Page 93 of His Scandal
“I’m not sure.”
He bit into his apple, and she was patient while he chewed it. When he didn’t offer more, she softly said, “Sometimes I feel like I’m always behind Blythe, in the shadows, I guess.”
“How ridiculous.” He tossed the apple aside and propped himself higher on his hand, so thatthey faced one another. “If you are, ’tis only because you put yourself there.”
“Did I?” she asked boldly, studying him, wanting to see that this connection between them was more than physical, that there was much they shared. “Why would I do that?”
He was watching her lips now, and she fought the urge to wet them with her tongue.
“You’re trying to distract me,” he said.
“From what?” Her voice was breathless as her desires cavorted madly throughout her body, making her feel hot and flustered and aching with the want of his touch.
He cocked his head to the side and reached up to cup her cheek. “I seem to remember that you still owe me a kiss.”
She looked at his mouth. “Why?”
“For turning Max into a much sought-after gentleman.”
She couldn’t think, could barely quote his words back to him. “The terms of the wager have certainly not been met. I think you said you could turn him into the most sought-after gentleman in all of England.”
His thumb rubbed across her bottom lip, parting it from the other. “But is he sought after by Blythe?”
She blinked slowly, lazily, leaning toward him. “Perhaps,” she whispered, then shuddered as his finger touched her tongue.
He suddenly released her and lay back on the embankment to look up at her. “I’m waiting.”
“This is hardly an appropriate time or place,” she murmured, bracing herself on one arm as she leaned above him. Her hair slid over her shoulder to pool across his chest, and for a moment, she could have sworn he was stunned. He might not love her, but he desired her, and she felt powerful in the night, with the stars above her and Alex vulnerable below her.
“This is the perfect time and place,” he said hoarsely. “Aren’t you always saying someone might see us?”
She had no other answer than to lean even nearer, bracing her arm on the other side of his body. She saw how rapidly he breathed, how intently he watched her face. He showed a raw desire that made her feel truly a woman.
She had learned much from him, and she used her knowledge well. With her mouth mere inches from his, she paused, letting her breath touch his face while she stared into his dark eyes. There was still so much he kept hidden, so much she wanted to understand.
But she understood the power that crackled between them. It was mutual desire. She leaned even closer, and when her hair slid against his face, he gasped.
Her body answered on its own, tightening deepinside until she wanted to press her thighs together to stop the ache.
“Alex,” she whispered, then lightly touched her mouth to his.
She felt him trembling as he lay there and allowed her the lead. She kissed him gently, her lips slightly parted as they tested the smooth shape of his. When she tasted the corner of his mouth with her tongue, she felt him shudder.
In one uncontrollable moment, they both turned their heads and deepened the kiss. She gladly opened her mouth to him, rasping her tongue against his, tasting everything he was and wanting more. Nothing mattered but being as close to him as she could, giving everything up to this man who more and more meant everything to her.
Emmeline lifted her head. “It’s time for poetry. Finish ‘The Seduction of Emmeline.’”
“Finish…” he whispered, his eyes widening.
She kissed him again, more confident with each intimacy. She rested her hand on the side of his face, feeling harsh stubble and smooth skin. “I think a stanza beneath the stars would be appropriate.” She moaned softly as her chest pressed to his.
His big hand cupped her head and brought their mouths together again. She found herself rolled sideways until Alex was above her. The feel of him pressing her down was more exciting thanshe ever could have imagined. His leg parted her thighs, and then his body slid between them. Though they were still separated by all their garments, the pressure of him in such an intimate place made her cry out and shudder beneath him. His moist kisses covered her face, her neck, and lower. He fumbled with a button on her bodice, and she heard the slight tear of the delicate fabric. It mattered not a whit to her.
But it must have to him. He suddenly stilled, his head at her breasts. Slowly, his gaze met hers.
