Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels #7) - Lisa Kleypas Page 0,37
of his gaze pushing her over the edge. The release went on and on, new swells and crests washing over her, leaving her moaning and shivering in their wake. She felt his hands grip her thighs as he bucked beneath her once, twice, and held fast.
When he subsided, trembling like a racehorse held in check, she lay on top of him with their bodies still fused. Feeling euphoric, she nuzzled the dark golden fleece on his chest.
Keir let out a long sigh and relaxed beneath her. “Temptress,” he said after a while, his voice low and lazy. “Are you satisfied, now you’ve had your way with a poor green lad from Islay?”
With great effort, Merritt levered herself higher on his body and touched her nose to his. “Almost.”
Keir’s chest moved beneath her as he chuckled. He turned until she was on her back, and carefully stroked a few loose locks of hair away from her face. Just before he kissed her, he whispered, “’Tis a good thing the night’s not over, then.”
THE BELLS OF St. George’s were ringing. Keir blinked and emerged from sleep as he heard the sound, recalling they clanged at a quarter before six every morning, to awaken the East End workers. Time to leave, while he could still slip out unseen.
He lay still, absorbing the feel of Merritt snuggled against him from behind. Her knees were drawn up neatly beneath his, a slender arm draped across his waist. Her breath came in soft, even rushes against his back.
How sweet it felt to lie there with her warm little body tucked against him, his mind still full of the night’s pleasures. A faint smile crossed his lips. He’d exhausted them both in his efforts to wrest a lifetime’s worth of joy from a few short hours. And yet he still wanted her.
At first, he’d wanted, selfishly, to satisfy her so completely that she’d never forget him. To ensure he would always be the man she wanted most in her bed. But he’d been caught in a trap of his own making. I’m the one who’ll never forget. For me it will always be you, Merry, love, the woman I’ll want until my last breath.
Carefully he eased out of the warm bed and paused with a shivering stretch in the cold air. He hunted for his clothes, dressed in the semidarkness, and discovered his mended coat had been hung inside the door on the handle. His personal items had been tucked into one of the pockets. He checked his wallet, not for currency, but to look for the slip of paper with the typed names. To his satisfaction, it was still there.
A washstand had been built into the corner of the room. The pallid glow of an outside streetlamp slipped through the window as he drew back one of the curtains. He washed his face, brushed his hair, and rinsed his mouth with cold water. As he turned to the bed, his stomach felt leaden at the thought of saying good-bye. He didn’t know what to say to her.
All he knew was that after he left, he’d have to learn how to live with his heart beating somewhere far away.
The first hint of daybreak frosted the shadowed room and gleamed on Merritt’s bare shoulders and back. She lay on her stomach with her face turned toward him, and he saw that her eyes were open. A bittersweet smile curved her lips as she took in the sight of him standing there fully dressed.
Silently Keir willed her not to say something that would unravel him.
To his infinite relief, she said in a voice still thick from sleep, “Don’t forget about my pat on the arse.”
The touch of humor made him smile. He felt a rush of gratitude, realizing Merritt was not a woman to make a scene, or part with someone on an uncomfortable note. It was one of the many graces of her character that she would try to make this easier for him.
Keir approached the bed and slowly drew the covers aside to reveal her naked backside. He ran his palm over her bottom, bent to press a kiss on one full, sweet curve, and finished with the gentlest of pats.
After pulling the covers carefully back over her, he left without another word or glance. It was the most difficult thing he’d ever done, and it gave him as bad a feeling as he’d ever felt.
He walked through the chilled mist of morning, heading back to the