Her thunderstorm eyes didn’t waver from his. “I said, yes.”
He let out a shaky exhalation. “You don’t mean that, Hellcat.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. She lifted her chin. “Don’t tell me what I mean, Ravenwood.”
Oh God. He would have laughed if he hadn’t been so turned on. Had he really hoped to call her bluff? Heloise had neveroncedone what he expected.
She put her hand on his chest and he realized he was breathing hard, as if he’d run a race. Her midnight-and-roses fragrance sneaked into his lungs and knotted his stomach, making it hard to think. The ferocious depth of his desire for her roared in his ears. She moistened her lip with the tip of her tongue and his cock throbbed in response.
He couldn’t take her. That would be a monumental mistake, a line he’d sworn never to cross. But the vital distance he needed to maintain had been swept away by the violence at the caves and his stupid confession. Hell, he might as well have told her he loved her. He growled low in his throat, breath hissing out between his teeth, his entire body taut with exquisite tension.
Whycouldn’the give her what she wanted? He needed her, with a blind, driving lust that blotted out almost everything else. He could pleasure her and preserve her virginity, though the effort might actually kill him.
This was all he had to give. She had his heart, but he could never offer her marriage, permanence. Still, he could give her his body, his expertise; sweet, perfect satisfaction. And he could steal this one, brief selfish moment for himself.
“You trust me?” he asked hoarsely.
She nodded.
He closed his eyes in defeat. They’d been coming to this moment for years. And while it was all new to her,hehad a wealth of experience. His every sexual encounter had been in preparation for this, every other woman a poor substitute for the one in his arms. He smiled in fierce satisfaction. Oh, yes. This was what he was good at. What he loved. He’d make it so good she’d forget her own name.
—
Heloise couldn’t believe what Raven had just offered. Or that she’d actually accepted.
Oh God.When she’d teased him at the ball about taking him as her lover she’d never imagined he’d actually propose it in truth. Her heart hammered, even as a thrilling rush of physical desire mingled with the panic. Would he really go through with it? Would she? She’d never wanted anything more in her life.
His bare chest was mere inches from hers, his skin heated under her palm. The steady thud of his heart pulsed beneath her fingertips. She brought her other hand up and circled his biceps; her fingers barely curled halfway around it. Her body tingled.
The look he gave her was so direct, so predatory, she felt it in the pit of her stomach and the tips of her breasts. She stared up at him, trembling. He leaned forward and his beard-stubbled cheek rasped against her skin like fine sandpaper.
His voice was a low, hoarse whisper in her ear. “I’m going to use my mouth on you, Hellcat. And my hands. Until you scream with pleasure.”
She gasped as he bit her earlobe then pressed his lips against the small cut on her throat where the assailant’s knife had been; he soothed the sting with a flick of his tongue. He moved lower and she thought he would go to her breasts next, but instead he dropped to his knees in front of her. His hands caught her hips and he rested his forehead against the curve of her stomach, almost as if he were saying penance.
Heloise froze in astonishment. The warmth of his breath through the thin fabric of her shirt sent shivers of excitement racing through her. Her hands went automatically to his head and she tangled her fingers in his hair.
He turned his head and pressed an openmouthed kiss against her stomach, then another, lower down. A throbbing ache started between her legs. His hands moved from her hips and cupped her bottom, then slid down the back of her thighs and up again, underneath the shirt. The feel of him on her naked skin was astonishing.
The muscles in his shoulders rippled as he lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss to the inside of her leg, just above her knee. Her legs turned to water. His lips trailed upward, to the soft skin of her inner thigh, and Heloise squirmed in embarrassment as she realized his destination. Slick heat bloomed between her legs but she clutched at his shoulders, trying to push him off.
“You can’t!” she gasped.
She felt his deep sigh, the rasp of his faint stubble against her thigh as he glanced up at her, his expression both exasperated and wicked. “You seem to be forgetting which one of us is the expert.”
His voice was teasing, but there was a roughness there, too, as if he was having difficulty holding himself in check. A flush stretched over his high cheekbones. “Now, if I want advice on code-breaking, or things of a linguistic nature,” he kissed her thigh again and she sucked in a breath, “I’ll ask you, the expert.” He swirled his tongue and edged higher. “But when it comes tothis,and what we should or shouldn’t be doing, I’m afraid, Miss Hampden, you have no opinion whatsoever.”
She shuddered. Her heart was beating so hard in her throat she thought she might pass out.
“Open your legs for me, Hellcat.”
Shaking with desire, Heloise widened her stance even as her cheeks flamed in mortification. Cool air touched her most feminine place. She was completely bare to his gaze. For a long moment he simply looked at her and she tensed, anticipating some taunt.
His hands caught her hips. “Oh God, you’re beautiful.” His voice was hoarse, reverent.
He leaned forward and put his mouth between her legs.
Heloise jerked in astonishment and bit back a cry.He was kissing her, there!All she could feel was his wicked tongue, the erotic scrape of his chin and mouth as he lapped her. He found the slick petals at the entrance to her body and parted them, sliding in the betraying wetness.Good God!