Prim nodded. “They are.”
So well she was forgetting her purpose. But she couldn’t rid her mind of that moment in her drawing room. Save for her butler’s untimely interruption, she might have seized the moment. Taken what she desired, just as James had urged her to.
Not only for the sake of her personal quest but because she wanted to. She wanted to see if his kiss held even a fraction of the thrill she imagined it would.
Whatever else she wanted for herself, even knowing James had no more inclination toward marriage than she, Prim wanted that kiss. This might be the moment. Their idle stroll had taken them beyond a grouping of palm fronds at the back of the conservatory.
She tipped back her glass, taking not a sip but a healthy swig of the champagne before setting it aside. Courage. To take, just as he demanded. He would not do it for her.
Inching forward, she entered the circle of warmth his huge body generated. It surrounded her, enveloped her. Like a moth to the flame, it drew her in. His shirtfront was just inches away, his bare neck above his collar and white tie darkly tanned in contrast. She could see the dark growth of his beard. See his pulse beating as she inhaled the scent of him, musk and spice.
His chest swelled as he inhaled sharply. “Mrs. Eames? What are you about?”
CHAPTER 16
Independence is happiness
~ Susan B. Anthony
Prim tilted back her head to look up at James, towering over her. His expression was far more serious than she’d yet seen from him, his eyes dark as the deepest emerald.
She absorbed the masculine beauty of his features. His hair, usually the darkest brown, lit with fiery strands in candlelight from the chandelier above, was swept back from his broad forehead. Sharp cheekbones and a squared jaw, not overly sculpted but rugged perfection. His deep green eyes, so often filled with humor, glinted with something more as he waited, studying her in return.
Every spot his eyes lit upon flamed as if his gaze were a physical touch. It spread like wildfire, setting her nerves ablaze. Her limbs trembling, her pulse erratic.
Did she want him? Yes.
She’d never known such desire. It flowed over her like hot lava, burning…almost painful in its intensity. The urge to touch more of him gnawed at her like a rapacious hunger.
But did he like what he saw in return? Was his dare issued because he desired her kiss or was he merely aiding her in overcoming her inability to stand up for herself? Did he want her?
Prim discovered it mattered.
She gnawed her lip indecisively and watched his eyes drop and darken. He drew a short breath and held it, the muscles in his jaw tensed. Though he didn’t move visibly, James stilled, like a lion she’d once seen at the zoo. Ready to pounce.
* * *
This bargain he made wasn’t coming around entirely how he planned. Prim wasn’t at all what he’d anticipated. Assisting her might turn out to be the dumbest thing he’d ever done.
But then, the evening was early.
James held his breath as Prim inched toward him, a heretofore unknown anticipation holding him in its grip.
Fighting an unbearable compulsion to drag her to him, to consume her lips with the desire that’d been simmering in him for days, he tensed. Waiting.
The need to see her seize the moment, to let her passion drive her to take action, stilled him. The displays he’d witnessed of her confidence and verve over the past week were incredibly arousing. The fire in her sparking a corresponding heat in him.
The naked yearning he saw in her eyes for her cause…for him…it only served to fuel the flames. Astonishing since he hadn’t even the merest taste of her lips to spur him onward. Barely more than the proper touch of her hand.
Bloody hell, but he was hard pressed not to act. It was only the unfolding carnal fantasy of his timid, reserved Prim taking what she wanted, unrestrained by stricture or convention, giving him the strength to resist. His hands fisted at his sides.
Waiting. His desire gnawing at him, blazing into searing lust with each step she took.
Her gloved fingers rested on his shirtfront, a scorching brand that aroused him more than such simple contact should. His heart thudded hard against his chest. Her gaze dipped downward then returned to his, wide with astonishment. Her lips parted in a silent gasp of wonder.
“Did ye doubt me, lass, when I said I desired ye?” he growled, low and throaty.
Prim swallowed hard and nodded. He could see the thrumming beat of her pulse quicken in the soft white flesh of her neck above her choker.
