“Very well. I shall leave through my sitting room.” She turned and headed in that direction, but she didn’t make it far, for his arm shot out and encircled her wrist. She turned her angry glare on him. “How dare you!Unhand me at once—!”
The rest of her tirade was cut off as he pulled her into his arms and smothered her mouth with his.
She told herself to fight him off, that nothing would come of this detainment but more pain and frustration, but she couldn’t yet find the will to push aside the one thing she’d yearned foroverthe past five years.Each time sheswitchedthe calendar, of watching the case clock in the foyer chime the hour,she’d dreamed that he might walk through the front door,and yet, Hunter did not appear, no matter how much she mighthavewishedfor him todo so.
When, at last, he wrote and said he was coming home, she had paced the floorboards in anticipation until she was surprised they weren’t worn through. Time had crawled by even more slowly, butfinally he was there,and nowit was as if every minute spent with him was cut too short.He claimed that their association was at an end, so yes, she would relish this stolen embrace for however long it lasted.
She wanted to wind her arms around his neckand deepen the kiss, but she kept her hands at her sides, afraid that if she moved at all, he would draw away from her. But she couldn’t stop a gasp from escaping whenheclenchedthe fabric of her dressing gown in the back and bunched it in his fists. She wasn’t certain whether he was trying to tether himself to reality, or if he meant to rend it in two, but she rather hoped it was the latter.
He pulled away, but only long enough to rest his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes closed. He was breathing heavily. “Tell me to stop,” he whispered huskily. “Tell me to go away.”
“Why would I do that?” she returned softly. “I want this.” She paused. “I’vealwayswanted this.”
He clenched his jaw. “But I…don’t want to be a slave to my lust, to be a man like Lord Gregory. I’ve…withheld myself for years because I—”
She gently placed her fingers over his lips. “You arenothinglike him. Do you hear me? Just because you have…urges, that doesn’t mean you’re some sort of rabid animal, but merely a man who craves human interaction. It isn’t a bad thing, Hunter. It’s perfectly normal, and it’s time you allowed yourself to see that.”
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her evenly. “I’m afraid I’ll…hurt you.”
She shook her head. “My mother told me what it’s like to lose one’s virginity. I’ve been prepared for it all my life. It’s either you or—”
He made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl. “No one else can have you.” He reached out and lifted her into his arms. “You’remine.”
As he strode across the chamber to her bed, she wound her arms around him with a smile. “I always have been, from the moment you won that bid.”
Chapter Five
Hunter knew that he was condemningeverything that he’d promised himself from more thanfive years of dedicated celibacy, but there was a part of him that knew this was…right. Notbecausehe was about to break his vow to abstain from sex, but because Persephone was absolutely correct. He couldn’t, in all good conscience, send her back to her mother’s houseintact.
The veryimage ofsome other man touchingher didn’t set well, but other than retaining her as his mistress forever,the momenthe relinquished his tie to her, there was nothing he could say if someone else wished to stake aclaim.Even if that man was someone like Darwood, whom he trusted implicitly, his teeth ground at the idea ofanyonebeing her next protector.
But what else could Hunter do to keep her at his side, other than—
Marriage.
He shoved such permanent thoughts aside and focused on the woman in his arms. No doubt his performance wouldn’t last long, since it had been years since he’d allowed himself this sort of pleasure, so he had to make sure her needs came first.
Hepicked her up and carried her over to the bed. Helaid herdown gentlyand tossed the counterpanetoward thefoot.They would be making enough heat that they wouldn’t need the extra warmth.
Hunter kicked off the shoes he still wore and straddled her upper thighs on the bed. She was looking at him expectantly, curious as to what he might do next, although her blue eyeswerefilled with sensual promises of her own.
Slowly, he reached down and untied her dressing gown. As it gaped open, he pushed the edges aside, brushing his thumbs across her erect nipples as he did so. She sucked in a breath and bit her bottom lip. His throat instantly went dry.
With his focus on her lovely face, he slowly went to work removing his jacket, cravat and waistcoat. Had it really only been a few hours ago that he’d been walking among the jaded members of societyat Vauxhall, watching as they drank their fill and allowingthemselves to be consumed by thelust around them?
And now, he was doing the same.
As he pulled his shirt free from the waistband of his trousers, he hesitated.
“Do it,” she commanded.
He yankedthe materialover his head and bared the top half of his body to her.
Her gaze roamed over his naked chest, the admiration he saw there causing his cock to harden to the point of near pain. It pulsed with unspent desire, but he tamped downhis needand waited patiently for her to look her fill.
But when she reached out and ran her fingernails lightly through the dusting of dark curly hair, steadily heading toward the bulge in his trousers, that’s where he had to stop her. “Not that far, love. Or I fear you’ll be terribly disappointed.”
With that, he brushed her hands aside and decided it was his turn to play the seducer. She might have been raised in the ways of a harlot, but he had enjoyed the lifestyle far longer.
