“What if you are not there, Phineas?” she whispered.
He captured her fingers in his and brought them to his lips so he could kiss the delicate pads on the tips. If she joined him in his adventuring, these fingertips wouldn’t remain soft for long, but would become callused and experienced like his own.
He found he didn’t hate the thought.
“I’ll be there, Olive,” he whispered against her skin. “I promise.”
The smile which bloomed across her face was appealing enough to make him clear his throat and step away. He had to get her into her room before someone came by and wondered at the two of them.
“Besides,” he began as he took her elbow and ushered her into the room she indicated, “spectacles arenae the hindrance ye suppose. We’ll just connect the arms with string, which will rest across the back of yer neck, and that way, if theydofall off, they’ll just fall to yer chest.”
She was still smiling as she shut the door behind them, and it took a moment for Phin to realize she’d given them the privacy he’d been hoping for.
“That is really quite brilliant,” she admitted. “I should start doing that now, perhaps.”
“Perhaps,” he murmured, distracted by the possibilities.
She began to feel her way around the room, and he jumped forward to help. “What do ye need?”
“The desk beside the window.” She nodded toward it while hesitatingly moving in that direction. “Blast! I hate how blind I am!”
As they reached the desk, he leaned down and brushed a kiss across her nose. “Ye are perfect in every way.”
She froze, not even breathing as far as he could tell.
And then, just when he wondered if he’d offended her, her hands reached for his face again, but instead of caressing him, she grabbed his cheeks and pulled him down toward her.
He was smiling when his lips crushed against hers, and why not? This was the second time she’d kissed him this way, letting him knowexactlywhat she liked, so how could he not love a woman like that?
This kiss was hot and furious and desperate, and seemed to pick up where they’d left off that evening beside the window in the library. Her fingers dug through the hairs at the back of his head, and his hat fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers to the floor with athumpneither of them acknowledged. His hands were on her arms, then her hips, pulling her closer.
The feel of her pressed against him like this, even in her morning gown and all the corsets women wore to hold themselves in, was driving Phin mad. He needed her; he needed tofeelher.
“Olive,” he murmured against her skin as his lips trailed down her jaw, “I need…”
“Yes!” she gasped, arching against him. “I need you too, Phineas!”
That hadn’t been what he’d meant, but he wasn’t going to pass on an invitation like that. With a growl, he tightened his hold on her waist and lifted her.
When her rear end hit the surface of the desk, her legs fell open as she wriggled backward invitingly. All he could do was step up and settle himself between her legs as his lips crashed down atop hers once more.
The little mews of encouragement were all he needed, and one hand found and cupped her breast through the silk of her gown, delighted to realize she wasn’t wearing a corset today. She arched into his touch, even as she groped at his backside, trying to draw him closer.
Aye, lass. That’s the way.
His throbbing cock was nestled against her inner thigh, and when she began to pump her hips, he knew what she wanted.
What sheneeded.
His thumb found her nipple through the fabric, and he wished he had the time to unbutton her far enough so he could taste her there, but she was too close—he could tell—to waste any time.
Her hands dropped from him and fumbled for her skirts. As she drew them up over her knees, she wrapped her legs around him, linking her ankles behind his arse and settling his cock directly over the wet heat he so desperately needed.
But some semblance of reason kept him from reaching for the button of his trousers. He didn’t want to take her innocence like this, not when he wasn’t certain about so many things.
But he could bring her the pleasure she was desperate for.
As she nibbled at his jaw, whispering harsh words of need against his skin, he dragged his palm up her smooth thigh. He shifted to one side, and his questing fingers found her damp drawers. When he pushed aside the split to brush his finger down her wet folds, she jerked hard against him.
