He observed her expression carefully as he grazed his knuckles down the side of her throat. The gown she wore exposed the enticing shadow of her collarbone and he couldn’t resist. Turning his hand, hebrushed his fingertips along the crest to the hollow where her pulse fluttered.
In response, her lips parted to take a swift, delicate inhale. Her eyes widened for just a moment before drifting closed.
She trusted him.
And for some reason that truth hit him with a force he wasn’t expecting. His voice was rough when he murmured, “Why did you call me here tonight?”
Though she kept her eyes closed, she licked her lips before whispered in reply, “To tell you what I know.”
Tempted beyond reason by the pink of her tongue gliding across her lips, Phineas slipped his hand around her nape. She immediately softened, allowed her head to fall back as her face tilted toward his.
“Is that all?”
She did not hesitate to answer. “No.”
Her honesty was unexpected and inspiring. He lowered his head, but before he touched his mouth to hers as he so deeply yearned to do, he whispered, “I’m going to kiss you.”
“I know,” she breathed.
The heady anticipation in her voice lured him. His mouth took hers before he managed to form another thought.
Rose petals.
That is what her lips felt like. Soft, silky, and sensual. He couldn’t keep himself from gently brushing his lips back and forth, savoring the breathless beauty of the tantalizing caress. But when her hands came up to brace lightly against his sides, he pulled her closer with an arm around her waist and tilted his head to deepen the kiss.
The quiet hum of pleasure that slipped from her throat nearly undid him, but he forced himself to go slow. Though many people saw him as impulsive and careless, he was neither of those things. In truth, he was very thoughtful and deliberate in everything he did. He just had a skill for assessing and deciding his course of action veryquickly. And right now, he knew with a certainty that originated in his marrow that this kiss had to be perfect.
When he exerted a bit of pressure against her mouth, she parted her lips with a soft puff of air. Her breath was warm and honey sweet. He wanted to draw her essence deep into his body. Consume her.
Instead, he savored her.
He delighted in the responsive tip of her head and basked in the warmth of her body. He surrendered to the pressure of her hands and soft, pliant shape of her lips beneath his. And when he gently slipped his tongue past her teeth, he drowned in the taste of her.
Honey, vanilla, and cinnamon.
*
Surely, she’d falleninto a dream. The lovely sensations swirling through her couldn’t be based in reality.
Eleanor tried and failed to find some mental purchase in the midst of everything she was feeling. But it was pointless. From the moment she’d sensed the viscount was going to kiss her, she’d lost all rational thought. She’d became utterly driven by her physical desires.
And she didn’t regret it in the slightest. At some point, she’d likely feel a rush of embarrassment for how easily she fell into his arms. But right now, all she wanted was more of the lovely sensations he inspired with the brush and press of his lips and the shocking, erotic sweep of his tongue.
The scent of warm sandalwood surrounded her as his tongue twisted languidly… luxuriously against hers. Delicious chills raced over her skin and a liquid heat pooled low in her body.
Yearning built inside her with each silken glide of his tongue and gentle sucking pull of his mouth. She had no idea when she’d slid her arms around his back to curve her hands over his shoulders, but she used the leverage to press herself even closer to him…craving the strength and breadth of him while everything inside spun into chaos.
She wanted the moment to go on forever. She wanted to melt into him.
But then he gave a low, gravelly sound and he lifted his head just enough to release her mouth. His rapid breath was warm over her lips and the hand that cupped her nape squeezed with subtle possession.
Eleanor didn’t want the kiss to be over. She didn’t want to open her eyes and see him staring at her. She wanted to drift in the sultry dream a bit longer.
Though he still held her tightly to him with his arm around her waist, he eased his hand from her nape in a tingling caress that stirred the heavy warmth in her belly. And when he pressed the flat of his thumb to her lower lip, her legs nearly gave out. She had to fight an inexplicable desire to close her lips around the blunt digit.
A low growly hum rolled through his throat as he rubbed his thumb back and forth.
“I will crave that taste for the rest of my life,” he murmured thickly.
