Page 28 of Shy Innocent In The Spotlight

He put her glass to one side. ‘Why is that a problem?’

Elspeth gave a rueful smile. ‘Because we’re practically strangers, that’s why.’

He picked up a loose strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear, his touch so gentle it made her heart tighten. ‘You don’t feel like a stranger to me.’ His voice was still as rough as the pockmarked flagstones beneath their feet. ‘And if it’s any comfort to you, I’ve shared things with you I haven’t shared with anyone else.’

Elspeth looked into his grey-blue eyes, struck by how dark and lustrous they were. ‘Really?’

His smile was crooked. ‘You have a strange effect on me, Elspeth Campbell.’

She moved closer, winding her arms around his neck so her lower body was flush with his. ‘So I can tell. Thing is, what are we going to do about it?’

‘This,’ he said and covered her mouth with his.

Mack wondered if he would ever get tired of kissing her soft mouth. The sweet taste of her filled his senses, dazzled his senses into overload. He was supposed to be keeping her at arm’s length but every time he was near her, he wanted her with an ever more pounding ache. It was like a fever in his blood—a virulent fever that had no other antidote but her.

Her body’s response to him fuelled his desire. Making him burn, boil and blister with the need to get as close as humanly possible. He dragged his hungry mouth off hers only long enough to groan, ‘I want you.’

‘I want you too.’ Her voice was whisper-soft, her beautiful blue eyes shining with desire. The same desire he could feel pummelling through his body. A desire that begged, pleaded, roared to be assuaged as soon as possible.

Mack couldn’t wait for her to walk inside with him. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her indoors.

‘What are you doing?’ she squeaked. ‘You’ll do your back in.’

‘I like holding you in my arms.’

‘I like being held by you but that doesn’t mean I can’t walk on my own.’

‘Indulge me. I’ve never carried a woman up three flights of stairs before. It’ll be good for me.’

She laughed and linked her arms around his neck. ‘Crazy man. You’re a glutton for punishment.’

Glutton was right. Mack was hungry for her in a way he had not been for anyone else. It shocked him how much he wanted her. How could he have thought he could resist her? How could he have thought one night was going to quell the hot tight ache of his flesh? Why else had he brought her away to France? He wanted more time with her—time to explore the explosive chemistry that flared between them. The chemistry he had felt the first time he had been in the same room as her.

Was it her inexperience that had so impacted him? That she had gifted him herself in such a trusting way? How could he not be honoured and touched by her trust in him? How could he not be affected by their mutual desire? He couldn’t explain the deep connection he felt with her. It was beyond anything he had experienced before.

And all he knew was, he wanted to experience it again. And again. With her.

Only with her.

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