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He cocked his head to one side. “Hide? There’s no need to hide from me.”
“Ah, there we disagree. I think there’s every need.”
“Why?”
“Well, there’s the fact that you are not only still touching my face, but your fingers are moving against my skin.”
“Moving?” It was his turn to huff a laugh. “I think ‘caressing’ would be a better word.”
Everything about her stilled except her throat, which swallowed.
“I have a powerful urge to kiss you, Sarah. May I?”
She raised her hand to her lips as if wanting to feel his against hers, and nodded.
Desire throbbed in his groin. He took her hand from her mouth and replaced it with his index finger, tracing its shape. “Such beautiful lips,” he murmured. “They’re made for kissing.”
He hesitated one moment just to make sure. He’d never taken anything or anyone who wasn’t his, and he had no intention of doing so with this gorgeous woman. But her only response was an unformed whimper.
He pressed his mouth to hers and for one long moment, neither moved. Then he felt her give a soft gasp, and he moved his lips against hers in a slow caress as he felt her shed the last lingering shreds of constraint and her body melted into his.
He slipped his hands around her waist as she pressed her hips against his. Her breath caught the moment she became aware of his arousal, but she didn’t pull away, only pressed harder against him. She wanted pleasure, and he knew he could give her what she wanted. But there was a vulnerable look in her eyes which made him stop.
“You should go to bed,” he said in a rush, his forehead pressed to hers.
He felt her nod in agreement as she pushed the door further open with her foot and they practically fell into her bedroom.
He released her and took a deliberate step away.
“I mean, you should go to bed alone. As much as I want this, you’re vulnerable. Alone. I can’t take advantage of you.”
The castle seemed to wheeze and shudder under the impact of the sandstorm. He stayed stock still, waiting to see what she’d do. And it wasn’t what he’d imagined.
She walked over to the bed and touched the columns of twisted dark wood, glanced at the bed, and then turned around.
“You won’t be taking advantage of me. I rather think it would be the other way around. You see, I’ve spent most of my life feeling alone. And yet, here, with you now, I don’t feel alone. And I don’t want you to leave.”
A war raged inside of him, equal to the storm outside. On one side, his desire for her was undeniable. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anybody. But on the other side, he knew that he’d be using her for his own ends. The more desire he felt, the more he knew he couldn’t honorably act on it.
“It would be wrong,” he said, knowing she wouldn’t understand. Knowing that she couldn’t beallowedto understand.
She didn’t move toward him, didn’t argue with him. Either of those things he could have handled. No, instead she began to undo the pearl buttons which ran down the front of the dress. It seemed her choice of weapon was to lure him over to her. It also seemed to work.
“Now tell me you don’t want me,” she said, keeping her head held high.
But he couldn’t because when she pushed the dress aside, he realized that she was naked underneath, and it would have taken a man made of ice not to have moved over to her. Not to run his hands over her shoulders, her arms, her waist and, as he pulled her to him in a kiss which was as passionate as the first had been gentle, not to have his hands run over her bottom, cup it and pull her hard against him.
And he was not made of ice.
CHAPTER 5
Sarah only had one thought running through her brain—she had to have him. From that first moment when he’d picked her up and carried her inside the castle, her body had responded to his touch. And now, after an evening of absorbing his every nuanced movement, sinking into the depths of his words and eyes and, more importantly, knowing he was listening to her, wanting to understand and know her better, she desired him even more.
She pressed her hand to her naked stomach and spread her fingers over her skin.
“Tell me you don’t want me,” she repeated, in a more confident voice as she saw the blaze of lust fill his eyes. She was terrified about only one thing—that he would walk away. “Because unless you tell me, I won’t believe you.”
He bridged the gap between them with one swift step, pushed his fingers through her hair and held her face while he pressed his lips to hers. There was nothing gentle about this kiss. Nothing searching, this was no subtle appreciation. But a taking of what he wanted. She had her answer.
