“Your intentions have never failed to be improper,” she retorted.
“You see how well we suit, little one? You already know me so well.”
He was teasing her, and she didn’t know quite what to make of it. But there was nothing teasing about his hold on her. It was firm and intimate, one arm pressing her rightly to his chest, the other draped across her lap, the hand boldly caressing her hip. Warm feelings spread along her nerve endings. She hadn’t felt so alive in months. He had always been able to do this to her, always stirred her in a purely physical way…
“I think you had best let me up, Dimitri.”
“Why?”
“The servants might come in,” she offered lamely.
“If that is your only reason, it won’t do. No one will open that door on threat of death.”
“Be serious.”
“But I am, little heart, most serious. We will not be disturbed here, so come up with another reason, or better yet, don’t. Just let me hold you for a while—Sweet Christ!” he gasped. “Don’t wiggle around so much, Katya!”
“I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
He groaned, settling her in a less crucial spot. “It’s nothing that you couldn’t take care of if you only would.”
“Dimitri!”
“Forgive me.” He grinned as the bright spots appeared on her cheeks again. “Thatwasrather crude of me, wasn’t it? But then I never could think very clearly when you were near, and right now is no exception. Why do you look so surprised? You didn’t really think that I would stop wanting you just because I have been away from you these three months?”
“As a matter of fact—”
Dimitri couldn’t contain himself a moment longer. That she had let him hold her this long gave him such encouragement that he was on the brink of ripping her clothes off. He kissed her, so intensely, so thoroughly, that the result was inevitable, though he didn’t know it yet. His hand came up to caress her breast, and he groaned, feeling the hard, tiny nub forming beneath the material.
Her moan was caught in his mouth, trapped with his. Oh, God, she had missed him, missed the way his kisses turned her to jelly, missed the way his hands set her afire, the way his eyes could thrill her with a look. And his body, his beautiful, hard, exciting body, and what it could do to her. She had missed that too. There was no point in denying it any more. She loved making love with him. And she wanted to now.
“Dim—Dimi—Dimitri! Let me catch my breath.”
“No, not this time.”
He continued kissing her fiercely, and Katherine felt warmed all over from the sheer joy of realizing that he was afraid, this powerful, strong man, afraid that she wanted to stop him. She cupped his face in her hands gently to hold him back, her eyes smiling into his.
“Take me to the sofa, Dimitri.”
“The sofa?”
“This chair is a mite inconvenient at the moment, don’t you think?”
As understanding dawned on him, such a look of wonder and pure delight crossed his face that Katherine nearly cried. She thought she was going to be dumped on the floor, he stood up so quickly, but no, she was held firmly in his arms and a moment later, laid carefully down on the velvet sofa, which was as comfortable as any bed.
On his knees beside her, already fighting the buttons on his jacket, Dimitri paused only once. “You’re sure, Katya—no, no, don’t answer that.”
He kissed her again before she could, but Katherine gave him an answer anyway by wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his kiss with total abandon. She knew exactly what she was doing. Drugs weren’t needed to stimulate her desire. Dimitri did that all on his own. He was the man she loved despite all misgivings, the father of her unborn child, the man she was going to marry. The particulars could be worked out later. There was plenty of time. Now was the time for their reunion.
Chapter Thirty-five
With snow whirling outside the windows and the fire burning in the great hearth, the large drawing room seemed more like a cozy nook, especially with the sofa facing the fire, close enough to receive its warmth directly. It was late afternoon, according to the clock on the mantel. Distantly there was the sound of a cat mewling, a door closing somewhere in the house, a carriage whisking by out front. Close up was only the sound of the fire crackling and Dimitri’s heart beating.
Katherine was in no hurry to disturb the intimacy of the moment. She lay half on the edge of the sofa and half on Dimitri. There wasn’t very much room, but she didn’t feel as if she would fall. Far from it. Dimitri’s arm around her back, holding her close to him, was warm and secure.
At the moment, he had taken her hand from where she had been idly tracing a path through the mat of golden hairs on his chest and was kissing each finger, an erotic experience, since he also chose to nibble and suck on them as well. Katherine simply watched him, her eyes half closed, fascinated by what his tongue and lips and teeth on her sensitive fingertips were making her feel.
“If you don’t stop it, little one, I am going to have to make love to you again.” Dimitri startled her with his husky voice.
