“You don’t understand.” Her voice broke. “I can’t afford to just be me. Too many people depend on …”
Aaron’s hand cupped her cheek, cutting off her words. His thumb stroked along her cheekbone with devastating gentleness. “Let me take care of you. Just for tonight. Let me carry some of this burden.”
Louise leaned into his touch despite every rational thought screaming at her to pull away. “I … I don’t know how.”
Aaron’s thumb moved to trace her lower lip, and his eyes darkened to near black. “Then let me show you how.”
The last word came out rough, desperate, and Louise felt her last defense crumble. “Please.”
His mouth crashed into hers with none of the gentleness of their first kiss. This was desperation and need, months of denial combusting in an instant. Louise’s hands fisted in his coat, pulling him closer as he backed her against the bookshelf.
“Louise.” Her name was a prayer against her lips before he claimed them again, deeper this time, his tongue sliding against hers in a way that made her knees weak.
She gasped when his mouth moved to her throat, finding that sensitive spot below her ear that made her whole body shiver. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding him against her as he pressed hot kisses along the column of her neck.
“You’re destroying me,” he breathed against her skin, the words torn from somewhere deep and unguarded. “Louise, I can’t … I can’t think when you’re near me. Can’t breathe. Can’t remember why I’m supposed to stay away.”
“Good.” She pulled his mouth back to hers, pouring all her frustration and longing into the kiss.
His hands spanned her waist, burning through the silk of her gown. When he lifted her slightly, pressing her more firmly against the shelves, she made a sound that seemed to shatter his remaining control. Nothing existed beyond Aaron’s mouth on hers, his hands in her hair, the solid warmth of his body pressing her into the leather-bound volumes at her back.
“Louise.”
His mouth left hers to trace a path along her jaw, down the column of her throat. Louise tilted her head back, giving him access, her fingers clutching his shoulders as if he were the only solid thing in a world gone liquid.
He found the sensitive hollow at the base of her throat and lingered there, his tongue tasting the flutter of her pulse. She gasped, her hips arching against him without conscious thought.
“So beautiful,” he murmured against her skin. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted this? Wanted you?”
His lips traveled lower, following the neckline of her gown, pressing hot kisses along the swell of her breasts where they rose above the pearl silk. Louise’s breath came in shallow gasps, her fingers tangling in his hair, holding him closer.
“Aaron.” His name escaped her in a moan.
He groaned in response, his hand sliding up from her waist to cup her breast through the silk. His thumb brushed across the peak, and Louise cried out, the sensation shooting through her like lightning. He did it again, deliberately this time, watching her face as pleasure transformed her features.
“Tell me to stop,” he said roughly, his breath hot against the curve of her shoulder. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”
“Don’t.” She pulled his mouth back to hers. “Don’t you dare stop.”
He kissed her deeply, hungrily, as his fingers worked at the fastenings of her gown. The silk loosened, slipping from one shoulder, and his mouth followed, trailing fire across her newly bared skin.
Louise shivered as the cool library air met her heated flesh, but Aaron’s hands were there, warming her, worshipping her. He eased the fabric lower, exposing the thin chemise beneath, and cupped both breasts in his palms. The sensation of his hands on her, even through the delicate linen, made her knees buckle.
He caught her, lifting her more firmly against the shelves, his thigh pressing between hers. The pressure sent a jolt of pleasure through her core, and she whimpered against his mouth.
“I’ve dreamed of this,” he confessed between kisses, his voice rough as gravel. “Every night since that snowstorm. You in my arms. The sounds you make. The way you taste.”
His mouth descended to her breast, closing over the peak through the thin chemise. Louise’s head fell back against the books, a moan escaping her that she couldn’t have silenced if she’d tried. His tongue circled, teased, tormented, while his other hand slid down her body, gathering her skirts.
“Let me give you pleasure,” he breathed against her damp skin. “Let me make you forget everything but this moment.”
Aaron’s fingers lifted the hem of her gown and revealed her bare legs. He lowered himself down and trailed light kisses up her inner thigh. His hands gently prodded her to open herself up to him.
His lips inched up her thigh until they found the treasure they sought. His tongue stroked over her most intimate flesh.
Louise’s hands instinctively tangled themselves through his hair. When he lapped at the place between her legs, she gripped at his hair and let out a low moan. His tongue flicked lightly, and it was a sensation unlike anything she had ever experienced. As his mouth demanded pleasure from her, she wanted more and more. Then his tongue parted her folds and dove into her. She bucked against his face as a tidal wave of pleasure coursed through her body. Her body clenched, and then her ecstasy reached a crescendo, and she bit back a cry of joy.
When she opened her eyes, her thighs still trembled, and she felt weak. Gently, he lowered her gown and stood. He flicked a thumb over his mouth, and Louise could see the remnants of her pleasure on his lips.
