She snorted. “I agree.” If her chances of being with him were slipping away, she wouldn’t call defeat without a fight. “Are you the man with the stones for it?” Was that truly her voice that sounded so throaty and alluring? How had she done that? To say nothing of the blatant flirting. Had it gone too far?
Royce flicked his gaze up and down her person as she came fully out of the water to stand directly in front of him. “I am not your keeper.”
“That’s too bad.” Slight panic chased through her insides at the thought she’d lost him before she’d ever done anything naughty. She smoothed her hands down the dripping shift. “I suppose I’ll continue courting scandal until you notice me then.”
“Damnation, Isobel, did you truly think I haven’t?” He moved, slid a hand to her nape and tugged her into his arms. “You’ve driven me to the brink of insanity,” he said with a certain growl in his voice that heightened the awareness she already had of him. Finally, he brought his lips crashing down on hers in a kiss that left no doubts as to his intentions.
This was exactly what she’d hoped would have happened! She looped her arms about his shoulders and set out to return his kisses with all the enthusiasm she could muster. The slide of her tongue along his was one of the most erotic things she’d ever experienced; the slight taste of port came away on her palate. Perhaps he’d imbibed before heading out, but it was the strength of his arms about her, the heat of his hands as he played his fingers down her spine that sought to separate her from all common sense.
“You’ve teased me enough,” he whispered against her lips. “It’s time I returned that favor, don’t you think?”
“I absolutely do.” Desire tingled down her spine as she wrenched from his hold only to grab his cravat. “I’ve already found a fairly hidden spot in the event this meeting turned amorous.”
“Where?” Quickly, he freed the length of cloth from her fingers and then tugged at the knot until it unraveled in his hand.
“Follow me.”
“As if I could do anything else at this moment.”
Isobel grinned. It was all too heady, this power she could wield over a man simply with a handful of words and appearing scantily clad. No wonder everyone wished to chase this sort of sensation. When she reached the cluster of trees, she ducked inside. “I brought a quilt to make things more comfortable.”
“Truly, you’ll be the death of me,” he murmured in a barely audible voice as he swept his gaze about the small area. “I should be committed for agreeing to any of this.”
Isobel rolled her eyes. “Perhaps you require liquid courage.” She pulled the brandy bottle from her bag and offered it to him. “Don’t think about the future or ramifications. I am fully aware of what might happen, and neither do I care.”
“Dear God.” Royce plucked the bottle from her hand, uncorked it, and then proceeded to take a few healthy swigs. “Please know that I’m not drinking to have the courage to do this.” Once more he raked his gaze up and down her person. “You’re already a handful and have caught my attention. I’m drinking because your family will call for my murder if they find out we’ve tarried alone together in any sort of scandal.”
“They won’t know.” She took the brandy from him and tipped it to her lips. After a couple of gulps, she sputtered and coughed, for the spirits burned her throat and tasted vile besides. So much for enjoying that vice. “I’m not in the habit of lying, Royce, so when I say that I want you, it’s true.”
Was that too forward?
He didn’t answer in words, but he removed the buttons of his jacket from their holes. Afterward, he did the same with his silver satin waistcoat. Both of those garments left his person in seconds to fall helter-skelter upon the quilt to join her clothing. “That’s good to know, for I’ve wanted you since that evening you read the erotic poetry.”
“Oh.” Isobel took another healthy swig from the brandy bottle. Her eyes watered when she swallowed. If she weren’t careful, she’d fall into her cups due to inexperience with drinking and from not having eaten recently. She’d been too excited to take more than a few bites of dinner.
“And now you’re standing here in a transparent shift like the devil’s own temptation.” He yanked the cravat from his neck, let it drop. The collar and cuffs soon followed as he toed off his shoes. Had he dressed for the easy lie as well or had he come directly from an event? “If you wish to change your mind, please tell me now, for in thirty seconds, I will set out to kiss every inch of your skin and quite possibly devour you.”
“Oh!” Heat blazed in her cheeks. His words and the imagery therein sent gooseflesh popping over her skin to further tighten her nipples. When her knees no longer supported her weight, she kneeled on the quilt, the bottle of brandy tilting in her hand. What did one say to a man after that? Then her customary enthusiasm for life kicked in. She recorked the bottle and set it away. “I look forward to it only if you give me the same access to your body.”
When he tugged his shirt up and off his body, Isobel gawked at the naked expanse of his chest. What she wouldn’t do to glide her fingers over that skin! “That can be arranged. I don’t indulge in scandal often, but when I do, I make certain the deed is done properly.”
Oh, dear heavens, I think I’ve caught a tiger by the tail.Heat twisted up her spine as he manipulated the buttons at his frontfalls. It was one thing to tease and flirt with a man while in public or even go so far as to make him kiss her. It was quite another to see one undressing in front of her while alone in a not so hidden place. Then he yanked off his trousers and there was no hiding the fact the doctor’s body was pale, as well as the fact he was truly aroused.
She’d never seen a naked man before. Her mouth went dry as she stared. Even though it was dark, and shadows kept her from gawking as clearly as she’d wished, she was close enough to discern the sprinkling of red hair on his chest, follow the thin red ribbon down his lean abdomen with the slightest hint of flab, but the rampant length of him that sprang proudly from a nest of flame red curls sent delicious flutters into her lower belly.
“You are quite… something,” she finally managed to whisper.
“I appreciate that.” Royce dropped to his knees then easily joined her. “Don’t you think you should offer me the same?” He reached for the hem of her wet shift.
This is truly going to happen.Never had any of her previous scandals gone this far, and never had she met a man she’d let have access to her body. Apprehension chased excitement in her chest, but she nodded. After swatting away his hand, she unashamedly pulled the shift from her body and tossed it away. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been able to see her form through the thin, wet fabric. Her next swallow was audible. “Well?”
“Exquisite. Delectable. Enticing.” He loomed over her until she had no choice but to topple onto her back as he followed her down. “And, unless I miss my guess from previous meetings, you’ll prove highly addicting.”
Isobel couldn’t help a tiny sigh just before he claimed her lips again. She slipped her arms about his waist, and all too soon she was lost in the wonder of the doctor’s form. Oh, but he was so different from her! Hard where she was soft, strong where she was weak, and when he engulfed one of her breasts in an elegant hand, a moan shivered from her throat. “Touch me, Royce. I need to feel your hands on me.”
He dragged his lips down the side of her neck. “Once we start, there’s no going back,” he whispered against her skin. A few nips and nibbles brought him entirely too close to the crest of her other breast. “Do you understand?”
“What exactly do you mean?”