“First a distraction. Now a complication,” he muttered hoarsely. “Why bother with me at all?”
She sighed. “I shouldn’t have. It was a mistake.” But then she couldn’t help herself from adding, “But you deserved it.”
The hum rolled richly from his throat. His hands clasped her more tightly. He drifted his lips along the outer shell of her ear, then murmured, “You cannot keep doing this to me.”
He was right. It had to end. But she couldn’t stop herself from asking in a breathy whisper, “What am I doing to you?”
The sound he made was deep and visceral. Then he dipped his head to murmur his reply against the pulse in her throat.“You make me hunger and yearn for something of my own. Something the world cannot touch or deny. You give me a taste of freedom. But then you take it away.” His tone lowered and roughened as he pulled her body into his. “Every time you leave me in that room by myself, I feel lost. Adrift. You make me want you, then you walk away,” he finished with a harsh sigh and a gentle scrape of his teeth along the muscle of her shoulder.
Charlotte gasped an inhale as tingling bolts of sensation arced through her body. “You want what the masked woman makes you feel,” she countered. “Not me. Not Charlotte Dickson.”
He stiffened, his body going swiftly tense as he lifted his head. Finding the courage to look up at him, she saw the dark turbulence in his eyes, the denial in his expression, the clench of his jaw.
“Say I am wrong,” she whispered.
His brow furrowed heavily and his hands flexed on her body, but he did not speak.
Before she could respond to his silent acknowledgment of the truth, a pair of voices were heard not far from their alcove. With a fierce expression, the marquess stepped into her, pressing her farther into the shadows, concealing her body with his. The hardness of him—the strength and breadth—shielded her from more than that the passing guests. In that moment, the rest of the world disappeared and the two of them were all that mattered. Heat billowed through her being. Her belly twisted sharply with longing and every bit of purpose, all sense of reality, just slipped away. Only one truth remained.
When they left these shadows, it would be over.
So, she had to take what she could get before it was too late.
Her hands were still pressed firmly to his chest and with the pressure of his body leaning into hers it took a moment to ease them free to reach up and curl around his neck. He’s had hishead turned to the side, watching the hall behind them, but her movements brought his attention sharply to her.
“Kiss me,” she ordered.
He didn’t hesitate. His mouth swooped down to cover hers, heavy and hot and hungry. Her tongue met his at the edge of his teeth as she licked into his mouth. His low moan of pleasure fueled her desire and she continued to pull desperately at his mouth, kissing him with a fervor that was dangerous. But it got her what she wanted.
His hands slid down to her buttocks where he gripped her firmly with his large splayed hands and lifted her off her feet. Pinning her to the wall with his body, he held her in place with one hand and he yanked her skirts up with the other. The slim style of her gown prohibited her from wearing undergarments. As soon as she was able, she parted her legs and wrapped them around his hips.
With a heavy groan of possession, he pressed himself to her. His hardness fitting thick and long against her aching softness. Despite the layers of clothing between them, she felt the ridge of his cock as he gave a hard thrust of his hips.
Pleasure spread through her blood, igniting a fire that would surely consume her. The deep moan that escaped her throat was swallowed by his mouth as he rocked his hips again, then again.
Keeping her against the wall, he eased a hand between their bodies. His knuckles brushed against her inner thigh before his fingers found her. Gliding through her wetness with ease and skill, he tormented her heated flesh, dancing over her sensitive nerves, sending ripples of pleasure throughout her body. All while ravishing her mouth with his.
She felt herself nearing that pinnacle and the realization shocked her. Never had her pleasure gathered so easily. Never had she been so ready for a release.
Her eyes flew open and she dropped her head back against the wall, breaking the kiss as she stared at the marquess with a combination of horror and awe.
Noting the sudden change in her, he stilled completely. His breath was short and shallow. His gaze so hot and infinite. And his body seemed to hum against hers.
“Holy hell,” he whispered in astonishment as the realization of what had nearly just happened dawned in his features. “I need to get you to my bed.”
Charlotte could barely think with her body poised so acutely on the knife-edge of a pleasure she knew would be nothing but obliterating. But she managed a single breathless command. “No. Now.”
His gaze darkened. Staring into her eyes, he circled her clit once, twice—drawing a stuttered gasp from her throat. Then he eased a finger into her hot, wet sheath.
Charlotte’s eyes closed, her head fell back, and her jaw went slack.
The intimate pressure of his touch—the simple, beautiful presence of him inside her—set her off. The deepest, most profound pleasure expanded inside her. From a singular origin, it expanded in rippled waves to every point of her existence. And beyond.
She clung to him through the aftermath. And he held her just as fiercely. His arm strong around her, his body solid between her spread thighs. His ragged breath heavy against her neck as he pressed kisses to her flushed skin. His fingers delicate and possessive against her pulsing core.
The next moments were a blur as he eventually lowered her back to her feet and smoothed her skirts down over her legs, while she concentrated on drawing breath into her lungs and remaining upright. She realized with a start that she had no idea if the people who’d owned the voices they heard a few momentsago had passed by without seeing them. And she couldn’t really bring herself to care either way.
The cool rush of air against her body as he stepped back, giving her space, finally brought her around to her full senses.
