Merry Misrule - St. Clair, Ellie Page 0,52

me.”

“Because you let me in,” she practically whispered. “Thank you.”

“No,” he said. “Thank you. Now.” He cleared his throat and stood. “I best get going to bed.”

“Very well,” she said, although disappointment flared. “Before you go, do you mind stoking the fire? I’d do it myself, but I’m too cold to move.”

“Of course,” he said, and then walked over and placed the poker in the hearth. Silhouetted by the fireplace, his shoulders were thick, strong, his lower half perfectly framed by his tight breeches.

“Better?” he asked, turning his head over his shoulder, and Joanna nodded, although she couldn’t help but pull the blanket tighter around herself.

“Oh, Joanna,” he said with a sigh and then sat down next to her. “Come here. I’ll see what I can do to warm you up.”

She nodded and inched closer toward him, his very proximity sending all kinds of curious tingles up and down her body. He slowly, hesitantly, placed his arms around her, until she was snuggled right up against his chest.

Suddenly she wasn’t so cold any longer.

Chapter 18

He had told her far too much.

Or, perhaps, it was just enough. For now she was snuggled in to his chest, exactly where he knew she was meant to be. Nothing had ever felt so right before, and a heart beat hard and strong in his ears, although he wasn’t sure if it was his or hers or a mixture of the two.

For his blood pumped strong, sure, salacious, just from being near her.

He knew this was a bad idea. Yet when he had finally moved beyond his own memories — or lack thereof — he had realized just how cold she was and knew he couldn’t leave her there alone.

So he had done the only thing he could think of — and, to be honest, the only thing he had wanted to do since he first saw her underneath the mistletoe in the library — and took her in his arms.

He couldn’t see her face, had no idea what she was thinking.

But if the tension he sensed, the longing he felt, was in any way reciprocated by her, he needed to know. For this wasn’t close enough. This wasn’t cozy enough. It wasn’t concupiscent enough. The only thing that would be was her skin upon his, her lips captured in his, her body beneath his.

Not something that one easily told a woman — and he wasn’t exactly suave.

“Joanna?” he asked, hearing the huskiness in his voice as he tried to hide just how full he was of need — need for her. “Is this…” he cleared his throat, “is this helping?”

“Somewhat,” she whispered. “Perhaps…” she hid her face in his shirt, “perhaps it would be better if we were… closer. Without a layer between us.”

She lifted her face up to him now, and he saw the wanting in her eyes that matched his own, along with a vulnerability there, and he realized how much it must have cost her to ask him for this — how much she worried that he might reject her.

She should have no fear of that.

“Are you sure?” he asked, and she nodded, her eyes meeting his, now full of a simmering passion that he hadn’t even been aware was lurking there, under the surface. “Skin to skin is the best way to warm one another up,” he said, his lips curling at the thought.

“I’ve heard that before as well,” she murmured, and then slowly began to extricate herself from the layers of blankets around her.

He helped her with her pelisse and her outer gown, although he didn’t want to completely strip her until he could be there to replace the layers of fabric.

He would do a better job than them at keeping her warm, he vowed, as he removed his jacket, his waistcoat, his shirt.

He pulled her to him then, holding her close as he reached his arms around her and began to unlace her stays, his chin tucked over the back of her shoulder so that he could see what he was doing.

When she was clad only in her chemise, he pulled her forward into the notch between his legs, where she fit just perfectly, and a bead of sweat broke out on his brow as he summoned all of his control to take this slowly. His arms came around behind her, cupping her bottom as he held her close.

“Better?” he murmured in her ear.

“Yes,” she said, a hitch in her voice, one that made him smile. She wanted