Page 70 of His Sinful Touch

Sabrina trotted up the stairs, her steps growing faster and surer. Skinning out of her clothes, she carefully folded them and set them aside; there was no telling how long she would have to wear them, and she had brought only one other dress. She washed as best she could with only a washbasin and soap and slipped into the nightgown she had brought with her.

She ran her hands down the front of it with a sigh, wishing for something prettier. But the nightgown Alex had put in her bag was equally simple and unadorned. She smiled to see that he had also included a light dressing gown—trust Alex to remember the details. Wrapping the robe around her, she brushed out her hair and sat down to wait.

It seemed forever before she heard Alex’s footsteps in the hall outside. She jumped to her feet and faced the door, heart pounding. Alex slipped quietly inside, then turned and saw her. “Sabrina! What are you doing up? I thought you would be, um...” His gaze slid toward the bed, cover turned down invitingly, then quickly away. “Asleep,” he finally added. He took a step back, reaching for the door handle. “I’ll go back down and—”

“No, wait.” Sabrina stopped, embarrassed. Why hadn’t she thought this through? Decided what to say? “I...didn’t want to go to sleep. I wanted to see you.” She moved forward. As he was already at the door, he could not back up any farther.

“Oh. I see.” His eyes dropped down to the white V of nightgown that showed between the lapels of her robe, then back up. “Of course. But, thing is, this may not be the best time to talk. Tomorrow morning, perhaps.” He felt behind him for the door handle.

“No, not tomorrow morning. It must be now.”

“Very well.” He paused, one hand on the door, poised to leave. “What is it you want?”

“You,” Sabrina replied and shrugged off her dressing gown, letting it drop to the floor.

Chapter Twenty-Four

ALEX STARED, HIS MOUTH opening and closing without a word coming out. At last he said hoarsely, “Sabrina...you don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I beg your pardon.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. “I most certainly do. I’m not a child.”

“No, of course, I didn’t mean that.” His eyes flickered down her. Sabrina knew that even in the dim light, he could see the outline of her body, the darker circle of her nipples, and it made her blush. If he refused her, she didn’t know how she could face him again.

His hand tightened on the door handle, and he said, “I meant, I can’t—If I kiss you, if I touch you, I’ll only want more. It’s easier not to start.”

“But I want more, as well.”

“Sabrina...” He stretched the word on a groan. “I cannot.” He let go of the handle and half turned away, sweeping one hand back through his hair.

“I’m sorry.” Sabrina faltered. This wasn’t how she had pictured it; in her mind, everything had simply flowed. He would see her dressed for bed, waiting for him, and he would know. He would take her in his arms. She looked down at her discarded robe, wondering how she could gracefully pick it up and put it on again. “Perhaps I have presumed too much. I thought you wanted to...”

“Of course I want you!” Alex insisted, his voice rising. He stopped and drew a breath, visibly reining himself in. “I think I’ll go mad sometimes, wanting you. Do you know how much I think of you? How often I remember kissing you, holding you? But I would be the veriest cad to take you to bed tonight. When your memory returns, you may not feel the same. For all we know, you might not even remember me or this night. What if our assumptions are wrong? What if you love that man? You would regret tonight and curse me for having taken advantage of you. The last thing in the world I want is for you to despise me.”

Sabrina looked at him for a long moment, then said softly, “I could never despise you.” She came closer. “I’ve thought about this all evening. I’ve worried about what I would do if my memory returned or I found I’d been married. But I realized, the other things don’t matter. This is what I want.”

“But—”

“Shh.” She laid her forefinger against his lips. “Listen to me. The past doesn’t matter. I don’t care what the legalities are. If I awoke tomorrow and didn’t recognize you, it would make no difference. I know you in here.” She laid her hand over her heart. “I remember nothing else in my life, but I remembered that one dream of you. You are who I want. This is what I want. No matter what the future holds, I won’t regret tonight.”

His eyes darkened, and when he said her name, it was a caress. “Sabrina...” He cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking over her cheeks. “You are so beautiful.” He bent and pressed his lips lightly to hers. “When I’m around you, I can’t think of anything but you.” He kissed her again, more lingeringly this time.

His palms against her cheeks were suddenly searing, and he moved into her. Never breaking their kiss, he let his hands fall to her shoulders and glide down over her arms, setting every nerve there alive. Sabrina kissed him back eagerly, wanting to know, wanting to feel, and he answered by putting his hands to her waist and pulling her tightly against him. She felt his body, so hard, so different from her own, pressing into her.

He kissed her again and again—her lips, her cheeks, her eyes, her throat. His mouth roamed over her skin like a man long starved. Sabrina reveled in the sensations coursing through her—wanting to luxuriate in every sensual moment yet wanting to race forward to the destination that beckoned. Deep within her, heat grew and pulsed. She yearned to be rid of her clothes, ached to feel Alex’s hands on her skin. His skin beneath her fingertips.

Alex’s needs obviously matched hers, for he pulled back to sweep off his jacket and toss it aside, followed by his ascot and stickpin. Sabrina’s fingers went to the buttons of his waistcoat. When she was done, there was still the line of buttons down the front of his shirt—why did men have so many pieces of clothing? she wondered. A waistcoat seemed excessive, especially given the added entanglements of pocket watch, fobs and chain.

But when she had the shirt unbuttoned, her fingers slowed, enticed by the sight of his bare chest, lean and muscled. She pulled the sides apart and back, exposing more of his skin. She spread her hands out over his chest. His breath came in and out more rapidly, but he said nothing, merely watched her, mouth softening and eyes burning more hotly, as she took her time exploring him.

The tails of his shirt were still caught in his trousers, and she pulled them up and out. There was another button, and then his cuff links to be undone, but he waited patiently, unmoving except to suck in his breath when her fingertips drifted across the soft skin of his stomach. Sabrina slanted up a questioning glance, but seeing the heat in his gaze, she let her fingers drift back, slowly circling and teasing across his flesh.

Gliding her hand back up, she circled each taut masculine nipple, feeling her own nipples tighten in response. She knew that Alex, too, saw hers hardening, thrusting against the thin cotton of her nightgown, for he swallowed hard, his eyes fastened on her chest. Almost lazily, he raised his hand and brushed his knuckles across her breasts, arousing the sensitive tips through the material.

He cupped her breasts in his hands, watching the circling of his thumbs around the tight buds of her nipples. A damp warmth blossomed between Sabrina’s legs, and she began to ache, the feeling growing with every stroke of his thumbs. When he kissed her, taking her mouth as he caressed her breasts, she shuddered, desire blazing through her.

His hands left her breasts, but before she could utter a murmur of discontent, they were gliding over her stomach and around to her back. His fingertips trailed down her spine, light as down. He spread out his hands and curved them over her buttocks, lifting her up onto her toes and into his pelvis. She felt every hard inch of him pulsing against her, and the throbbing between her legs grew even more insistent.

One arm hard around her waist to hold her to him, Alex teased his other hand between her legs from behind, startling a surprised noise from her. He lifted his head and smiled down into her eyes, his fingers working the sensitive cleft.