Page 29 of Anice’s Bargain

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James couldn’t still the roaring in his veins as his mouth nudged Anice’s, especially not when she gave a little whimper of desire. She swayed closer, the embodiment of temptation.

And God help him, he could not resist.

She rested her palms against his chest and rose on her toes to deepen their kiss, as eager as he. He swept his tongue against the silky warmth of hers and was rewarded with a gasp.

He shifted his hand to cradle the back of her head and slanted his mouth over hers. Her hot tongue stroked at his, clumsy with an innocence that surprised and delighted him. The headiness from drink mingled with the fire racing in his body and left him overwhelmed by lust.

His free hand glided down her side, over the swell of her breast. She gave a breathy moan and pushed into his hand. Encouraged by the sound, he let his fingers sweep over the hard bud of her nipple.

Her head fell back slightly, breaking away for only a moment before she slid her hands up to the back of his neck and resumed the kiss hungrily. She leaned closer to him, so their bodies were flush, and the hardness of his cock strained against her stomach.

She arched like a cat into his touch, pushing into him as though she wanted more. Without thinking, he cupped her bottom in his hands and pushed his pelvis to hers with his erection pressed between them.

He ought to stop. For her innocence, for his own foolish heart, for the lesson he’d learned previously about an attractive woman who reveled in lust.

Try though he might, the fullness of her mouth on his, and her firm rump in his hands, chased away all argument.

He drew up one side of her skirt and ran his hands over the smooth skin of her outer thigh. Her breath caught and her naked leg curled around him. His hand cupped the top of her leg, holding her in place, while his fingers carefully teased toward her center. His fingertips brushed over the sweet place between her legs. She gasped and her standing leg nearly gave way. He carefully eased her backward so the wall behind her supported her, as well as his body pressing her against it.

He slid his hand over her arse and this time traced her slit with his finger. Her head dropped to his chest and she gave a breathy sigh. James clenched his teeth and tried to ignore the growing tightness of his bollocks. Only a few kisses and Anice was slick with ready wetness.

She arched her hips to grind herself more firmly against his hand. He wanted to find the nub of her pleasure and roll it gently with his thumb; he wanted to slide a finger into her sheath, one at first and then two, stretching her for him. His cock ached with all he wanted to do.

What he might do if he let himself be too overwhelmed by his own lust.

A warning blared in his mind, a reminder anyone might see them where they were, a reminder of her innocence. “We shouldna do this out here,” James said between kisses.

Anice gave a hum of acknowledgement but did not still her kisses. Her hand at the back of his neck trailed away for her own brazen exploration. His chest, down lower to his stomach, down— God’s teeth. Her hand grazed over the tip of his swollen prick.

With a growl, he shoved open her door, pulled her through while she remained attached to him, closed it and pushed her against it. Desire pounded through his body and his kisses came with abandon as his hand found the heat of her mound beneath her skirts.

Her fingers curled around the hard outline of his erection and his breath hissed between his teeth. His bollocks clenched. Her touch moved over him, up and down, creating the most delicious friction between his trews and her delicate palm.

His fingertip discovered her bud and circled it until she cried out once more. She ground herself into the heel of his palm, riding his hand the way he wanted her to ride him. He captured her mouth and drank in the sounds of her passion.

The musk of sex hung in the air and made him nearly mad with wanting. A tug came from the lacings of his trews. She pulled at the soft leather thong with shaking hands.

“Nay.” With an impossible willpower James did not know he possessed, he put his fingers over hers to allay her intent. Once his cock was free, there would be no putting it back, not until he’d had this woman he’d vowed not to want.

“We are to be wed.” She gazed imploringly up at him.

He drew back and let her dress fall over her naked, shapely legs. “We are no’ wed yet.”

Her teeth sank into her lower lip and made him want to kiss her again. Again and again and again, until he lost himself enough to comply with her desires.

She leaned her head back on the door and closed her eyes, slowly and with obvious pleasure. “How can you kiss me like that, touch me like that, and then stop?” Her eyes opened and she met his gaze with a searing challenge. “Does it not make your body burn as it does mine?”

He swallowed and found his throat strangely dry. “Aye.”

“But you will not touch me again.”

He nodded in confirmation. “Ye’re to be my wife and deserve my respect.”

She gave him that coy look once more. “Just one more kiss?”

Against his better judgment, James touched her face and lowered his mouth to hers, this time delivering a chaste kiss, a simple brush of his lips over hers. The scent of her sex on his fingers tangled with her jasmine perfume and left his mind whirling.