“I like them.”
Startled, she said, “You do?”
“I like a lot of things about you.”
She gaped at him, no words emerging.
He cupped her cheek, his thumb sliding along the slope of her cheekbone.
Dazed, she said, “I…I, um, like you too, my lord.”
“Ethan.”
“What?” she asked.
She was distracted by the way he traced his thumb over her lips. Soft and tender, his touch conveyed a world of feeling. A musician’s touch.
“I like you,Ethan,” he prompted.
“Oh,” she said shyly. “I like you…Ethan.”
His nostrils flared, then he bent and covered her mouth with his. His kiss was everything she’d dreamed a kiss could be. Commanding yet courting, firm yet gentle. He gave even as he took, and her shock gave way to dizzying pleasure. Sothiswas what passion felt like. This was why poets wrote sonnets and musicians composed songs. This was what she’d imagined when she spun her wicked tales.
Heat licked through her as Ethan deepened the pressure, his lips coaxing hers to open. His tongue entered her with a sensual authority that made it easy to yield. To melt. Her thoughts liquified like honey left in the sun, and she floated in the sweetness of his kiss. His flavor was rich and deep, his need undeniable. She was ravenous, too. When he licked inside her, she intuitively sucked on his offering.
His groan reverberated down her throat. His maleness made her quiver from head to toe, his spicy musk and bunching strength engulfing her senses. His mouth left hers, searching out her ear, and the hot, wet lick set fire to her blood. In theory, she’d known that the ear was a sensitive organ. But abstract knowledge did not prepare her for the reality of being suckled by Ethan. He flicked her lobe with his tongue, then drew it deep into his mouth, the moist tug seeming to pull at her core. Her nipples pulsed, her blood rushed, and she whimpered.
“You’re responsive,” he murmured.
That was one way of putting it. She would go out of her skin if he didn’t kiss her again. So she kissed him. Throwing her arms around his neck, she smooshed her mouth to his. Hungrily, desperately. The world spun, and suddenly she was sitting on the table while he stood between her spread thighs. He tilted her head back, plundering her mouth while she clung to his rock-hard shoulders.
He cupped the side of her neck, running his palm over her shoulder and to her breast. He squeezed gently, and she gasped as her nipple rubbed against the stiff fabric of her corset. He did it again, the blissful sparks coalescing between her legs. The throbbing ache in her pussy grew, and she felt as if she might come apart if something didn’t give.
“Please.” She wetted her lips. “I want you.”
His expression was dark with craving. “You’ll have me,” he vowed.
With thrilling dominance, he pushed her back onto the table?—
Crack.
She felt something crumple between her shoulder blades.
The next instant, Ethan pulled her up again. Reaching behind her, he grabbed something…her spectacles. They were mangled, cracks spreading like spiderwebs through the lenses. He stared at them, and his expression hardened.
“Forgive me,” he said in a low voice.
“It’s nothing…”
The rest of her words died in her throat. Even her desire-fogged mind recognized the look in his eyes. They were no longer bright with passion but…disgust? Her breath lodged.
“This should not have happened.” He clenched his jaw. “You work for me. You are my housekeeper.”
She nodded, trying to breathe. To fight back the heat pushing behind her eyes.
He doesn’t want you. Why would he? You’re just a stupid, worthless girl no one loves.
“What I did was unpardonable. Especially after what you’ve just gone through.” His gaze was locked on her spectacles. “I will, of course, replace these. As for the rest?—”
