Page 79 of To Bed the Bride
She’d thought the same thing. Logan had annoyed her, then become a friend. Now he was so much more, but she couldn’t say that, could she?
Every Wednesday when she’d come to see Bruce, she’d hoped he would be here. To see, to touch, to talk to. She hoped he’d be waiting for her. When he hadn’t appeared, she sat in his house and accepted his hospitality. It had both comforted her and made her miserable.
They were standing too close. She placed her hands on his chest. He covered her hands with his.
Her arms went around his waist. He lowered his head, the warmth of his breath causing shivers down her back.
His hands were suddenly on her waist and then upward on her sides, almost at her breasts. She could feel them through her clothing, as if his fingers were on her bare skin.
She should move. Now. Before anything else happened, she should step back, apologize for coming, and leave. This visit had already been too long. At least on Wednesdays, Mrs. Campbell was here. Now no one stood between them and scandal. They were bending, if not breaking, all the rules of propriety.
It was so hard to move. She wanted to remain exactly where she was, friended and protected, safe and valued.
The tick of the mantel clock measured the moments. Still, she didn’t step back and walk toward the door. His arms were still around her, his stance as immobile as hers.
Finally, he pulled back. He didn’t speak for the longest time, his eyes searching her face.
“I want to kiss you.”
Her heart felt as if it stopped, then started again. “Do you?”
“Yes, in violation of every whisper from my conscience. You should leave.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then we’ll both be fools.”
“Is it really important to be wise?” she asked. “I haven’t been very happy lately, but I’ve been very wise.” She placed her hands on either side of his face. “Can’t we both be fools together, Logan? Please kiss me.”
A second later she was back in his arms, his mouth on hers.
She wanted to stop time itself, memorize these moments so that she could always recall them.
He hadn’t kissed her often enough. They hadn’t done this as many times as she’d wanted, as often as she’d thought about. In her dreams his kisses had led to even more scandalous things. Then, he touched her everywhere, learning her, causing her body to heat and her mind to simply stop.
She wanted to match the dream to reality, make all of that happen. She wanted to stroke her fingers over every part of him.
Long moments later he ended the kiss, pulling back, but keeping her within his embrace. They were both breathing hard but they still didn’t separate, as if each needed the other to keep standing.
When he spoke his voice was harsh. “Stop me, Eleanor, because I’m not certain I can stop myself.”
“Must we stop?”
She’d never been as brave as she was at that moment.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Yes, I do. I know what happens next. You forget what Hearthmere is. We breed horses. Growing up there I couldn’t help but learn about nature.”
His cheeks were bronzed, his smile wry. “So I’m a stallion now, is that it?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling.
Her hands rose to her collar. She unfastened one button and then another. This bodice had entirely too many buttons, a thought she’d had this morning when dressing. At the time seduction hadn’t occurred to her. If it had she would have chosen another outfit.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Undressing,” she said. “Unless you want me to simply toss my skirts over my head.”
