She’d never heard her name as both benediction and plea for mercy. The sound of it on his lips excited her all the more. She leaned forward to kiss his lips, just as he tugged his hand from hers.
“Connor…”
With a low curse, he leapt to his feet and aimed for the door. Piper rose to stop him. She caught his arm, forcing him to turn back to her. To look at her.
He played the game very well, but he couldn’t be that much of a true gentleman, could he?
“I want you, Connor,” she confessed plainly. “Am I wrong in thinking you want me, too? If I am, tell me and that will be that. But if you do, I’d like to do something about it.”
Chapter 17
The Season will soon begin. London will be bursting with balls and frivolity. What I wouldn’t give for a chance to know what might have been. To meet a handsome lord and fall in love. I fear I will never know now.
~ from the diary of Piper Brudenall, January 1893
“Ye dinnae ken what ye’re saying, lass. What it entails.” His brogue was harsh, husky. Filled with the same desire that suffused her more and more with each passing second. She loved the sound of it.
The words, not as much.
“I’m not that naïve. I know, and I want it. With you.”
She set a hand on his solid chest. He didn’t run, didn’t move an inch beyond the tiniest flinch. The beat of his heart pulsed against her palm, hard and fast. Stepping closer, she silently dared him to retreat. When he didn’t, she retrieved his hand and settled it on her breast. His fingers flexed then stiffened. She arched her back to increase the pressure. His fingers curled again, then curved under her breast. Piper’s breath caught as his thumb grazed her nipple.
A low curse passed his lips and he yanked his hand away. “Lass, I beg ye to have the good sense I cannae summon.”
“Me? You started this.” She stretched up until their lips were inches apart. “You gave me the hint of a kiss, made me want more. You introduced me to desire. Made me want more.”
“Piper, lass,” he implored, each word a soft caress on her lips.
“What makes you think I have any greater will when it comes to this than you? All I want is more. I wantyou.”
Slipping her hands inside his jacket, she smoothed her palms across his ribs, delighting in the heat of his body through his linen shirt. Wishing it were his bare flesh. He jumped and twitched beneath her hands.
“You challenged me to stop hiding from life and live it.” She drew back far enough to stare into his eyes. “This is how I want to begin. Are you going to deny your own advice and start hiding now?”
With a groan of surrender, Connor caught her up in his arms. He crushed her to him and brought his mouth down on hers, capturing her lips. Nipping, sucking. His tongue advanced and retreated as he plundered her mouth with an urgency that left Piper reeling. Jubilant.
Lowering her to the settee, he released her without breaking their kiss. His fingers conquered the buttons on her blouse in short order, spreading it wide. Trailing kisses along her cheek, he found her earlobe and nibbled on her tender flesh.
“Ye vixen. I was a fool to step foot through that door. Ye bewitched me from the beginning. How ye make my blood burn.”
The rough words thrilled her, though not as much as the shivers that followed as he raked his teeth down the side of her neck. Over her collarbone to the rise of her breast. With a tug, he drew down her corset and caught her nipple between his lips. Shock and an electric sizzle arcing to her core bowed her against him.
“Oh my God, Connor!” Her fingers curled of their own will in his hair, holding him close.
Frantic, manic urgency flowed through her. Piper reveled in it and resented it at the same time. She wanted this, yes, but she wanted to savor each moment, not have them tumble one over the other.
“Connor, please. I want—Oh!”
His fingers brushed the apex of her thighs. When had he raised her skirts? What had she missed along the way?
Yanking on his hair, she forced him to lift his head. “Wait.”
“Coming to yer senses, lass?”
He didn’t appear happy about the possibility now.
“No. Never,” she panted, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. “It’s just going so fast. I can’t give each moment the proper attention it deserves.”
