Page 50 of A Raven Repents

There was a shuffling noise in the hall and she pulled herself back, looking around.

“It’s just Thistle,” Giles assured her.

Embarrassment made her skin prickle. “I didn’t realize we had an audience.”

Giles chuckled, not looking the least bit concerned. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Without asking permission, she extinguished all sources of light in his bedroom, even pulling the curtains shut.

He closed the door quietly, but there was no sound of footsteps coming toward her. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked, still standing by the door.

“Yes.” She felt her way around the bed and reached out until her hands landed against his chest. “I’m sure.”

He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in, his lips firm and demanding. His tongue danced with hers for just a moment before sliding along her jaw to her ear. “Darkness has its advantages.” He curled his fingers into her hair and pulled her head back. She was completely at his mercy, but she was safe with him.

His tongue traced a meandering path from the hollow at her throat before dipping into her mouth. It was just a brief possession, but it left her utterly breathless as he moved on to her other ear. “Get those clothes off and I’ll show you just how much fun it can be.”

His hand was gone from her hair, and so was the rest of him as he slipped around her and disappeared into the darkness.

“I don’t hear any clothes rustling yet.”

She struggled to catch her breath. She reached around and opened her belt, followed quickly by her skirts. Her stomach quivered, her nerves heightened by not knowing where he was in the room. She stepped out of her skirts and started on the buttons of her blouse.

“Are you naked yet?” he asked from across the room.

She could hear her own nervousness in her laughter. “Are you?”

“As much as I’m going to be. Now turn around and I’ll help you with your laces.”

His hands were warm on her shoulders, and his lips even more so against her neck. The pressure of her corset eased, and he reached around to unhook it. But when his lips left her neck, she reached up to pull him back down, her fingers curling into his hair.

“I wasn’t done with that yet.” She surprised herself with the bold command. But his low purr vibrated against her skin. Clearly, he liked her brazenness.

“As you wish.” His teeth scraped gently over her neck before he bit her shoulder, sending a chill down her arm. “Where else would you like to make use of my mouth tonight?”

Dear Lord. His salacious words made warmth blossom between her thighs. “I very much liked what you did last night.” Her voice was weak with desire and her heart raced.

“Did you?”

She nodded urgently.

“And you want that again?”

“Yes, please.”

He chuckled against her neck as his hand claimed her breast. “So polite.” He squeezed her nipple, forcing a moan from her. “But I don’t want polite. Not in the bedroom. So this time, you’re going to take what you want. Get naked.”

He gave her backside a firm squeeze, and then he was gone. She heard the bedclothes as he threw them back and climbed onto the mattress. What did he mean, she was going to take what she wanted?

“I’m waiting,” he said from the bed.

Pushing aside her concerns, she quickly divested herself of her remaining clothes and walked to the side of the large bed. She climbed in and laid her head on his shoulder. How was it possible for him to be so warm and inviting?

“What do you think my mouth is going to do all the way down there?”

She pushed herself up and claimed his lips. He kissed her in return, but otherwise, just laid there on his back.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she admitted.