Chapter Ten
As soon as Talon left the room, Kate flung off the blankets and tore at her bindings. She couldn’t stand it. She had to get them off. Sweat beaded her brow, and her actions grew feverish. No matter how she contorted herself, she couldn’t untie Betsy’s knots. She was well and truly stuck in the darned thing.
The door from the sitting room opened without warning, and Talon entered the cabin, brandishing a stick of peppermint. “I’ve brought you something to settle your stomach.”
Kate froze. It was too late to do anything but try to cover herself with her arms. Heat suffused her cheeks, and she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
He was halfway to her side before he noticed her state of undress.
When he did, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Bloody hell, Kate. What have you done to yourself?”
She blinked, averting her gaze, speechless with embarrassment.
Talon always seemed to find her at her worst.
He sat down beside her and his big hands went unerringly to the knot, releasing it in a matter of moments. She breathed a sigh of relief as he unwound the long strip of cloth. Thank God for the white cotton shift she wore beneath it.
“There,” he murmured. “Is that better?”
He handed her the candy, and she fumbled to unwrap it. “I couldn’t get the knot undone. The more I pulled, the tighter it got.”
Tossing the cloth aside, he pulled her back against his chest. His arm rested right beneath the swell of her breasts, and she flushed with mortification when her nipples hardened to clearly discernible points.
“It’s a crime to hide such beauty.” His breath was warm in her ear, sending a delicious shiver down her spine.
“I didn’t think anyone would believe I was a boy if I didn’t.” She put the peppermint in her mouth, hoping the sticky sweetness would get rid of the horrible taste of sickness, if nothing else.
He laughed, a low, rough sound. “You still didn’t look like a boy. If anyone had really looked at you, they would have seen through your disguise in an instant.”
She knew she should pull away. He was holding her far too intimately, and it felt too good. Instead, she threw caution to the wind and turned, pressing her face against his hard, warm chest. She inhaled, breathing in his scent, a mixture of salt, sun and man. “Wasn’t it enough for Sutcliffe to send us away? Did he have to arrange the most terrible journey imaginable as well?”
Talon ran his hand down her back and then paused, returning to the deep groove the binding had left in her skin. “Damn thing really hurt you, didn’t it?”
He massaged gently, and she couldn’t control the small moan of delight that sprang to her lips. “That feels wonderful.”
“Does it?” His lips brushed her temple. “I love touching you, Kate.” She shuddered. “You shouldn’t say such things.”
“Why?” He cupped her chin and tilted her face so she was forced to look into his earnest blue eyes. “Why shouldn’t I say it? It’s true.”
He was so beautiful. Her heart ached with longing. She would give anything for the right to find comfort in his arms. “Because I’m married to Daniel,” she whispered in despair. “And he’s right next door.”
His face darkened. “He doesn’t deserve you. What’s more, he doesn’t care. You could take a dozen lovers and he wouldn’t blink an eye. So why should it matter if I hold you and kiss you? Don’t you want me to?”
Despite her best intentions, her gaze strayed to his sensuous mouth. Her protests scattered as she remembered the way his beautifully drawn lips had felt against her own. “Please.”
“Please what?” He gazed at her breasts through a veil of inky black lashes. “Please touch you, or please let you go?”
“I don’t know.” She couldn’t catch her breath, and her nipples seemed to swell even more under his regard.
“Your breasts ache from being bound for so long, don’t they?” As he spoke, he turned her in his arms so her back was once again pressed against his chest. “I’m going to touch you now. Tell me if you want me to stop.”
His hands skimmed her collarbone, meeting at her throat and then drifting lower. His palms brushed her nipples, and she gasped at the exquisite sensation. He repeated the process, his touch infinitely gentle.
Every nerve in her body tingled in response.
The third time, he caught each sensitive tip between his thumbs and forefingers, pressing his lips against her neck. “Do you want me to stop?”
She shook her head, no longer caring that this was wrong. Nothing in her entire life had ever felt so right.
