She made it into the corridor, pressing her palms to the cool wall, inhaling deeply, steadying herself.
She knew he would come. It was only a matter of time.
Andhe did.
The door creaked open, and the moment he stepped into the hallway, she seized his wrist and pulled him into the darkened drawing room.
His lips were on hers in an instant.
He backed her against the door, his hands sliding into her hair, his mouth hot and insistent, taking, demanding. Anddamn her, she let him.
She let him becausethiswas why she hadn’t left.Thiswas why she kept coming back.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, her body arching into him—until, with every last bit of willpower she had, she wrenched herself away.
“I must speak to you,” she panted.
He was breathing just as heavily. “And I musttouchyou.”
His lips found her neck, his voice low and hungry. “Feeling you in there was driving me insane.”
Her eyes rolled back as his mouth brushed over the pulse behind her ear.
No. No, she had to say it.
“Ash,” she forced out.
He kissed along her throat.
“Ash, I’m serious.”
He didn’t listen. He nipped lightly at the place just above her collarbone.
She shoved him away.
Hard.
And when she put the settee between them, only then did he exhale sharply, his hands going to his hips. “What is it you need to tell me that’s so bloody important?”
She straightened her spine. Her hands curled into fists at her sides. “We must stop.”
Silence.
“No more of this,” she said, waving a finger in the air between them.
Ash went completely still.
“Why?” His voice was measured, but there was something else there. Frustration? Disappointment?
She swallowed. “Because I have the money. I have everything I need. And I must leave before my mother arrives.”
He ran a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. “When will that be?”
She hesitated. “A sennight at most.”
His jaw tensed. “Then we have a sennight.”
“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “No, you’re not listening. We must stopnow.”
