Page 21 of A Lady's Dangerous Secret
“Come with me.” James grabbed Charlotte’s hand and led her down the stairs to the gardens.
“Do you know where you’re going?” she asked.
“No, but that has never stopped me before.” He pulled her down a path past rosebushes not yet in bloom.
Charlotte could see her breath, given the earliness of the season, yet she did not feel cold at all.
She burned inside.
They passed a fountain and continued deeper into the gardens, making a turn down a narrow, overgrown path. Charlotte soon found herself in an alcove under latticework covered by vines. There, a small stone bench was placed under the arbor. James sat and pulled Charlotte onto his lap.
Even though she knew it was wrong, it felt so right.
For the first time, she was at eye level with his silvery gaze, which was cast in shadows from the arbor. Moonlight filtered through the vines and latticework, speckling his face. Despite the darkness, Charlotte could see that the storm normally in his gaze was absent. Instead, there was a hunger she had not witnessed before.
“I can’t stop touching you. Please tell me to stop,” he said as he stared at her.
“I can’t,” she responded.
He shifted and she felt a rigid form pushing against her thigh. From what she had gathered from following her brothers and their friends, she understood what that meant.
Charlotte wanted him, too.
If she was going to be forced to spend her life with a kind but fatherly man, she would never have a chance to experience passion like this. She may be innocent, but she knew the fire between them was something special.
He captured her mouth again and thrust his tongue inside, seeking more. She responded with the same fervor, wanting all of him. She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer. Their tongues intertwined at a frenetic pace. His hands wrapped around her waist, urging her closer to his body.
His lips left hers, and she felt a sudden void as the cool air danced around her tingling mouth. She quickly forgot about this loss of connection when his lips trailed down her neck again, this time descending lower. Her head tilted back to expose more of her chest, and she let out a moan she could not control. She felt his hands leave her waist and move to the front of her dress.
He tugged down her bodice, exposing her left breast and nipple to the night air, causing it to pucker. He dipped his head down, and his warm breath relieved the chill. His lips wrapped around her nipple, and his tongue ran circles around the nub,stimulating it further. He caught the nipple slightly with his teeth, sending a jolt of pleasure from her breast to her core.
Charlotte gasped in response.
He lifted his head and gave a devilish grin. “Do you like that?”
Before Charlotte could respond, he diverted his attention to her other breast and sucked and nipped just as much as its partner. Her bottom wriggled against his lap and searched for more.
“Dammit, Charlotte. You’re going to make me spend in my breeches.”
He called me Charlotte.
Through her sensual haze, the thought crossed her mind. She liked the sound of her name in his gruff voice, stripped of all formality.
James lifted his head. Her chest heaved as her insides coiled in anticipation of what was to come.
“Give me more,” she begged, wanting to ease the tension in her core.
A chill surrounded her legs. The skirt of her gown was bunched at her thighs, and James’s hand snaked its way up her leg, past her stockings and garters. His mouth returned to her nipple, distracting her. Suddenly, his hand was between her folds. Charlotte clutched the back of his head and tugged on his hair to counteract the sensations that overwhelmed her.
His finger grazed her entrance. He paused and lifted his eyes. “You’re so wet for me.”
Charlotte could not answer.
She was flooded with a deluge of new, pleasurable feelings. His finger moved through her folds, coating itself in her juices.
“I want to watch you,” he murmured.
His finger slowly entered her, and her breath caught as her eyes flew toward the heavens.
