It was like nothing she’d ever imagined. Heloise tightened her fingers in his hair and arched into his touch, urging him on, unable to help herself, past shame. For whatever reason she’d broken through his self-imposed ban on touching her and she wanted this, wantedhim,in any way she could have him. She’d take whatever he chose to give.
“You taste so good.” His growl of satisfaction held a fierce note of triumph.
Heloise could barely think. She let go of his head and gripped the edge of the bookshelves for balance as he teased her sensitive flesh with his lips. She gasped as she felt his finger, just the very tip, push inside her. He withdrew and pressed again, easier this time, and she cried out at the unbelievable sensation.
She couldn’t draw enough air into her lungs. She arched against him but he held her tight, only his hand moving, teasing. He flicked her with his tongue and Heloise almost sobbed in frustration. She was striving to get somewhere, some unnamed peak just out of reach. She held her breath.
A shimmer of pleasure danced along her skin. Her body was on fire, her heart racing, and she bucked her hips, trying to get closer to the maddening friction. His tongue invaded her, mimicking the action of his hand and the brief penetration was almost more than she could bear.
Perhaps he was right? Maybe thiswasonly lust. Maybe she’d feel this way for any man. She doubted it, but it was hard to think when his fingers worked their magic, made her burn and melt and writhe.
“Let it go, Heloise. Come for me. Now.”
She had no idea what he was talking about, but she was almost there, almost there, and the combination of his voice and those wicked fingers sent her flying over the edge. Blinding pleasure radiated from her core as she splintered apart. Her whole body convulsed, clenching and releasing around his fingers as she gasped for air, blinded, falling, dying.
She sagged, boneless, against the wall and would have sunk to the floor if not for Raven’s support. He stood and wrapped his arms around her, enclosing her in his embrace. Dazed, Heloise rested her head back on the shelf. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, her skin was flushed. For a few seconds all she could hear was labored panting—Raven’s as loud as her own.
She started to pull away but he tightened his arms and buried his face in her hair. She tensed as she realized he was still fiercely aroused. His shaft pressed hard and unyielding against her stomach.
“Wait,” he panted. He let out a half laugh that sounded ragged, almost desperate. “Don’t move just yet, all right? Just…give me a minute.”
She stilled, let herself soften and relax in his embrace. Her mind was still reeling from what they had done. After a few moments Raven moved back from her. The shirt fell demurely back into place against her legs with a whisper of cool air.
She was burning up with embarrassment, but pride demanded that she lift her chin and meet his eyes. She wanted to say something flippant, witty, but she was too shattered, too raw. Words, her fail-safe friends, deserted her.
Raven let out a long sigh. He studied her face for a long moment, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. She didn’t struggle when he gathered her up in his arms and carried her back to her own room. He lay her down on her mattress and left her without a word.
Chapter 27
Raven fell facedown onto the bed, his entire body burning with unsatisfied lust.
He punched a pillow, his stomach roiling in a complex muddle of fury, frustration, and desire. He was as hard as a rock but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. He deserved the discomfort, this aching, throbbing need.
Christ, what a mistake. This was going to complicate everything. Heloise wasn’t one of his panting, easy conquests who’d take what he’d given and walk away with a contented smile. She wasn’t a sophisticated flirt he could pay off with a diamond choker and the empty promise of a rematch.
He rubbed his palm over his face and caught her scent; sweet and spicy and so bloody delicious that he wanted to howl. He was shaking with the need to go back into her room and finish what they’d started. God, he’d been so close to losing control. The sight of her, the taste. Better than he’d ever imagined.
He exhaled slowly. At least he hadn’t taken his own pleasure. She was still, technically, a virgin. And he hadn’t kissed her this time. Not on the mouth, at any rate.
He bit back a groan and pressed his face into the pillow as he recalled the feel of her body around his fingers: warm, tight, slick. She made him mad. That was the only explanation. Heloise Hampden had been merrily rearranging his wits for years, oblivious to the trail of havoc and destruction she left in her wake.
He couldn’t risk touching her again. His vaunted control was hanging by a thread. From now on he was going to stay as far away from her as humanly possible.
—
Heloise lay on her bed and stared sightlessly up at the canopy.
Embarrassment at the liberties she’d allowed Raven mingled with amazement at the pleasure he’d given her. No wonder the Ancient Romans made constant references to the sexual act. If the last ten minutes were anything to go by, it was a miracle they’d done anything else at all. Who on earth wanted to go and build an aqueduct or construct a coliseum when they could be doingthatall day? Her entire body felt awakened, tingling, but her skin heated as she remembered her own lusty response to Raven’s skillful manipulation.
He’d let her get close, but no closer, as if he’d drawn some invisible emotional barrier in his mind that could not be crossed. Heloise bit her lip. Part of her resented how easily he’d controlled her. He’d wanted her to understand that it was just bodies, physical pleasure without involving any emotion other than raw lust.
She took a deep breath. Her mother, ever the Frenchwoman, had taken great pains when Heloise had turned sixteen to explain to her the intricacies of physical love, so she knew Raven had restrained himself from completing the act. He must have known she wouldn’t have resisted if he’d wanted to take her fully. He could have taken advantage, but had not. In his own, warped, typically convoluted way, he’d been honorable.
And hehadn’tbeen entirely unaffected himself, no matter how cool he’d tried to be. She’d felt his physical response, that rigid length of him against her stomach. There had been a certain equality in that. At least she affected him as much as he affected her.
Heloise closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted. How on earth was she going to face him tomorrow?
Chapter 28