Page 13 of The Scandal You Started
He didn’t want to move his hand away, only wanted to pet her some more, but when her brows puckered in a frown, he curled his fingers into his lap, not wishing to frighten her further.
“Might you be willing to accept my apology and forgive me?” he prompted.
As her forehead smoothed out, she nodded.
His mouth spread into a wide smile. “Thank you.” Then he placed his upturned palm before her. “Shall we get you on your feet?”
The lovely creature settled her small hand in his larger, bandaged one. Dominic gently squeezed her fingers, supporting her as she leveraged herself. But once she’d managed to shuffle onto her knees, he looped his arm around her waist and pulled them both into a standing position in one swift move.
She let out the softest gasp and wobbled against him, gripping his bicep with her free hand for balance. Without thinking, without being able to stop himself, his arm cinched her flush against him. And gosh, he nearly groaned like a lusty fiend as his body greedily mapped hers.
Oh, sweet soil of Neves, she was most definitelynotwearing a stay of any kind.
Through the pathetic fabric of her…shirt—whatever the damned thing was—he could feel the heat and suppleness of her skin as if she were naked.
The generous curve of her hips. The graspable fullness of her thighs bracketed between his. And the delightful dip in her waistthat made him want to fall to his knees and nibble on her. There was this vanilla-cherry scent wafting off her in the sweetest of waves too, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was coming from the valley between her plump breasts squashed against his chest or the delicate crook of her neck. Or maybe from the tender spot just under her ear…
Gosh, she was a marvel.
Not quite coming up to his shoulders, she was forced to tip her head back to look him in the eyes. Nonetheless, she fit splendidly against him. So soft, pliant, and feminine against all the hard, rigid lines of his person. Like she was made for him.
She was everything he loved and desired in a woman epitomised.
Moulded right from the images that haunted his fantasies.
And that knowledge ignited him.
Like an anchor breaking through the surface of the sea, the initial impact sent thrashing waves of warmth in every direction, from his pounding heart to the twitching tips of his fingers and the lowest depths of his loins.
For the first time in what he had counted to be two weeks, he felt no fear or anger.
He felt desire, warm and potent in his blood, replacing the terrors of the past fourteen or so days with blissfully erotic thoughts of this mesmerising woman.
He’d never felt anything quite like it before in his life.
Having steadied herself, the woman, whose name he had yet to discover, pushed against him, trying to free herself from his hold. But he refused to release her.Couldn’t. In fact, he clamped his fingers tighter into her waist and held her a little closer, forgetting all proper etiquette.
“What is your name, sweetheart?” Dominic asked, his voice as thick as syrup.
The pushing and twisting of her hands didn’t quite stop, even though she fell still. “Ray—” she started, but a croak stole her voice away. After a moment, she tried again. “My name…is Rayna.”
Oh, her voice was charming too.
A little hoarse and raw, but sweet with a seductive, husky undertone. Not at all fake and high-pitched like most of the debutantes Mother Penny, his loving stepmother, tried to introduce him to as marriageable prospects. All out of the goodness of her heart, but still.
A jolt of arousal darted through his stomach at the thought of her—ofRayna—moaning and crying as she writhed underneath him, taking him deep in her most secret, precious place.
Dominic’s heavy, burning eyes darted over her head to the pathetic excuse of a bed tucked in the corner of his holding cell before dropping back down to her.
One very certain idea vibrated through the string tying his head to his groin.
He didn’t care who Rayna was to his kidnappers—he wanted her.
And he was going to have her on that rubbish bed, hoping it didn’t break under the hours of strain he intended to put it through.
But in the process of seducing her out of her clothes, he was also hoping she would willingly solve his unanswered questions about where he was and why.
Chapter 5
