“I thought it well done,” Laura said.
“Mm. Two points.” He wrote it in the book, then flubbed his next shot completely.
Laura stepped up to the table, studied it, then took her shot. Her cue ball struck the white and the red before it rolled into a pocket. She turned to look at Brendan, eyebrows raised.
“Great shot,” he said with an approving nod. “Three points.” He picked up the pencil.
“It was a lucky shot,” she said, but he noticed her smile.
His mouth quirked. “Maybe, maybe not.”
She laughed. “I fear I have provoked your competitive spirit. There’s no hope for me now. Watch as I sink the white with the red ball, Debnam.”
“Please proceed. I’m riveted,” Brendan said.
Laura’s cue slipped, sending the white ball careering across the table to bounce uselessly against the cushion. She turned to him and burst into laughter.
Damn the game.Brendan removed her cue from her fingers and placed it with his on the rack. Laura’s eyes widened as he pulled her into his arms. His mouth covered hers.
She sighed. Her arms crept around his neck. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and her warm, feminine fragrance made him moan against her lips.
He kissed the hollow at the base of her throat, feeling her tremble.Hell, he knew this was unwise, but he battered the thought away as he lost himself in the pleasure of her scent, her soft skin, and the flame of desire in her beautiful, blue eyes.
Chapter Nine
Their panting breathsfilled the quiet room. Brendan’s mouth sought a response she was only too willing to give. His hands, on the small of her back, settled her against the length of his hard body, his arousal pressing against her stomach. The intent in his eyes thrilled her. It was as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. As if a dam had broken. They clung to each other with unrestrained passion. Laura breathed him in and stroked her hands over his muscular back and shoulders, wanting his naked skin beneath her fingers. To see and touch every part of him. Her legs became unsteady.
With a quick gesture, he flicked the balls to the other end of the table, then lifted her up and laid her down gently on the baize surface. He leaped up to join her there.
His eyes dark with passion, locked with hers. A sensation spiraled through her middle at the potency of his gaze. He smelled clean, of the soap he used and a hint of musky cologne. Her breast pressing against his muscular chest, his mouth found hers. Their kisses deepened and his tongue plundered her mouth, tasting of wine.
“Laura.” His husky voice was a mere whisper. His hands cupped her breasts, then he pulled the lace on the neckline of her gown down to expose more of them, bending to kiss her skin. When he rolled her taut nipples between his fingers, more tingles raced through her body.
“Oh, how…” Laura lost herself at the fierce rush of need, tightening her belly.
Leaning over her, Brendan mouthed her breasts, drawing gently on each sensitive bud. An urgent throb and moisture gathered between her legs.
Laura stilled, unsure what he might do but unwilling to stop him as he grasped the hem of her gown and eased the material up over her leg, past her ribbon garter.
His fingers found that special place. At first, embarrassed by the slick sound of her damp skin, she moaned at the tantalizing friction his fingers caused. When he slipped one finger inside her, she tensed at the extraordinarily tight sensation, but he kissed her, delving into her mouth as he worked magic with finger and thumb. Laura was lost. Lifting her hips toward him, she panted, moaned, and sought something. She wasn’t sure what, only that she needed it badly.
Brendan’s lips found that tender spot on her throat. “I want to be here, inside you,” he murmured as he withdrew and pushed inside again.
Nothing in her life had prepared her for this. Laura wanted him. Knew for the first time in her life that this was what she needed from a man. To give herself up to a man. To experience passion. Laura arched her back as a current of heated sensation shot through her. She threw back her head, murmuring meaningless words, as the crescendo of feeling built. Was that she who called out?
The waves eased away, leaving her melting, mindless, and yet still needing more. To have him inside her. To feel his naked skin against hers. She opened her eyes. Brendan watched her, with a heavy-lidded expression, his chest rising and falling with each quick breath. With a thrill, she knew he wanted her too. She reached out to touch him, but he rolled away.
He leaped down from the table and then scooped her up, placing her on her feet. Still aroused, Laura clung to his coat, unsure of her legs.
“I hadn’t intended for that to happen,” he murmured. “I think we should stop, Laura.”
Abandoned so abruptly, Laura dropped her hand from his coat and stared at him. She swallowed sharply on a protest. He didn’t intend for them to be lovers. She would never forgive him for this glimpse of what life as his lover would be like before he sent her away. He’d denied her those memories. But his expression was resolute, his mind made up, and to press him would only embarrass them both.
“We must stop,” he said. “This isn’t wise.”
“It wasn’t wise when you asked me to come here. But you did.”
“You’ve never lain with a man, have you, Laura?”
