Pleasure lit in his eyes. “Ah, Miss Cavanaugh, surely you know my wicked heart by now?”
Incorrigible! When she made no reply, he leaned in closer.
“What’s going on in that beautiful mind?” he mused.
“The heart can be deceiving,” she said softly, hinting at the fears and uncertainty of falling too deeply into him. Because she wanted him more than she cared to admit.
Knowledge burned in his gaze, and she recalled he had been a witness to the humiliation and hurt rendered by Mr. Nigel Williamsfield.
"I've been waiting for you, Pippa,” Christopher said with all sobriety, and his silver gaze steady on hers. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Chapter 13
So many sensations tumbled through Pippa, she felt her heart was breaking with the intensity. As if the duke sensed she had no words, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and her breath hitched. His mouth drifted along her cheek, and she wanted to rub against him like a cat.
“Tell me,” he murmured. “Have you ever felt like this?”
She swallowed. “Like what?”
“I ache for your kiss,” he said, perilously close to her mouth. “The feel and taste of it was a bright, beautiful heat, like the sun on my face.” A soft press against the corner of her mouth. “I want to devour your lips, and suck that pretty little tongue into my mouth.”
She nearly lost her breath at the look of wicked sensuality on his face. Pippa had dreamed of this, ached for him, and now she would live in the moment. With a groan of denial, she pulled away, surged to her feet and started pacing.
The duke stood, watching her with his unfathomable gaze.
“I want you,” she gasped.
His eyes closed and the flat of his palm pressed against his heart as if he was profoundly relieved. Christopher's gaze snapped open, and she stared into a storm of needs and want. Within a few strides, he was before her.
“This…this is reckless!” she breathed. Without waiting for his answer, Pippa went on her tiptoes, fell against his chest, and gripped his neck with one hand pulling him to her. “I want you to do every wicked thing I’ve seen in your drawings.”
Dear God. For a second, the hunger and the lust that fired in his eyes stole her sanity. She felt light-headed, off balance. His breathing was harsh and heavy in the still air of the library as his forehead pressed against hers.
“Are you certain?” he demanded gruffly, still the gentleman.
“I know this will be a mistake,” she whispered on a sigh, kissing the bridge of his nose. “I know it, but I cannot halt the cravings in my heart.” Trembling and scarcely able to breathe, she touched her lips to his.
“No…this is fate…destiny.” It was his turn to place a kiss atop her nose.
Pippa was seduced, for she had caved to the reckless impulses beating in her soul for this man. Perhaps it was the two glasses of bourbon she had consumed for the night. She closed her eyes briefly, before opening them to peer into the honest hunger within his silver gaze. I’m not a coward, it’s not the bourbon. It was the man himself and the fear she would never experience anything as beautiful, glorious, and exciting as this night with him.
“I want all your kisses,” she breathed huskily.
He stiffened, a flush working along his cheekbones. “And I want to give them to you, but—”
She caught his mouth with hers, shocking herself and him it seemed for he had faltered into stillness. Then his mouth moved above hers, coaxing and seducing in equal measure. A whimper of pleasure passed from her mouth to his, and with a sigh, her lips parted and allowed him entry.
Fire. This delight was a fire she wanted to consume her world. Rioting sensations arched through her, and she shivered into his arms. They broke apart, and he shrugged from his jacket, shirt, waistcoat and placed it on the soft carpet. He had a wide chest, tapered down to a lean waist. Broad shoulders and sculpted muscles went with it. He was so beautiful!
Christopher prowled over to her and tugged at the loosely tied cravat and slid it from her neck.
“We'll be using this before the night is out,” he murmured with wicked sensuality.
Desire made her feel weak, and her fingers trembled as she attempted to take off her jacket. His touch halted her, and he took evident pleasure in removing the jacket, waistcoat, and shirt she wore.
Pippa did not know where she got the courage to stand before the duke, naked from the waist up. But the worship in his eyes as he beheld her, suppressed all anxiety she felt. His hands skimmed her breasts, and the jolt of heat that tore through her made her gasp breathily.
“You are ravishing,” he said with carnal reverence before kneeling, lifting her feet one by one and removing her boots.