Veronica’s nostrils flared, and she continued to watch him with a thunderous glare. “You’re a villain,” she shot out.
“But you already thought that of me,” he said, still smiling. He stood again. “What do I have to lose to sink further in your esteem?”
Veronica cocked her head to the side. “Fine. If you didn’t agree to that rule, then I have two more rules to make.”
Sebastian tipped his head to the side and shrugged. “Seems fair.”
“Though why you’d even want to kiss me is beyond me.” She waved a hand in the air.
She’d said the remark in an offhanded manner, but quickly regretted it when Sebastian stepped forward and leaned down, his mouth hovering near her ear. Gooseflesh popped along her neck, and she tipped her head to the side. His breath was a hot whisper. “It’s not possible for me to bed you and not kiss you. I simply cannot do it. And if you’re honest, you don’t want me to.”
He pulled her into his arms and pressed his nose along the sensitive skin beneath her ear. The gooseflesh spread all the way down her side, and she shivered.
“I felt you shudder when I kissed you,” he continued in the same hot whisper. “I intend to kiss you…everywhere.”
Veronica swallowed. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She couldn’t do this. Not now. Not yet. She quickly pulled out of his arms, rushed to her trunk, opened it, and began pulling out clothing in no particular order. She must unpack. It was time to set the clothes to rights. This was too much. Too much, too fast. They were alone in a bedchamber. She couldn’t go to bed with him right now. She needed time to get herself together. Her insides were a mass of nerves. What if it wasn’t like it used to be? Or even worse…what if it was?
She’d only placed a few items in the wardrobe before she turned to see him silently staring at her, arms crossed over his chest, an amused look on his face.
“Can’t Mary see to unpacking your things later?” he drawled as he removed his coat and tossed it atop a nearby chair. His waistcoat soon followed.
Veronica cleared her throat. Unpacking was giving her something to concentrate on besides remembering the quivers that had invaded her spine when the man had kissed her, something besides the tingle between her legs when he’d glanced his lips along her sensitive neck. Something other than the heat that had suffused her whole body, the shiver that had traced its way along her thighs. His words, his actions, his undressing, had completely thrown her off balance. “I’m certain Mary is tired from the long drive,” she replied in a far-too-high voice, dedicated to her task…and avoiding him.
“And you’re not?” he drawled, pulling off his cravat and tossing it on the chair with his other clothing. Dear God. He was disrobing. Disrobing.
“Not partic—” She froze. Drat. She’d walked directly into his trap. She gulped.
“Good. I’m not either. Shall we?” He tipped his head back toward the bed.
Heat spread through her body as if she’d just lowered herself into a steaming bath. Beads of sweat formed between her breasts. She turned away to drop to her knees and rummage through her trunk while she worked to keep her breathing even. “But we just got here. It’s the middle of the day.” As excuses went, it was particularly lame, but at the moment, it was all she had.
His chuckle followed. He stepped forward, leaned down, and traced a finger along her collarbone. His touch alone made her shiver. He crouched beside her, and his voice was a hot breath in her ear. “I seem to remember on our honeymoon we made love in the middle of the day. Several times.”
Veronica froze and briefly closed her eyes. “I know my second rule,” she choked out.
“What?” His voice held a note of apprehension.
“Don’t call it lovemaking,” she said through clenched teeth.
He pulled the chemise she was holding from her hands and let it drop back into the trunk. Then he stood and pulled her up with him into his arms. Veronica shuddered again. His mouth dropped to her neck and traced a heated path along the vein that led to her shoulder. Dear God. His tongue lit her up like a line of Christmas candles. When his mouth reached her ear again, he whispered, “I don’t care what we call it as long as you come to bed with me. Right. Now.”
Trembling with a mixture of trepidation and what she didn’t want to admit but knew was desire, Veronica let him lead her to the bed. The large piece of furniture took up the entire center of the room and was covered with a jade-green satin coverlet and stark white sheets.
Sebastian stopped next to the bed and stroked her cheek. “You’re beautiful, Veronica.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “And you’re handsome. Too bad you’re a—”
His mouth swooped down to cover hers, silencing her words. Her head tipped back, and her arms instinctively went around his neck. She anchored herself to him. It felt too good to pull away. And he was right. Damn him. She wanted it. She wanted his kiss. She wanted his touch. It had been too long. She’d been nervous minutes ago, but now all she wanted was to be tangled naked in the bedsheets with him, feeling his muscles ripple beneath her fingertips as he pumped into her.
His mouth moved along her cheek to her ear. He bit the lobe slightly before tracing the tip of his tongue down her neck, across her throat. Then he lowered his head to her décolletage, tantalizing her by rubbing the backs of his fingers along her nipples, kissing the exposed tops of her breasts before moving up, sucking at her neck, dipping into the little crevice at her collarbone, lapping at the spot behind her ear that he knew drove her wild. “I can make you burn,” he whispered. “I remember how.”
“It’s been so long,” she whispered in a shaky voice just before her gown gave way. She glanced down in surprise. The entire time he’d been touching her, he’d also been unbuttoning the back of her gown. It bunched into a heap around her arms. Rogues were good for some things, she thought, just before her knees buckled and he caught her, sweeping her into his arms and laying her atop the mattress. He leaned down, still kissing her, and she wrapped her arms over his broad shoulders and pulled him atop her, desperate to feel his weight. Their kiss turned wild. Her arms linked fiercely around him. She would explode if he didn’t enter her at once. He grabbed her shift and pulled it down beneath her breasts, letting his hot mouth suck first one hardened nipple, then the other until she cried out.
Awash in pure desire, Veronica arched her back and slid her fingers through his hair. Her head moved back and forth against the pillow as his tongue on her nipples drove her slowly mad. She shuddered. Her stays were cutting into her ribcage, but she didn’t care.
One of his hands moved down to push her shift up her legs and his finger quickly found the spot between her hips where she was desperate for his touch. The moment he touched her, she cried out. She wanted him. So desperately. All of him. Right now.
He shifted his hand between their bodies and unbuttoned his breeches with frantic, unsteady fingers. Freeing himself, he parted her thighs, finding his spot and sliding home deep inside her in one sure, swift thrust. Veronica cried out while a growl was torn from Sebastian’s throat as he pumped into her again and again.
