Page 54 of Seduced

He pushed her once and she lost her balance and started to fall. She knew in that moment that her bad leg wouldn’t be strong enough to break her fall and braced herself for the pain and humiliation. The carpet was fast approaching her forehead, when Hades caught her with a long, strong arm looped around her waist. He lifted her up, and she foundherself pressed against his marble-hard chest. His heart was beating wildly.

“Thank you,” she breathed.

He didn’t let her go.

“I could fight you now,” she murmured against his neck, “if you tried anything. I think I have learned enough.”

“I wouldn’t resist. You can kill me if you like.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, I…I seem to have lost my mind,” Hades whispered, his eyes unfocused.

“Have you forgotten how to seduce young ladies, my lord?”

“I have.” Still unfocused.

He didn’t even smile.

She pushed against his chest lightly, and at once he set her on her feet. He was still looking at her.

“Well. Naturally, I know nothing of seduction,” Poppy said, “except maybe for the obvious things. For instance, I used to think that I wouldn’t mind being kissed. I never have been, you know, and it’s not likely that I ever will, seeing as I…”

With a drowning man’s sigh, he bent his head to hers, and fit his lips on her own.

Alexei

He slammed his lips into her soft mouth.

He had meant to simply brush her mouth with his—well, it was less that he had notmeantto do it and more that he could no longerresistdoing it. But when he bent his head tohers, she had made a little movement towards him, tilting her head up to his, and he had lost all control.

He kissed her so hard his lungs burned. It was so intense, it felt like dying. Either that, or he had forgotten how to breathe; but who needed breathing anyway? She angled her mouth to better accommodate him, and his knees began failing him.

He cupped her chin with both hands, bringing her face up to his as she melted against him, and he tasted the sweetness of her lips, then her mouth, until he was lost.

He found no reason to stop kissing her; he was dying for oxygen, but he was dying for her even more. When he felt her sigh and begin to sag against him, he quickly draped a hand around her waist and reluctantly parted his lips from hers.

“Are you all right, love?” His voice was making faint, choking sounds, his lips still mere inches from hers.

She leaned against him, nearly fainting, and he knew that he had done this to her, his kiss had done this to her, turned her weak. And that knowledge was enough to almost send him to his knees in front of her again.

“I am,” she replied. “You?”

He shook his head vehemently. “I am not all right. You are killing me.”

“I should…” She stepped away from him. “I should not be doing this, it is wanton.” Her little face looked tortured by guilt, but her cheeks were flushed with pleasure.

He felt his own lips, red and bruised and swollen—byher—stretch into a smile.

“But what do you want, Wyatt?” he murmured against her mouth, tugging her closer to him.

His knees nearly buckled again when she sighed against his lips, the breath soft and trembling with passion, but hegrabbed her arms to steady himself. Her hands instinctively came up to cup his elbows, and support his weight.

I don’t like to be touched.

I love to be touched.

“I,” Poppy whispered, licking those pink lips, and making him lose what was left of his sanity, “want to kiss you. To keep kissing you. Your lordship, I mean.”

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