A small thrill went up her spine. “I want to return it. I know how much you value your collection.”
He stopped right next to her and leaned his hip against the desk. “I do. I appreciate that you brought it back.” He cocked his head. “But I am curious as to why you absconded with it in the first place.”
Heat filled her cheeks at having to admit her incorrect first impression of him, but if he could confess, then she could too. “I originally took it for a number of reasons but the foremost was that I thought your views on women archaic and that all this,” she gestured to the whole room, “was simply for show. I can’t stand the thought of books being used as decoration or to impress but never to be read.”
He crossed his arms. “So you thought to steal one of my books and that I wouldn’t notice.” His blue gaze grew intense. “But I did, especially after I realized which one you took.”
She took a deep breath. This was harder than she’d thought it would be. “Yes, well, as I said, I didn’t know what was inside. It appeared to be an antiquated philosophy on what women should know.”
A slow grin formed on his face. “But it’s actually a modern, forward-thinking book on what men should know, don’t you agree?”
If she agreed or disagreed, she’d have to admit to reading the book. She just couldn’t do it. “Then it’s not meant for women after all? So why the title?”
His grin widened, a knowing glint present in his eyes. “No, it’s for young men. But it is a false cover book. This is done on purpose to hide the real book inside.”
“This is done? What do you mean? That this is a common practice so men can—oh.” The false cover was purposeful so the lady or ladies of the house wouldn’t suspect what the man of the house was reading. She frowned. “This is common practice?”
He pushed away from the desk to fill the space between them. “No, but enough that I wanted an example in my collection.”
She was forced to raise her head to meet his gaze. His eyes had darkened, and her skin felt particularly sensitive as his scent filled her nose. “So you just wanted it as part of your collection, not to read it?”
He lifted his hand and played with the curl she always left to fall over her collarbone, the backs of his fingers, lightly brushing her skin just like in one of the first illustrations. “I read everything in my collection.”
Her breaths turned shallow, and her red dress felt unusually warm. “Everything?” Her words barely made it past her lips and came out in a whisper.
His gaze moved to her mouth. “Everything.” As he said the word slowly, his head descended, his face drawing closer.
She licked her lips, anxious to feel his again.
He stopped, just a hairsbreadth away. “Did you read it?”
The words, so softly spoken, the air from his mouth teasing her own, didn’t penetrate her brain at first. When they did, her whole body seemed to light like a lantern wick. She should step away. It wasn’t proper to want a man to kiss her, despite his professed feelings for her. But she could no more step away than she could force words past her lips. She met his gaze and with the smallest of movement, she nodded.
His nostrils flared as air whooshed through his lips to brush her own. That was her only warning, before his mouth met hers and he crushed her to him, wrapping her in his arms.
She opened her mind, body, and heart. His tongue sweeping inside her mouth made her feel desirable, while his hold had her feeling loved and treasured. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her tongue tangling with his as she pressed herself closer. Every part of her felt alive and excited. He broke their kiss and pulled his head back. “Jo, I want you more than I want to breathe.”
His words made her toes curl inside her boots. Thanks to his book, she knew exactly what that meant. “I want you, too.”
His whole body stiffened, then with no warning, his arm moved from behind her back to her knees as he bent and swept her into his arms. Not expecting it, she tightened her hold on his neck.
He carried her across the room past the stairs to a secluded spot where a wide armchair sat next to a small window and a bookcase. He set her on her feet and immediately cupped her face. “I need to know while I still have control of my actions, do you understand what it means when you say you want me?”
She gave him a sly smile. “I know more than I ever expected to know. Your book was quite enlightening.”
He lowered his forehead to hers. “It shows you what can happen between a man and a woman, but it does not do justice to the feeling involved.” He lifted his head and gazed into her eyes, his own dark and riveting. “I want to make you feel the wonders of the flesh. I want to bury myself inside you and make you mine.”
Her heart jumped with awareness. Tingles spread from her chest throughout her body, making her knees weak. She licked her lips. “I want that too. I want to know.”
“This is more than knowledge.” He let go of her face, but one hand moved to her neck to caress the soft skin at her nape. “This will change you forever.” He looked away. “It will change me forever.”
If he felt half of what she felt, she could understand his hesitancy. She laid her hand on his bare flesh where his shirt opened, wanting to do so since she’d walked in. His skin was warm and his heartbeat strong beneath her palm. “I think we have already changed. Show me what is left to know. I want to feel everything with you.”
His gaze returned to her, and his brows rose. “Everything?”
At the devilish look in his eyes she swallowed hard. If he’d thought to scare her away, he was mistaken because now her pulse raced with anticipation. “Yes, everything.”
His hand on her neck pulled her forward. “Only because I love you.” His lips met hers for a thorough kiss that made it hard to stay upright. As if he sensed when her knees began to fail her, he stopped, sat down in the chair, and pulled her onto his lap.
