“I’m going to take my forfeit, too,” she whispered.“You’re going to make me forget all the rules.”
Deliberately, she caressed his head, bringing her hands back down to his shoulders.Her touch made his body tighten with a greater frustration.
He unfastened another three buttons, baring more silken skin before tilting her face to look at him.Her body had been touched by no other man, he was certain.Only him.
He didn’t know why she was letting him take such liberties, but he suspected she wasn’t thinking clearly.“Do you want another kiss as your forfeit from me?”
She inhaled sharply when his bare palm touched her back.“Yes.”
He smiled against her mouth and guided her to sit down in a chair.He knelt down at her feet, reaching for her ankles.
“Wh-what are you doing?”She held down her skirts, her face pale.
“I’m going to kiss you, all right.”Michael slid his hands up her calves, his palms caressing the silken stockings.“But you never said where.”
“No.That’s not what I meant.I wasn’t intending for you to—to ruin me.”
“I’m not going to ruin you, sweet.I’m going to pleasure you.Unless you’re too afraid?”
She had gone so pale, her fingers dug into the arms of the chair.And though it was painful to stop this wicked game, he started to draw back.His desire for her was strained to the breaking point, so it was probably for the best.
She shocked him by bringing his mouth to hers.Against his lips, she whispered, “I’m more terrified than I’ve ever been in my life.But I don’t want you to stop.”
God forgive him for what he was about to do.Michael took her mouth hard, kissing her roughly.He pulled her body tightly to his, letting her legs fall open around his waist.Her shoulders rose and fell as she struggled to catch her breath.To ease her, he unlaced more of her corset.
“But what if someone comes—?”
He kissed another bit of revealed skin, swirling his tongue over it.“The risk makes it more arousing.”
She shivered in his arms, and he could almost hear the second thoughts racing through her mind.“I shouldn’t let you do this.I know it’s wrong.”
“But it feels good to you.”
She lowered her head, as if in surrender.“Yes.And I’m beginning to wonder what I have left to lose.”
“You would lose far too much.”He took her hands, lifting them to her bodice.Her palms cupped her own breasts, and he held them in place, forcing her to touch herself the way he wanted to.
Though her nipples were beneath the heavy corset, he knew her mind was imagining the sensation.
“You’re tempting me down a path I should never tread.”Her voice was near the breaking point.
“I’m a sinner.I live for temptation.”
Hannah leaned back against him, letting him guide her hands.It was hard to breathe, the room swimming in heady sensations.
She never should have let Michael enter her room.Her mother’s warnings haunted her, but she couldn’t bring herself to step away.Not yet.
This forbidden pleasure coursed through her, for she’d never been touched like this before.She didn’t even know such feelings existed.Her body was hot, the skin fiery and unbearably sensitive.Between her legs, she felt empty, swollen and aching.And yet she knew that, regardless of what he said, Michael would stop at any time she asked.
He might be a man who neglected the rules of propriety when it suited him, but beneath it all he possessed an unfailing honor.
With her last vestiges of control, she stood from the chair.For a long moment, she stared at him, needing to know whether she was making the right choice to be with him tonight.
As she’d expected, he held back from her, his face expressionless.The black cloth jacket fitted his broad shoulders perfectly, the evening clothes making him even more handsome.In the lamplight, his hazel eyes were nearly black, heated with desire.
Someone had tried to kill him tonight, yet he gave no indication of being afraid.She supposed soldiers were accustomed to the risk of death.But if someone had just tried to murder her, she would be a sobbing mess.
His strong will and courage intrigued her.Tempted her in ways she didn’t understand.
