She flipped another card onto the smaller stack.Shift or drawers. “Oh, my.”
His brow quirked. “That means…”
“That means I must take off my gown too, I suppose.” A shiver went through her.
“That means I win?” he breathed.
“And I win too.” She was already off the bed and plucking at the buttons at the side of her gown.
“Wait.” He stood beside her, his hand on hers, stilling her.
She frowned. “Why?”
“We played our game, but I still need to tell you something first. It’s important.”
No. No. No.No. She couldn’t allow that to happen. “I don’t want to hear any confessions.”
“I must tell you who I am.”
“Absolutely not!” Her voice was forceful. She lifted her face to his. “You’re breaking the rules.”Thank God for the rules.
He traced the line of her throat with one fingertip and the hint of a smile touched his lips. “Aren’t rules made to be broken, sweetheart?”
She swallowed. She just wanted him to keep touching her like that. To keep his mask on. To keep pretending… “I don’t want to know who you are,” she whispered brokenly.Because then I can pretend you’re not Griffin.
His hand stopped.
“I don’twantyou to know who I am,” he continued. “But Imusttell you.”
“No.” She shook her head hard. “No, you mustn’t. In fact, you’renot allowedto. Club rules.”
“I cannot in good conscience?—”
“If you tell, you’ll have to leave the club. Is that what you want?” Instead of saying more, she quickly removed her gown. Then, equally quickly, she pulled the chemise over her head and tossed it atop the small table. She stood there in only her stockings. She was naked. Thathadto shut him up.
He sucked in his breath. “Oh,that’snot fair.”
She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in his maddening scent. “No more talking. Just touch me.”
Without another word, his mouth moved inexorably down to meet hers.
For Griffin,it was as if his body was not his own. He needed to put an end to this. He needed to stop it. Immediately. But he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. If only she hadn’t taken off that damn gown and then that evenmore damnedshift. She was nude, for the love of God. Naked save for her stockings. Was there a man alive who could resist that? The woman of his dreams standing in front of him without a stitch of clothing, begging him to make love to her?
God damn it. He must have done something truly awful in his life to deserve this torture.
But one kiss wouldn’t hurt. Would it?
The moment their lips met, Griffin knew he was lost. Her arms locked around his neck and she clung to him, making tiny whimpering noises in the back of her throat, which made his cock instantly hard. Just one kiss would not be enough.
And what a kiss; it was explosive. His tongue tangled with hers. His hands moved down to cup her backside and suddenly he found himself picking her up and laying her on the bed. He hovered over her, his arms braced against the mattress on either side of her shoulders. She was busily unbuttoning his waistcoat. Mindlessly, he allowed her to. She didn’t want to know his name. She’d made that clear enough. But she did want to touch him. Perhaps he could allow her to do that too. Before it went too far. Just for a moment…or two.
His waistcoat and shirt were soon gone and then her frantic hands were working at the buttons at the fall of his breeches. He grabbed her hands then, first one and then the other. Grabbed them and pinned them to the mattress above her head using only one of his hands.
“Let me touch you,” she breathed.
He moved his mouth to her neck and devoured her sweet skin. “I can’t. We can’t?—”
“You promised that we would. Oh, God!”
