Page 43 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

Thank goodness they had gone along because Edwin had true darkness in his eyes that troubled her. Even when he was putting on an act for Luke.

He had honestly looked like a murderer more than Susanna had ever seen before. He made her feel so cold and uncomfortable, which was a sensation that she never wanted to go through again.

Edwin did not hang around in the stables long. He left the horse he had ridden with one of the stable boys and stormed inside before he had to spend yet another second with Luke and Mary.That was a relief because it meant Luke was safe for a little while longer.

Susanna did not need to worry as Mary and Luke took a little walk around the gardens, wanting to steal a few more moments alone before their day was flooded with wedding preparations.

“Well?” she hissed the moment she could speak to Martin alone. “What did you think about that?”

Martin frowned and shook his head. “Edwin was not behaving like a normal person. I truly am worried about what he is going to do. I might have seen regret in his eyes for a second when we were at the cliffs, but that had long gone by the time we got back here.”

“Well, we thwarted his plan today, so we should be proud of that.” Susanna stepped a little closer to Martin. “Whatever Edwin was going to do, he could not do it. Luke is alive and well. Safe to see another day. Honestly, at this point, it will be a relief to have the wedding over. Edwin will have to leave Mary alone then.”

“Do you think he will?” Martin asked her with a one-shouldered shrug. “It worries me that he will never leave them alone. I have never seen obsession like it.”

Susanna shook her head sadly. She did not like to think of Mary dealing with the Edwin issue forever. She did not deserve that. “But soon enough, we will be able to warn Luke and Mary abouthis behavior. Then they will be able to take precautions of their own.”

Martin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I hope you are right, Susanna. I hope they manage to get rid of his threat before anything terrible happens to them. I hope we help them find a way to rid their lives of him completely.”

All of a sudden, Susanna became acutely aware that everyone else had gone. All the stable boys had left, and there were only horses surrounding them. It seemed like Martin recognized the same thing as they were drawn to one another like they were being controlled by magnets.

Much as they both knew that their work was not done yet, and they still needed to keep an eye on Edwin, they also could not take this moment for granted. It was so rare that they could be wholly themselves around one another like this. Susanna was not going to let this moment slip by her…

An intense heat tore through her body as she could feel Martin’s breath tickling her lips. Everything about this was so wrong, but it felt so right. The twinkle in his eyes made her heart race. The nearer he got to her, the harder her heart pounded.

She shivered as his lips drew ever closer to her. The anticipation flooded her veins, causing her knees to weaken.

This was not wise… a part of her knew that she should stop this before it got too far…

But that was not what happened.

Instead, she rose on her tiptoes and finally closed the gap between them. They did not need distance, not anymore—what they really needed was to taste one another’s lips.

But Martin did not finish the connection, not right away. He rested his forehead on hers and stared into her eyes. Ragged breaths came tumbling out of her mouth as she spotted the intensity of the flames dancing in his eyes. It seemed, at least at this moment, that Martin wanted her just as badly as she did him.

All of a sudden, his finger hooked underneath her chin, and everything intensified. Susanna became so dizzy with desire that she did not even know if she was breathing any longer. It had never felt like this before, the lust had never been so powerful.

Then his lips edged towards her. Just a little bit at first, almost as if he was testing the waters, but the passion soon got the better of him, and he crashed against Susanna, claiming her with his mouth. The butterflies that had been flapping in the pit of her stomach exploded into the size of birds. Susanna held on to Martin, needing him to remain close to her. This was the best feeling she had ever experienced in her life.

“Oh my,” Susanna gasped as they finally broke apart, but only because they needed some air for just a moment.

Martin was not done with her yet. He kissed her again, this time much deeper and more passionately. His tongue massagedSusanna’s, his body pressed against her, and she lost her damn mind. Her legs had turned to jelly already, her pulse raced, all because of this amazing man.

“Martin, what are we doing here?”

But he did not even answer her. He was too busy caving to temptation and tugging up her skirts. It seemed like he quite seriously wanted her naked, and as utterly terrifying as that was, Susanna did not mind. She certainly allowed him to hitch her skirts up around her waist as he fell to his knees, tugging at her undergarments with his teeth.

“Oh, Susanna,” Martin moaned, his words vibrating against her thighs. “Your scent is intoxicating.”

Susanna could not hold herself up any longer, not with his mouth so close to her core and those intense words floating through her body. She stumbled backwards, bringing Martin with her, until she hit the stable wall behind her.

She did not have anywhere else to go once she was pressed up against the wall. He took full advantage of the moment, cupping her behind in his hands and trailing kisses along the hypersensitive skin of her thighs.

Just as her eyes fluttered shut, the feel of his fingers lightly grazing her core caused her hips to buck with desire. She had never been touched there, never been felt in such a way, and her whole body reacted to the feeling.

An inadvertent groan fell out of her mouth. Susanna knew that she was losing control of herself, she could feel any rationality falling away. This was a mistake, she knew that it was absolutely going to destroy her reputation, but at that moment, she did not care.

She never wanted this to end.

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