hoarsely, “I promise you … the night will be worth it.”

Chapter 10

KEIR HAD NEVER SUSPECTED it was possible for a woman to wear so much clothing. After they’d gone to Merritt’s bedroom, he’d unfastened the back of her velvet dress and she’d stepped out of it to reveal a profusion of … Christ, he didn’t know the names for them … frilly lace-trimmed undergarments that fastened with tiny hooks, ribbons, and buttons. They reminded him of the illustrations pasted on the walls of the Islay baker’s shop, of wedding cakes decorated with sugar lace and marzipan pearls, and flowers made of icing. He adored the sight of her in all those pretty feminine things. His fingers itched to touch her. He was worried as hell for her sake, whereas she seemed almost cheerful about the whole thing, as if they were having a wee adventure instead of starting down the path to ruin.

Undressing with deliberate slowness, Keir let her look her fill, allowing her plenty of time to change her mind. When he was fully naked, he turned to face her.

Merritt’s gaze traveled over him from head to toe, lingering briefly at his groin. Her eyes widened, and a tide of deep pink swept over her face.

Keir regarded her with a faint, wry smile as he approached her. “Merry … you’ve already given me the best night of my life. I could ask for nothing more.” He lifted a hand to caress her cheek. “If you’ve second thoughts, I’ll go now with a blessing on my lips.”

She turned her face to nudge a smile into his palm, and said, “Don’t even think of leaving. I’m only a little nervous, that’s all.”

Keir was almost shocked by the rush of tenderness he felt. “No, dinna be nervous with me.” He took her against him, nestling her to his chest. “I would never harm you. You’re safer in my arms than anywhere outside them.” He caressed her shining dark hair, and ran his fingertips over her cheek and the neat curve of her ear. Her skin gleamed like a pearl in the light. “We dinna have to rush at it headlong,” he murmured. “There’s time enough to take it slow.”

Merritt was still blushing, but to his delight, she glanced up at him with a little flirting grin. “You just said you were going to throw a leg over and start the bed to banging.”

“I was trying to scare you off,” he admitted. “For your own good.”

“You could never scare me. I know what kind of man you are.”

“Do you, now?” Keir asked, his breath shortening as he felt her small hands beginning to wander over him.

“You’d never use your strength to take advantage of someone weaker. And you’re more of a romantic than you’d like to admit, which is why you feel guilty for sleeping with me. But you’re going to do it anyway, because it’s been a long time since you shared a bed with anyone … and you want me.”

God, how he wanted her. It was the most delicious sensation of Keir’s life, standing there naked with her inquisitive fingers traveling shyly over him. He could barely think over the thumping of his heart. “What makes you say it’s been a long time?”

“Just a guess.” Merritt glanced up at him, her eyes sparkling. “Am I wrong?”

Keir’s breath caught as she drew her palms over his backside.

“No’ about that,” he admitted, his eyes half closing. Her touch was almost too pleasurable to bear. “I live on an island, ye ken, where gossip never closes its wings. If there were a lass I tried to sneak up to a hayloft I’d soon find myself at the end of her father’s twenty-bore.” He paused as he felt her chuckle into the mat of hair on his chest. “But there is something you’re wrong about.”

“Oh?”

“I dinna feel guilty about bedding you.” He bent to her lips, shaping them with a long, searing