Page 20 of Victorian Bride

“What are you doing here?” she demanded as she opened the door. “You nearly frightened me to death!”

“I had to see you,” he said. “I could not wait.”

He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers.

Chapter 9

There was a part of Mya that worried, even as she sank against Kayden's chest and arched into the kiss, that they would be discovered.

That part was very distant.

The rest of her was consumed with Kayden, the way his arms felt wrapped around her waist and the way his lips pressed against hers. She breathed in the scent of him and forgot entirely that air was a necessary thing.

When they at last broke apart, both of them were breathing harder, and Kayden was grinning like a fool.

“I’m glad I did not wait,” he said, and then he drew her in again.

The second kiss was slower, gentler this time. He explored every inch of her mouth, his hands sliding over her body as they breathed in each other's air.

Mya's knees threatened to give out under the onslaught of sensations. It felt like she’d been waiting to kiss him forever. His muscular body seemed every inch as strong as she had dreamt it would be. His tongue seared a blaze inside of her that awoke her very core.

Their kiss broke, but Kayden did not let her go. The hand on her hip was curled around the curve of her corset, holding her close. She could still feel the warmth of his breath against her lips, the heat of his skin pressing through cloth.

“You look enchanting tonight,” he said, his voice husky and low. “I meant to tell you so, before you decided that I was no longer acceptable company.”

“I didn't want us to get caught,” Mya said, her cheeks heating—from the compliment or their intimate position, she wasn’t sure. “If we’d been noticed, there would have been gossip, and I have Lottie’s and Ella's reputations to think about as well as my own. I'm not going to repay their generosity by ruining their public images.”

Kayden laughed. “You are so very earnest. But I hardly think Lottie and Ella have any great concern about their reputations. Or did you not hear about Eleanor's little moment tonight?”

“If you're talking about her turning down that dance offer,” Mya said, “I was there. Turning down a man for a dance, even if it is done in a somewhat rude manner, is not nearly as bad as being caught kissing in the refreshment room.”

“And yet, we were not caught. So there’s no need to worry.” He smiled, and it had a wicked edge. Mya took a tiny step back, already feeling overly warm. “I will tell you something else, as well.”

“And what is that?”

“That being caught kissing in the refreshment room is not nearly as scandalous as being caught naked in your bed with me.”

Mya laughed. “Is that how you think this is going to go, then?”

“That is exactly how I think it is going to go,” Kayden said, taking another step forward. She matched it with a step back. “If you had not wanted me here, you would never have opened the door.”

“I could still tell you to leave,” Mya pointed out.

“You could,” Kayden agreed. “But would you?”

The next step had the back of Mya’s legs pressed against the bed. Kayden moved forward another, and then the next, until he was standing almost pressed against her body. Mya sat down on the edge of the mattress, skirts spilling around her.

“You are wearing far too many clothes,” he said.

“I am aware of that, thank you.”

Kayden laughed, and reached for the pins that held her hair up, slowly pulling them free and dropping them on the bedside table one by one. “There are ways around that,” he said, when he had finished and the copper locks were loose around her shoulders.

“Ways around clothes?”

He grinned wickedly at her. “Would you like me to show you?”

“I think I am quite aware of how—” She didn't have time to finish before Kayden had gone to his knees in front of her. The words caught in her mouth, her throat suddenly dry.