“A sixty thousand pounds kiss? You do think highly of yourself, Miss Fairbanks.”
She bit into her lower lip. “Very well, you drive a hard bargain.” Ester took a bracing breath. “We shall make it at least two kisses.”
She held up her fingers to emphasize her point. “One on my mouth and anywhere else you please,” she murmured, recalling Lucien kissing Ellie on her throat. The idea of Edmond touching her in such a similar wicked manner sent fire cascading through her veins.
He sucked in a sharp breath, an expression leaping in his eyes that she had never seen on another man.
“No deal,” he murmured, the gray in his eyes darkening like a gathering storm.
How beautiful.
“Then I shall fall on my brother’s mercy and ask him to settle this for me,” she said, soft regret curling through her. “A thing I should have done from the very beginning instead of…”
“Instead of stealing from me,” he said flatly. Edmond turned around and started to walk away.
“Only think how close you were to kissing the mouth you have been staring at since you entered my bedchamber,” Ester murmured.
He froze, becoming so still she wondered if he heard her. Edmond faced her, and she took an involuntary step back from his intense regard. It was such a gamble to prod this man, but Ester could not help herself. She wanted to ruffle him, to tease away the coldness and reserve in his eyes, to tempt him to kiss her and…and…she wanted to kiss him. So very badly.
“You play with fire, Miss Fairbanks.”
She leaned forward and lightly brushed her fingers on the underside of his jaw. “I play with Edmond Glendevon. Nothing else.”
Ester truly felt pleasure when his eyes widened. Then he laughed; it was one of the most wonderful sounds she’d ever heard. The heady warmth of it rolled over her body and settled low inside her belly, setting off those thrilling fireworks once again. She squeaked when he darted his hand around her waist and flushed her against his body. He moved with her, a glide and a step and then they were in the deepest shadows of the gardens.
“Edmond?” she asked breathlessly.
His gaze measured her expression for several seconds. “I am not a man interested in marriage. I have always been that way,” he said bluntly. “You are a woman a man marries.”
Amusement shifted through Ester. “I am a lady who has been wondering what it might be like to kiss you. That is what I am.”
A rough sound escaped Edmond, and she could feel the pounding of his heart vibrating through his body. “And how many gentlemen have you kissed?”
The thread of dark anger in his tone made her smile.
“None,” Ester murmured. “You would be my first.”
He jerked before faltering into profound stillness. “No young lord has ever tried to steal a kiss?”
Acting on the impulse, she lifted her hand and cupped his jaw. His heat soothed her even as the stubble on his jawline pricked the middle of her palm. “A few have tried,” she softly said. “I was not moved to indulge.”
“Ester,” he groaned, dropping his forehead to hers.
The hiss of her name was tortured and filled with such longing. His gaze lowered to her mouth, his desire to kiss her evident. “I am not a man interested in marriage—”
Ester could not resist a wicked little chuckle. She felt too vibrantly alive. “Do not presume to know what I want or need beyond you kissing me. Now kiss me, Edmond, or I shall—”
He roughly caught the rest of her words with his mouth.Oh!It was Ester’s turn to still inside the embrace of his arms. Edmond groaned and tightened his arms around her body. A startling warmth invaded her limbs. Her entire being became concentrated on the firm, shifting pressure of his mouth on hers and the aftertaste of port. She parted her lips at his silent urgings and moaned softly when he used his tongue to lick against her bottom lip. Ester clutched at the lapels of his jacket, fearing the sudden weakness sweeping through her body.
Edmond deepened his kiss, and Ester opened her mouth with a soft sigh of want and surrender. His tongue slipped inside her mouth to tangle against hers in a sensuous glide. She gasped and he swallowed it, walking her backward until the back of her knees met the stone bench. The coldness seeped through the thickness of her gown but did nothing to halt the sensations racing over her skin like living flames to settle low inside her belly.
Ester had never experienced such a sensation before, but she chased it, hungry for that delectable thrill. She wrapped her hands around his nape, sliding her fingers through his silky hair. He groaned when she did that, his arm tightened around her, and that wicked thrill bloomed through her entire body.
Their mouths tasted and explored each other until she was a trembling mess. The ache in her lower belly grew heavy until it felt like there was a pain in her. Her breasts were swollen, the tips sensitive. Edmond swung her into his arms and settled atop the bench with her in his lap, clinging to his shoulders. He kissed her until her lips felt bruised and swollen, until she felt consumed. He kissed her until she squirmed restlessly onto his thighs, searching for something she did not understand but somehow understood he could assuage. He kissed her until she realized how dangerous it was to be alone like this with a man like Edmond Glendevon, even if they were outside under the stars. For Ester wanted nothing more than to give herself over to his ravishment.
His thumb stroked the delicate skin below her ear, and she trembled. He lifted his mouth from hers, breathing raggedly. Under the pale wash of moonlight, she could see the raw need within the gaze that searched her features.
“That was…that…” she began shakily, unable to find the words to express her pleasure at receiving her first kiss.