His mouth lifted at the corners. “Liar.”
So soft, that one word. Not the accusation it should have been, but tender, and it was that which undid her. She closed her eyes again. He was too close. She had to do something to shut him out.
But he wouldn’t allow it. “No. Look at me. See me.”
She grasped his bare forearms with both her hands to push him away, but her fingers curled into his skin. Held on. “Do you suppose I don’t see you? I have from the very start.”
His fingers sank deeper into her hair. “What do you see, Eleanor? You asked me once if I was a gentleman or a scoundrel, and I told you—”
“Both. You said you were both.” She closed her eyes, remembering. She’d thought his answer absurd at the time, because one was either the villain or the hero. Never both at once.
Except it wasn’t that simple, and she should have known better even then, because she’d learned long ago the truth was never simple. That line between hero and villain, good and bad, devil and angel was blurred, indistinct. Maybe it had always been that way, and she’d refused to see it.
He stroked a finger down her cheek. “We see what we want to see, Eleanor. It’s easier that way. You taught me that.”
She opened her eyes. “What do you want from me, Cam?”
He laughed, the sound harsh, as if it were torn from his chest. “I want so much from you, I don’t even know where to begin.”
She scraped her nails over the flesh of his forearms. To hurt him? Or because she wanted tofeelhim, his skin under her fingertips? “Yes, you do. You searched for me, and now you’ve found me. End this. Tell me, then let me go. What do you want?”
He shuddered at her touch. “You.”
Her breath hitched in her throat. Oh, God, it would so easy to give herself to him. To give in. To let herself drown in him and forget everything else. Everything she’d learned about him, and about Amelia. Not to have to think about how she could use it against them.
Or ifI can bear to.
He stroked his thumb across her lower lip. “I want your mouth.”
Were his hands shaking?
She let her fingernails sink deeper into his flesh, because she did want to hurt him, and to keep him near her at the same time. “Then take it. That’s what you do, Cam—you take. It’s all you know how to do, so do it now.”
Heat flared in his eyes at her words. “Because that’s what a villain would do, isn’t it, Eleanor? So much easier that way.” He shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. “But I won’t make this easier for you. Ask me to kiss you.”
Oh, it was wicked, and he was the devil, after all. She could feel the fires of hell licking at her heels, the flames green, like his eyes. To withstand the lure of his kiss was hard enough, because she wanted it so badly.Wanted him. She wanted his lips on hers, and never in her life had she been afraid to take what she wanted.
But to ask for it . . .
She looked at his mouth, his lips, and without her consent, her own lips parted.
He drew a ragged breath. “Ask me, Eleanor.”
She couldn’t give in to him, because if she did,if she did . . .
A kiss. One kiss. A small surrender only, but a surrender still, and surely one would lead to another. “You’ll take everything from me, Cam.” She searched his face. “You’ll take everything, and I’ll have nothing left.”
“No.” His hoarse voice scraped against her nerve endings, but his fingers were gentle as they stroked her collarbone. “I give you my word. Ask me.”
Her breathing quickened to match his, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “Kiss me.”
His eyes went dark, but he didn’t move. “Say my name.”
No denials then, and no half measures. Stripped bare.
She lifted her chin. “Kiss me, Cam. I want your mouth.” She reached up to trail her finger across the seam of his lips. “You’re a hard man, but your lips feel soft. Are they? I want to taste you—”
A strangled moan tore from his throat. “Stop it.”
