Her fingers dug into his shirt more firmly, as though she heard his protests and wouldn’t let him get away.
He didn’t want to go anywhere. This was right where he wanted to be. With her. Like this.
Even so, he forced himself not to move. If they were going to share a kiss, she had to be the one to initiate it. He didn’t want any confusion about his motivations. Hewouldn’t take advantage of her, wouldn’t put any pressure on her for more.
As if he’d spoken the words aloud, she used his shirt to drag herself closer, until she stood facing him with only a hand’s distance separating them. She angled her face up, her lips parted in readiness.
Her half-lidded eyes danced around his face before locking in on his mouth. He felt the heat of her gaze as if it was her touch, and it sent the flames scurrying along the fuse line throughout his body, making him combustible.
He almost groaned with waiting for her to initiate the kiss. But he waited, the air charged between them.
Finally, she lifted to her toes and touched her lips to the corner of his mouth, a gentle nibble, giving him a taste of what was to come.
Although he didn’t want nibbles and wanted to devour her in return, he closed his eyes and let her move at her own pace.
Her next kiss was against his top lip. She captured it, tugged it, then released it to do the same to his bottom lip. Each tug undid his mind, so when she reached the other corner of his mouth, he was lost in a haze.
By the time she finished her tantalizing kissing, as if she had all the time in the world, she placed a kiss against his mouth fully and completely. In that instant, he opened for her, fusing their lips, taking control of the kiss with a strength and power that catapulted them swiftly to heights he’d never gone before—heights that made him instantly breathless and weightless.
As she joined in the passionate melding, her hand continued to twist tightly into his shirt, winding the fabric until the buttons strained. She wasn’t afraid to show her desire,wasn’t afraid to be passionate, wasn’t shy about expressing herself. And with those qualities, the kiss was nothing short of life-altering, setting his axis off-center.
He became aware that one of his hands was snagged in her hair, keeping her in place against him. His other hand was splayed across her back, pressing her closer, except that her arms were still between them, her fists on his chest and in his shirt.
Regardless, he could feel her body and knew that if he wasn’t careful, he could easily go on kissing her. While stealing a forbidden kiss at the pond in the rain was one thing, he couldn’t let himself get carried away with any more than that. He had to keep the boundaries up between them somehow....
With a strength he didn’t know he possessed, he broke the connection between them. He was loathe to release her mouth, hungered for her even more now that he’d tasted her, but he took a rapid step away.
Wearing his dark suit coat over her uniform, she was practically engulfed in it. Her damp hair was stuck to her face, her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes lighter than a sky at dawn, and her lips...
Heat stabbed him low and hard. Her lips were swollen, and the little pucker in her upper lip was too hard to resist. He didn’t ask her permission. He stooped down and tasted that dip with his tongue and then followed with a short kiss.
As he pulled back, she gave a soft sound of complaint in her throat, one that nearly sent him to his knees. He had to put a barrier between them before he grabbed her and ravished her mouth again.
With an unsteady gait, he rounded the bench until he wason the side with the blowing rain. She was watching him, her fingers touching her upper lip where he’d just kissed her. Her beautiful eyes were filled with both wonder and questions.
Likely questions about what it all meant.
What exactly did the kiss mean?
He’d never approved of men—not even Liam—having relations with their maids. The women were vulnerable, perhaps even felt helpless and feared for losing their jobs if they didn’t cooperate with the men of the house.
Kiernan didn’t want to be like that, but was he becoming like Liam anyway?
“Forgive me, Alannah.” He jabbed his hands into his hair. “I overstepped myself just now, and I apologize.”
“’Tis not your fault, to be sure.” She let her hand flutter away from her mouth. “I was too forward with you. And I apologize.”
“You do?”
She nodded and turned partially away. “I think we should agree to put the moment behind us and never think on it again.”
Oh, he’d think on it again, probably for the rest of his life. But could he put it behind him, at least for now?
Frustration shot through him at the prospect of moving on from the kiss and acting like it didn’t happen. In fact, he wanted to kiss her again.
His attention slid to her lips, rounded and full and soft. He wanted to spend every day, all day kissing those tantalizing lips. Was that a possibility?
He’d never imagined he’d be so attracted—even in love—with a woman like Alannah, someone from a different echelon of life, someone who didn’t fit into his world.
