She lay gasping in the soft dark, sheets tangled around her legs, her heartbeat wild and unsteady.
The aftermath washed through her in pulses, sweet, dizzying…overwhelming.
Slowly, her thoughts drifted back into shape.
Good heavens.What had he done to her?
What had she done to herself?
She flung her arm over her eyes as if to block out the implications entirely.
She wanted him.She knew what it meant to lie with a man.Georgie had told her.It had all sounded a bit unbelievable at the time, but now she knew exactly what she’d been missing.
She wanted Nicholas with a force that shook her.And that was dangerous.Because desire made women foolish.Desire made women reckless.Desire made women do stupid, compromising things.
And Bea could not—would not—allow Nicholas to become her downfall.
Not when she had a vote to influence.Not when she had a cartoonist’s war to wage.Not when her entire purpose relied on her remaining perfectly, stubbornly un-swayed.
She exhaled shakily.
No matter how good he felt.No matter how intoxicating he tasted.No matter how thoroughly her body betrayed her when she was in his company.She would not let him win.All men wanted was to control women.She could never forget that fact.
Bea rolled onto her side and hugged her pillow.
But long after the aftershocks faded… Long after her breathing steadied… Long after the flush cooled from her skin…
She could still feel his mouth on hers.
And all of it was dangerous…because just before Nicholas had taken her back home this afternoon, he asked her once again about the cartoon in the morning paper.There was no denying it.He suspected something.
