He nodded and then waited, watching her react. Her breath grew short, her gaze held his and she lifted a trembling hand to rest flat on his chest. He felt the weight of every finger and knew she likely felt the wild beat of his throbbing heart in return.
“Will you then?” she whispered, whimpered. “Please.”
His own breathing ceased at theplease.At the look of longing in her eyes that called so much to his own. He knew he wouldn’t resist her, even if it burned the world down around him. He wanted to burn with it and her and there was no holding back anymore.
Sebastian felt so big as his arms came around Marianne. Just like before, his fingers bunched against her lower back, his head drifted down and she met his mouth with a hunger that she didn’t fully understand.
Last night he had begun gently, but tonight there was none of that. It was as if they were picking up where they’d left off on the terrace. Like a breath separated one kiss from the other, rather than a night of tossing and turning and questioning.
She understood more now, so when his tongue met hers, she didn’t hesitate. She lifted to him, tasting him as he’d tasted her and she reveled in the deep moan that escaped his lips when she did so. His fingers came into her hair, digging into the locks, loosening her pins slightly without allowing the hair to fall. He tilted her head and plundered more deeply as he backed her across the orangery to who knew where.
She felt the edge of a bench hit her knees and she allowed him to lower her to it. Only then did he part from her and stared down at her.
“Don’t run away again,” she said out loud, though she hadn’t meant to.
“I should, but I can’t.” His breath was shockingly short and his expression wild. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, Marianne. But I’m too weak to fight it now.”
She hadn’t even a moment to ponder the idea that she, a spinster, made a god like Sebastian feel weak. Before she could, he dropped to his knees before her and his mouth found hers again.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him as the kiss grew as steamy as the orangery air. Now that he didn’t have to hold her up, she felt his hands slide down her sides, her hips. He touched her thighs through the silky fabric of her gown and she sucked in a great gasp of air and pulled back.
“No?” he whispered, stilling his fingers.
“I came to you like a scarlet woman in the night,” she whispered. “It’s a little late fornonow.”
He shook his head and some of his wickedness turned gentle. “Oh no, my dear, there is never a moment that is too late for no. If you learn nothing else from me, take that lesson. No one should ever ignore your no. I’ll stop if you don’t want me to touch you like that.”
She blinked at him, his handsome face even with hers, partially in the dark. He might look like a pirate, but he meant those words. This man with a reputation for wickedness had no intention ofstealinganything from her. Which meant she had to give it.
Terrifying.
“Do it again,” she whispered. “It only surprised me.”
He made a low chuckle and his fingers bunched against her skirt again, stroking her thighs through the satiny fabric.
“Why does it tingle?”
His voice was taut with tension as he choked out, “Because it makes you want. It sets your nerves on fire. It makes you long for more, even if you can’t name it. I can give you more, Marianne. So much more than I should.”
She didn’t think, didn’t ponder, she just nodded. “Yes. Please, please, yes.”
He leaned forward and briefly his forehead touched hers. His breath was rough, his hands clenched against her thighs, and she heard him whisper, “God help me.”
But when he pulled back and met her stare again, there was no hesitation in him. He licked his lips and then he inched her skirt up a fraction.
“Sebastian,” she whispered.
He nodded slowly and inched farther. Now his hands went under the skirts, touching her stocking-clad legs with his bare hands. She felt his heat even through the fabric and she dropped her head back against the hardness of the bench.
She didn’t know what he would do. It didn’t matter. She wanted this, wanted him. Perhaps she had always known it might come to this if she went to him in the night. Perhaps she’d wanted it enough to risk his refusal.
His hands cupped her knees and he murmured, “Look at me.”
She forced herself to do so and watched as he dropped his head to kiss first one knee then the other. His mouth was steamy and warm through the stockings and she gasped.
He smiled up at her as he gently pushed her knees apart, making her sit with her thighs open. He inched forward into that forbidden space and her skirt bunched between her legs as he did so.
“I like kissing you so much, Marianne,” he purred. “You taste like heaven. I want to see if I’d like it as much somewhere else.”
