With a sigh, Juliana conceded. They would both undoubtedly come to regret the decision, but she could not turn down the prospect of a bath, some food, and a few stolen moments of rest. If, of course, her body would allow her such a luxury with the temptation of Leo so near. Lord, but she wanted to rub herself all over his day’s growth of stubble.
“Very well,” she agreed. “A night at the inn.” But she would damned well be prepared for their inevitable visitor.
CHAPTER19
“At once, sir.” The innkeeper inclined his head and scurried toward the main stairwell down the inn’s dark corridor.
“The baths have been requested and will arrive after our meal. According to the innkeeper, we have the good fortune of arriving this night.” Leo said, closing the door to the bedchamber. “The cook prepared partridges, white soup, gooseberry cheese, and Bath buns, with pudding and trifle for dessert.”
“Oh, I do love a trifle.” Juliana hummed as she paced before the blazing hearth.
Leo strode forward, closer to where she walked, the heat only beginning to thaw his chilled body. He scratched at his chin and grimaced at the gentle abrasion. Hell, but not having his familiar facial hair was a damned nuisance.
The air between them was stilted,forced, but he didn’t know how to change it.
Putting his hands outward, he leaned into the warmth of the fire while Juliana’s pacing swirled the air against his back. The inn was by no means a comfortable establishment, with peeling, greying paint, fogged windows, a lumpy bed, and an acrid aroma that he was unwilling to contemplate. But it provided shelter and a modicum of safety for the moment, and he would be damned grateful for that.
Juliana made another pass at his back, and the faintest hint of her unique floral scent reached his nose. He bit back a curse at the sudden rush of blood in his ears and the stirring of his cock. Even after her lies, he still wanted her.Damnation.
He ought to put some distance between them, go to the taproom, and leave Juliana to her meal and her bath…but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side. And, damn it, he wanted to be there with her, wanted to discuss the monumental impact that the revelation of her identity had on his emotions and what they were doing together.
He opened his mouth to speak just as Juliana halted in her pacing and spun to face him. The little gasp on her lips drew his gaze, where it fixed.
Her bottom lip was slightly pinkened, as though she had worried it in thought. The contrast against the darker pink hue of her cheeks sent his heart to racing. An intense want—no,need—to kiss her burned through him, and every rational thought fled his mind.
With great strength of will, Leo held himself back and refused to allow his feet to move that last step toward her. Because he might bend her over the back of the dilapidated armchair by the hearth and find his pleasure in her sweet heat. But he was no animal, and she was a sodding duke’s daughter.
He cleared his throat. “I—”
The air whooshed from his lungs as Juliana swept forward and pulled him against her chest. In a moment of combined panic and arousal, his body remained still, while his cock eagerly swelled.
Fingertips roamed his jaw and found purchase in his hair as she rocked against him.
“Oh, Christ,” he moaned against her lips before finally letting go and kissing her with every ounce of the desire roaring through him.
Zing. A jolt of pleasure tightened his ballocks and sizzled up his spine as Juliana overwhelmed his body with sensation. Her nails abraded his scalp, her teeth and tongue tangled with his, her breasts pressed against his chest, and hermonsrocked against his erection.
Leo breathed her in, the scent of flowers and desire driving him nigh into madness. With clear intent, he walked her backward toward the bed. Keeping one arm around her, and trailing his tongue in a thin line along her jaw, Leo drew down the bedclothes.
“Please let me taste you,” he begged, nibbling at her collarbone.
“Taste me?” she asked, her voice high and husky.
He guided her backward, hovering over her as she half splayed upon the bed. “Do you trust me to ensure your pleasure?”
As though she were temptation incarnate, she wrapped her legs about his hips and nudged his length once more.Bloody hell, but the heat from her was heady, even through the tedious layers of clothing.
“Yes,” she breathed.
Oh, what that little word did, tightening his gut and causing warmth to spread across his chest and back. He would show her this bliss.
Ignoring the sharp pang of protest in his back and legs, he slid to his knees on the oft-trodden rug, his heart thundering. With purpose, he glided his palms up her legs, slowly exposing them to the air. Bruises marred her beautiful calves, thighs, and her delectable, taut arse, and he pressed tender kisses over each of them in turn.
Gripping each thigh, he carefully draped her knees over his biceps and curved his hands toward her apex.
“L-Leo,” she stuttered. “What are you—”
“Trust me,” he murmured.
