Page 37 of A Raven Repents

“Did she give you the thrashing you were worried about?”

“Worse.” He breathed a tortured laugh.

“What could be worse than a thrashing?”

He closed his eyes, wishing he could erase the embarrassing conversation. “She asked me if I need advice on how to seduce you.”

Christina gasped. “She did not.”

Giles laughed. “She did.”

For a moment she was quiet, probably shocked into silence. But eventually she spoke. “Well, do you?”

He whipped his head to face her. “Not you too.” Her smile was taunting. “I assure you I am perfectly capable. But I’ve yet to make adequate amends to start down that path. Unless…” He studied her face to watch her reaction. “Is that something you want? Am I depriving you of it by trying to be honorable?”

Pink filled her cheeks and she looked down at her lap. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. Slowly, she raised her eyes back to meet his. “But I wouldn’t be opposed to another kiss.”

Those words stoked his whisper of lust into something much more insistent. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that either.” He hooked his finger under her chin. “You have the most kissable lips I’ve ever seen. Do you know that? Pink, plump, and perfect.”

“All the Ps?”

He nodded. “All the Ps.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Gently, he pressed his lips to hers. He hadn’t lied. They were perfect. Supple and receptive as he moved over them with soft, nipping kisses. He teased them with the tip of his tongue, and she whimpered.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No.” Her voice was slightly breathy.

“If you want me to stop, you will tell me, right?”

“I’m not a shrinking violet, Giles.”

He breathed a laugh. “I’ve noticed.”

“Then kiss me.”

As his lips pressed to hers again, a wave of something new washed through Christina's body. A sensation she’d never felt before. Something needy and desperate. He pulled her bottom lip gently between his, and a moan escaped her. Please don’t stop. It was all she could think as his tongue traced the seam of her lips. She opened for him, and he teased the tip of her tongue with his own.

She pulled herself away, startled by her body’s response to him. Barely a day ago, she’d despised him, but suddenly, she had urges. The urge to be close to him. The urge to climb into his lap and wrap her arms around him. He watched her but didn’t speak.

“I think we could have had a much better start if you had simply kissed me instead of shouting. Your lips have rendered me quite incapable of being angry with you.”

His slow smile sent her pulse racing. “I’ll keep that in mind for future reference.”

She wanted more from him, but she wasn’t sure how to ask for it, so she just continued to stare at him.

“Have you had enough kissing for the night?”

“No.” She paused to gather her courage. “I think I want you to seduce me.”

He shook his head, and it irked her. “You’re not ready for that.”

“Of course. I’m just a woman, and I don’t know my own mind. Only you could possibly know what’s best for me. You’re just like every other—” His lips cut her off, mid-sentence as they claimed hers. His fingers speared into her hair, stopping her from pulling away. But she didn’t want to anyway. She wanted this. She pushed up onto her knees to get closer. But then she realized what he’d just done and she laughed.

“Hoisted on my own petard.”