Protecting The Princess - Nadine Millard Page 0,33

the feel of her body pressed torturously against his own.

He couldn’t stifle an agonised groan as she reached up to clasp his neck, pulling herself impossibly close to him, stoking the inferno inside him to an unbearable heat.

Lowering his hands, he pressed her closer still, and her gasp allowed him to deepen their kiss, to explore her mouth in a way that was both exquisite and excruciating.

The kiss went on and on, and Jacob could no more have stopped it than stopped the sun from rising.

He didn’t want to stop it.

Over the years he’d had more than his share of encounters with women. Women with experience. Sophistication. Knowledge of the opposite sex.

And none of them had made him feel a fraction of what he was feeling now, with Princess Harriet’s innocent kiss.

Jacob was just about to drag his unruly body back under his control when he felt the hesitant touch of Harriet’s tongue as she mimicked his actions.

Well, hell, he thought. A man can only withstand so much.

With a muffled, desperate oath against her lips, he turned them so she was pressed against the wall of the cottage.

He moved his hands to capture her face, angled her head, and once more delved his tongue inside her incredibly sweet mouth.

His body trapped hers completely against the wall, but she didn’t seem to mind.

In fact, her desperate little moans were driving him beyond reason, beyond any hope of control.

May the devil take him for the blackguard he was, for he wanted nothing more than to lift her skirts and finish what he’d been foolish enough to start.

That wild, animalistic thought was enough to stop Jacob in his tracks and allow him to claw back a tiny bit of sense.

What the hell was he doing? She was an innocent. A princess, damn it.

And here he was, ready to take her against a bloody wall.

Jacob ripped his mouth from hers and with a strength he didn’t think he possessed, took a deliberate step back from her and the tempting scent of lavender that surrounded her.

He bowed his head, hearing her haggard breathing that matched his own.

When he felt as though he could look at her again without ravishing her on the spot, Jacob looked up.

And very nearly dragged her into his arms again.

The ribbon in her hair had come undone so it fell around her shoulders in a waterfall of sable curls.

Her eyes were huge and dark, gazing at him with wonder and desire.

Inside him, the beast awakened by his lust roared to life at the look in her eyes, but already the stark reality of what he’d done was racing through his mind.

Jacob knew he needed to apologise. Knew he needed to assure her that he would never touch her again.

Yet it was harder to do than it should have been because truthfully, he wasn’t sorry at all.

How could he be when the taste of her had been like nothing he’d ever experienced?

Brutally pushing aside the exquisite memory of having her in his arms, Jacob dragged in some much-needed air.

In all his years of working for Prince Christopher, he’d never lost control. Not once. Not for any reason.

Three days with the princess, and he was ready to throw his whole life away just to hold her in his arms once more.

He kept his eyes on her, on the laboured breathing, on the furious blush that now stained her cheeks.

God, she was beautiful; it almost hurt to look at her.

And now that he knew what it was to kiss her…

“I’m sorry, Miss Royal. My actions were unpardonable. I can assure you, that won’t happen again.”

Would she believe him? Would she feel unsafe with him now? Had he just blown this whole assignment and consequentially, his entire career?

Princess Harriet didn’t speak, or even move, for an eternity.

Finally, she meekly nodded then lowered her head to gaze furiously at the floor.

Jacob could only hope that she wouldn’t run the second he left the cottage.

He was tempted to stay just to make sure, but he wanted to give her some distance, and he sure as hell wanted to give himself some.

Besides, he’d yet to write to Prince Christopher to brief him on the situation.

A sudden, uncomfortable guilt began to slither along Jacob’s veins, as though he didn’t have enough emotions to contend with.

Here she thought she’d just been kissed senseless by a helpful stranger.

Lying to her was starting to feel like a betrayal. Yet what choice did he have?

Heaving a sigh, Jacob decided to risk going into