She gasped as I manhandled her. I smirked. “You liked that.”
“You surprised me,” Araceli insisted, even as her hands went up to grab my shoulders.
I’d never been so pleased to be tall and strong before now. “You liked it, my flower.”
She chuckled in acknowledgment. I’d found a good nickname, then. “I’d never turn down an offer from you.”
Our lips connected. I ran my hand down her body and circled a nipple. She smiled into my mouth, rocking closer into me.
I let my hand go down farther. She gasped and held me tighter as I rubbed her. The sweat of our bodies filled the air. I was tired, but oh, how I wanted this. I needed to make her unravel as she’d made me. Each sultry pant told me I was on the right track. Inching my hand downward, I asked, “Should I give you a finger?”
“HEDRI, STOP!” Araceli screamed, shoving me off the bed.
It felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown over the room. Araceli gaped at me, wide-eyed and trembling. Slowly, I raised my hands and backed away. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve done nothing wrong.” Araceli gripped a fistful of red hair. “Shit. That wasn’t because of you. I thought … I thought I could handle it.”
I grabbed a chair on the other side of the bedroom and sat down. “We never did talk about how I’m not in my own body.” In retrospect, that seemed like a huge blunder. I’d been so caught up in my own insecurities that I’d never considered how Araceli might feel about making love to the body of the woman who had plotted her parents’ deaths.
Araceli gulped. “This is on me. I should have guessed that might happen, and now I’ve made you feel worse about yourself.”
“No, no, you haven’t. I’m selfish for not considering how you might feel.”
Araceli pushed her hair out of her face and sighed. “As you know, I used to flirt with the Blood Duchess. It was a good way to control her. Duchess Hedri wasn’t interested in women, but she liked people to be in love with her. It fed her ego. She trusted me because she thought I loved her.”
“That must have been difficult.”
“Honestly, I did find her body objectively attractive.”
“I had some idea about that.”
Araceli sagged against the wall. “That’s why I thought I could do this with you, without making an ass of myself.”
“You’re not an ass.”
“I even thought it would be nice to have the haughty duchess’s body writhing under me and at my mercy.”
“That’s a little ass-like.” The words popped out before I could stop them. What was I thinking, hitting poor Araceli at her lowest point? I froze, mortified. “I’m sorry for saying that!”
Araceli threw back her head and laughed until her air ran out. She wiped a tear from her eye. “When you have that look on your face, you’re so different from the Blood Duchess, it’s miraculous. When I was touching you, I completely forgot who you were.”
“That’s nice to hear.” I swallowed. “I was a little nervous that you might only want the duchess’s body, not me.”
“That’s not true at all. I never once thought about touching the real duchess like that. I only wanted it because ofyou.” Araceli waved at me to come closer again. Slowly, tentatively, I sat down on the bed next to her. She took my hand. “We really should have talked first. I could have told you there was a chance I might freak out, so you wouldn’t be caught off guard. I was trying to push my way through.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” I felt hurt that she would think she couldn’t talk to me and nervous I’d somehow caused it. “I’m sorry if I pressured you.”
“You didn’t!” She nearly leapt up with the force of the words. “Please don’t blame yourself. I’ve always lived by a motto of ‘seize themoment.’ An assassin’s life can be short. I thought we might not have another opportunity and took a chance. I honestly don’t regret anything we did, only that I might have hurt your feelings.”
“Hey, you don’t need to worry about me. It went wrong when I tried to touch you back, right?”
Glumly, Araceli nodded. “I didn’t feel scared when I was the one touching you.”
I hung my head. “I really am sorry.”
She squeezed my hand. “For the last time, you have nothing to apologize for. I was encouraging you. I was enjoying it, until I saw your face—the duchess’s face—and suddenly I forgot who was touching me.”
“We could try again, when I get my body back. If you still want to then.” I glanced at her sideways.
