Page 13 of A Trickster’s Temptation

‘Miss Fine. I mean—Miss Hardwick.’ He reached out blindly, pulling Mary close as soon as his hands met her body. ‘Time for my torments, I think.’

To be kissed by a handsome criminal on a moonlit lawn, a ball happening a minute away, was too fantastical a dream for Mary to have ever imagined for herself. Accustomed to plainness, to being the wallflower in charge of helping showier blooms to shine, the idea of being centre of attention—the object of absolute focus—was almost as overwhelming as Adam's kiss itself.

This wasn't the first kiss she'd given him, shy and awkward. Neither was it the gentle, exploratory kiss Adam had given her in the kitchen. This was a full-bodied, thoroughly brazen kiss; one that whispered in Mary's ear that they were utterly alone, that the night was dark enough to conceal them from any prying eyes. Mary leaned forward, throwing her arms around Adam's neck as a shuddering sigh of pleasure left her throat.

This was the kind of kiss one could hunger for every day and night. An ardent, overwhelming kiss that made every nerve tingle with desire, every part of her body ache for touches and kisses that she had never been allowed to want before. Mary dug her fingers into the collar of Adam's coat, gripping the fabric tightly as she leaned upward onto her tiptoes.

Do everything to me.A thought that Mary Fine would never be able to express. But she wasn’t Mary Fine tonight; she was Amelia Hardwick, more or less, and could say things that she could never normally say.

‘More.’ She whispered in Adam’s ear, embarrassment tempering her pleasure for a single, fragile moment. ‘Please.’

‘More?’

‘Yes.’

‘Ask again. You’re so sweet when you ask.’

‘No.’ How did he manage to be irritating even at a moment like this—and why was it only making her desire stronger? ‘Absolutely not.’

Adam laughed. The sound tickled Mary’s skin as she kissed him fiercely, wanting the sound of the man’s joy inside her.

She shivered as Adam kissed his way along her collarbones, his mouth teasingly light as he came to the bodice of her gown. Her nipples ached, stiff and swollen beneath the fabric; Mary bit her lip, her cheeks hot, hoping Adam wouldn’t notice the hard points suddenly visible in the silk of her bodice.

‘Oh!’ She gasped as Adam brought his fingers to the exact points she was hoping he would ignore. ‘Don’t.’

‘Why?’ Adam’s hands stilled. ‘Does it not feel good?’

‘It’s not that. It feelstoogood.’

Adam laughed. The warm sound flowed over Mary like water, making her tremble again. ‘Miss Hardwick’s allowed to feel too good, even if you aren’t. Don’t you think?’

Yes. Yes, Amelia Hardwick was allowed to feel exactly as good as she wanted to, even if Mary Fine wasn’t. Mary nodded, kissing Adam before she could change her mind, and was rewarded with an intoxicating flood of sensation as Adam softly pinched her aching nipples with his fingertips.

His kisses moved downward once more. Now he was running his tongue along the line of Mary’s bodice, his thumbs tight on her tipples as he cupped her breasts. Now he was taking the full weight of her breasts, his fingers equal parts expert and brazen as he pulled down the neckline of both her bodice and the linen shift beneath it. Before Mary had time to cry out, to feel anything but exquisite shock, Adam brought his mouth to one of her nipples and sucked.

The rush of pleasure was so intense that it bordered on pain. Mary arched her back in a desperate attempt to get more of Adam’s mouth, his tongue; Adam sucked her nipple in strong, rhythmic tugs, his expression ferociously intent even though his eyes were closed, as if the only thing he wanted to do in this world was give her pleasure. His hands cupped her breasts with wicked ease, stroking her other nipple with his thumb in time with his tongue as he sucked.

‘Let me touch you too.’ Mary barely realised she’d spoken the words until she heard them. ‘Please.’

‘I haven’t started touching you yet.’ Adam slowly drew up a handful of Mary’s skirts; Mary gasped as he stroked along her upper thigh, his touch all at once familiar and deliciously alien. When he cupped her mound, parting her slit and pressing his fingers to her most intimate place as if it belonged to him, she couldn’t help crying out—and Adam’s laugh only heightened her pleasure. ‘See?’

‘Then let me touch you at the same time.’ Amelia Hardwick nudged Mary’s sensibilities in a more salacious direction. ‘I demand it.’

Adam immediately moved his hands to his breeches. Mary took hold of his shaft as soon as it emerged; Adam laughed and gasped at the same time, stilling her hands. ‘Slowly.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘No need to apologise.’ Adam kept his palms over Mary’s own; a tremble ran through his fingers, only making Mary more excited. ‘Now… stroke me. Like I stroked you.’

He freed Mary’s hands. Mary withdrew her fingers for a second, staring down at Adam’s rigid shaft, marvelling at the stiffness of it as Adam waited.

Slowly, eagerness eventually overcoming clumsiness, she took hold of his shaft. Adam moaned; the sound, raw and vulnerable, only made the fire at the meeting of Mary’s thighs burn brighter. She moved her fingers from the root of Adam’s cock to the tip, marvelling at the thickness of him, eventually caressing the swollen head of his cock as Adam leaned dizzily against her.

‘That feels too good.’ He murmured in Mary’s ear, his voice thick with lust. ‘Keep doing it.’

Mary smiled. To have him literally in the palm of her hand was delicious in a way she hadn’t expected. She stroked again and again, feeling more and more powerful every time she did it, then gasped as Adam’s hand moved between her legs again.

‘We can both feel too good together.’ Adam flickered his fingers against her bud again; Mary gasped, a delicious fire blazing at her core. ‘I promise.’

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