Rhys’s laughter was brilliant, softening the hard planes and angles of his face. “You are not so different from the girl I remember,” he said when he caught his breath. “I had thought otherwise.”
Kenna pushed the comforter aside as she leaned forward. Her white linen gown lay like a whisper against her skin. “I am not a girl any longer,” she said earnestly, willing Rhys to look at her fully and see the truth for himself. “I know what I want.” There was more, much more she could not say, and she could not let Rhys guess the gist of her thoughts. If he suspected how she was using him he would leave her and she would never know if Victorine spoke the truth. It had to be Rhys who introduced her to the rites of loving. If she could respond to him, a man she had reason to despise, then Kenna believed she could respond to anyone. She would not have to remain on the shelf, nor would she be trapped into accepting the only man who had offered for her. Rhys could give her the confidence to leave the cloister she had made of her home. In time, perhaps with the understanding of a loving husband, the nightmares would take care of themselves. “I know,” she repeated, her large dark eyes steady on his face.
“Do you? Do you really?” He could not lift his glance from her provocative mouth.
“Must I beg you, Rhys?”
He thought of the things he could say that would sober her. He could remind her that she considered him her father’s murderer. If he asked her to marry him, what would she say? He could mention Nick, only a few rooms away, or Victorine in her nearby suite. But he knew he did not want to stop her, so he said nothing to make her reconsider her recklessness. “No,” he said, his eyes dropping to the curve of her throat then her breasts. “No. You don’t have to beg me. God knows it’s what I’ve wanted, too.”
Rhys’s hand trembled as he cupped the side of Kenna’s face. His thumb traced the line of her mouth, parting her lips with light insistence. “You have a beautiful mouth, Kenna,” he whispered as his head lowered to meet her lips. They were petal soft, deliciously moist, and one small taste was not enough. Her response was uncertain but she did not pull away, not when he deepened the kiss, nor when he eased her down on the pillows and stretched out beside her. Her mouth opened beneath his, allowing him to explore her sweetness at his leisure. His tongue caressed her and when she answered in the same way Rhys knew Kenna could shatter his precarious control.
He drew back, planting small, teasing kisses on the corner of her mouth. Kenna moved a shade restlessly beneath him, wanting the return of the full pressure of his lips, the gentle stroking of the rough edge of his tongue. She had to be satisfied with his mouth traveling over her face, tracing the contours of her cheek and the smooth line of her jaw. His teeth caught her earlobe and tugged with sublime tenderness. He smiled as he heard her faint sigh of satisfaction.
“Cold? Don’t even think it.”
Rhys’s breath tickled her ear as he spoke the words and a shiver rippled Kenna’s flesh. She realized she was not thinking of anything save the splendid sensations flowing down her spine. Her arms eased around Rhys’s shoulders, smoothing the material at his back but curious to touch what lay beneath it. Her fingers slipped under the lapels of his jacket and tugged.
Rhys sat up, his eyes as dark as coals, and eased out of his jacket. He tossed it to the foot of the bed then removed his shoes and stockings. The entire time he watched Kenna, waiting for her to make some protest. When she remained silent, her face expectant, Rhys knew she would not alter the course she had set. His body rejoiced in the knowledge and quieted the doubts in his mind.
He lay down beside her, propping himself on one elbow. He watched Kenna’s lashes flutter closed as his fingers idly brushed the lacy neckline of her gown. Her breathing stilled when he dipped below it to touch the soft skin beneath. He pulled at the satin ribbon that kept the gown’s modest neckline together and opened the virginal collar to bare Kenna’s throat, touching his lips to the tempting pulse beating there.
He savored the taste of her fair skin, the honeyed warmth of the curve of her shoulder. “You’re lovely,” he said against her flesh. His head lifted and he said it again against her mouth.
Kenna found herself welcoming the return of Rhys’s mouth and she answered his searching kiss with a depth of feeling that surprised her. “Oh my,” she whispered when he broke the kiss.
“Indeed.” He smiled.
“Indeed,” she repeated, framing his face with her hands and bringing his mouth down to hers. She initiated the kiss, recalling what he had already taught her to give and receive pleasure. Her tongue peeped out, touching his lips, tasting them. She kissed the corners of his mouth, the slight dimple in his chin, then brushed her lips against his once more before her mouth pressed greedily on his. The comforter and sheets were pushed aside but their movement made little impact on Kenna’s senses. It was the warmth of his hand through her thin linen gown that got her attention but the shock of it only lasted a moment. It was quickly replaced by another shock: she did not want him to remove his hand from her breast.
The way her flesh swelled to Rhys’s light touch was faintly embarrassing to Kenna but the sensations he aroused when his thumb stroked her nipple were too exquisite to forego. Without thought she arched into the pressure and heat of his hand.
Feeling Kenna’s response, Rhys moved closer to Kenna’s slender frame and slid his mouth quickly over her throat. His tongue flicked over the tip of her breast, wetting her gown until her nipple was revealed provocatively by the clinging damp circle he created. His mouth wandered in fleeting little kisses to her other breast while he tugged at the hem of her gown, pushing it out of the way so he could touch her bare skin.
Kenna’s fingers wound in Rhys’s dark hair as his palms slid underneath her calves and stroked the length of her legs. His hands pressed against the back of her thighs and swept upward, pausing when they reached the curve of her buttocks. He sat up then and pulled Kenna with him.
“I think it is time we dispose of this gown,” he said huskily. “Lift your arms.”
Kenna shied away from Rhys’s implacable eyes and looked past his shoulder, studying the patterned wallpaper as if she had never seen it before. “Must I?”
Rhys touched her chin with one finger and turned her face toward him. “Lift your arms.”
Kenna’s hands twisted in her lap a moment before she raised them overhead. There was not time to reconsider as she felt Rhys take the edge of her gown and draw it from her body in a single motion. Her arms dropped immediately to cover her breasts.
Rhys shook his head. “No. I want to see you,” he said softly, grasping, her wrists and pulling them downward. “You have beautiful breasts.” His eyes lifted, meeting hers. “All of you is lovely, Kenna.” His fingers trailed the gentle slope of her breasts, nudging her pink nipples with the pads of his thumbs “And none of you is cold.”
A wisp of a smile touched Kenna’s mouth. “I don’t feel very warm,” she said, eyeing Rhys from under the thick sweep of her lashes.
Rhys was hard pressed to keep the amusement he felt from showing on his face. Had Kenna but known it, a blush had colored her features the moment she spoke with such innocent temerity. “I will have to do something about that, won’t I?” He gave her a light kiss, pressing her shoulders back to the soft mattress. “Don’t move,” he said, adding a kiss to the tip of her nose, Rhys got off the bed and quickly stripped off his shirt and trousers and tossed them on the nearby chair. Naked, he slipped back in bed and pulled the sheet over them. He kissed her tightly closed lids. “You can open your eyes now.” There was no hiding his amusement now. When she looked at him he said, “You know it would have been quite proper for you to look this time. I would have been flattered by a little maidenly interest on your part.”
“I don’t doubt that you’ve had more flatterers than you can count.” Kenna was surprised by the niggling jealousy she felt and prayed Rhys had not heard it.
“That is not very complimentary to my skill with mathematics.”
“That is not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant and I should be devastated if your lovely brown eyes took on the traditional green of your emotion.”
So he had heard. Well, she wouldn’t admit it. Ever! “You flatter yourself. There is no need for me to do it as well.”
