She lifted her hands and clasped them together behind his neck, trying to bring him closer to her. His strong hands slipped down to her buttocks and pressed her against his lower body as his mouth ravished hers. Her breasts flattened against his chest. Their kisses became more ardent with each passing second. His tongue drove deep inside her mouth. Their uneven breaths melted together while his strong body pressed hers hard against the shelving.
“Now it’s your turn,” he whispered. “Taste me, Louisa.”
Without hesitation, she thrust her tongue into his mouth, brushing, swiping, and darting from one side to the other.
He moaned and murmured softly, “What do I taste like?”
“Passion,” she answered. “This must be what passion tastes like, for I can’t think of any other way to describe it.”
“I’ve never heard anyone say it that way before, but I agree. You taste of passion, too, and I need to get my fill.”
Moments later, his lips left hers. He swept his tongue down the length of her neck to the swell of her breasts peeking just above the bodice. He dipped his tongue below the fabric of the dress as one hand cupped her breast, as if he were trying to lift it from beneath the confines of her clothing. Shivers of delight exploded inside her, and a strange feeling of wanting stirred deep within her.
Louisa felt as if he were devouring her. And it was the most exquisite feeling she’d ever experienced. With every movement his lips made over hers, her breaths grew shorter. Her breasts, stomach, and between her legs tightened. His kiss lingered, and she responded by instinct and parted her lips again. His tongue slid between her teeth. He explored the roof and the sides of her mouth with slow, sensual movements.
His hand moved up and down the side of her rib cage, past her waist to the plane of her hip, and back up until his palm covered her breast once again. A small involuntary moan slipped past her lips. He pressed his palm to her breast again and lifted and molded it in his hand. She gave herself up to the new and joyous feeling of being touched by this man.
A tremor shook the earl’s body, and she realized he was as affected by these wonderful sensations as she was. That thrilled her almost as much as his touch.
Louisa’s breaths became tiny gasps, and her arms tightened around him. Her fingers kneaded his back as he continued the easy, unhurried stroking of her breast. Another moan of pleasure escaped past her lips.
The duke gave her several more soft, short kisses and then lifted the blindfold from her eyes and stepped away from her.
Louisa blinked, adjusting her eyes to the light and her body to the shock of the abrupt change.
He put the scarf in her hands and stepped even farther away from her. “We must stop. I heard movement abovestairs. I think your sisters might be wondering why you haven’t found them.”
“Oh, yes, well.” She wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Of course, you’re right.” Coming fully to her right senses, she realized just how easy it had been to forget anyone was in the house save for the two of them.
He smiled. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe. You don’t look like you’ve just been seduced.”
“Was I? Seduced?”
He nodded.
“Oh,” she whispered earnestly, closing her eyes and lowering her chin. “I should have known that’s what you were doing, but I couldn’t seem to stop you.”
She felt the tips of his fingers under her chin. He gently lifted her head, and her lashes fluttered up. She couldn’t deny that just the merest touch from him filled her with soul-shattering sensations.
A roguish grin lifted the corner of one side of his mouth. “There was no reason for you to. It’s perfectly acceptable for a young lady to have a kiss or two before she marries. You are hardly defiled, Miss Prim—and believe me, you are as chaste right now as you were when I walked into the house a few minutes ago.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quite.”
She frowned. “That’s hardly true, Your Grace. I touched you in unmentionable places. I tasted you. You touched me, and right now I’m feeling wretchedly wicked.”
He chuckled once more, this time good-naturedly. “Take me at my word, Miss Prim. I know a few wicked women, and you are not one.”
The soft light in his eyes seemed to indicate he was being truthful with her, but it didn’t help her feelings at the moment. “Why did you want to kiss me first with the blindfold on?”
“The truth?”
“Always.”
“It was a purely selfish act on my part. I wanted to see if it would be as thrilling to kiss you with it on as I imagined it to be when I watched you searching for your sisters.”
She swallowed hard again. “And was it?”
