Page 66 of From Rakes to Riches

She swallowed, her breath suddenly coming more quickly, her skin tingling as every inch of her strained toward him. “My lord?”

He was goingto kiss Helena Templeton.

He had no right to do it—no right to touch her at all, but she was so close, her sweet red mouth just a breath away from his and her eyes wide, invitation in those blue-gray depths. So lovely, her eyes, like a winter sky before the morning haze melted away. He wanted to fall into them and stay there forever.

He’d been waiting a lifetime to kiss her, hadn’t he?

An entire lifetime…

He clasped her face in his hands and touched the tip of his thumb to the seam of her lips, gently parting them. “Your mouth is so sweet, Helena.”

“I…is it?” She let out a shaky laugh, but she made no move to pull away, just looked up at him with eyes gone a deep, sleepy gray.

“Yes. So pretty, love.”

Could she read the desire in his eyes? She was naïve, an innocent…

A kiss, then. Only a kiss.

He let his lips hover over hers for one breath, two, giving her a chance to pull away, but she only gazed up at him, her eyes soft.

Just like that, he was lost.

He leaned closer, and brushed the gentlest kiss over her parted lips.

She went still, as if stunned by the kiss, but then she let out a breathy sigh, and her hands drifted over his chest. He stiffened for an instant, certain she was going to push him away, but she only rested them there, her palms flat against his chest, warming him.

“Let me…I need to taste you here.” He drew back, groaning when her mouth chased his, and brushed his lips over the soft skin behind her ear, his breath leaving his lungs in a hoarse rasp when he felt her pulse flutter wildly against his tongue.

She stroked her fingers over his jaw, tracing the angles of it, a little sound of pleasure dropping from her lips. “Oh, that feels…it tickles.”

She urged his mouth back to hers, her tongue meeting his in a single shy stroke—such an innocent caress, yet her eagerness had him breathless and panting as he searched for more of her silken warmth, a pained groan on his lips.

She made a low, needy sound in her throat and opened her mouth against his, chasing his tongue, coaxing it inside and…

Dear God. She was sucking on his tongue.

Everything dropped away then—the work table, the tangled branches, the white ribbons. There was onlyher, her slender body trembling against his, her mouth warm and eager.

He kissed her and kissed her, his tongue plundering the depths of her mouth, his body aching with a desire he’d thought lost to him forever. “So sweet, Helena. You’re so sweet.”

She shivered against him, squirming closer with every stroke of his tongue. Her breath tickled his ear, her hands moving restlessly over his chest. Such small, dainty hands, but so warm, her touch the most exquisite heat, searing him.

He slid his hands into her hair, hairpins scattering in the wake of his seeking fingers, the heavy locks tumbling to hershoulders. He cupped her neck, desire overwhelming him at the sensation of her warm skin against his palms. God, he couldn’t get enough of her neck, couldn’t tear his gaze away from it, couldn’t keep his hands off that hint of creamy skin above the high collar of her gown that had so transfixed him at the church this morning.

“I want to kiss you here.” No, he wanted tostartthere, and then keep going until he’d tasted every inch of her. “May I, sweetheart?”

“Yes.” Her voice was low, breathy, without a hint of hesitation.

His fingertips danced up her spine to the buttons at the neck of her gown, teasing them open so he could stroke that delicate skin, lave it with his tongue. Would it be as soft as it looked, sliding like silk against his lips? He had to find out, had to know…

He dipped his head so he could trail his lips down her neck, sucking and nibbling, then soothing the sting with gentle strokes of the tip of his tongue.

“Adrian.” She sank her fingers into his hair, tugging him closer.

“Do you need more, sweetheart?” He stroked his tongue over the pulse point at the base of her neck. “Do you want more, Helena?”

She made a strangled sound, something between a sigh and a gasp, and he swept his fingers over her throat to feel the movement, then leaned closer and brushed his lips over the curve where her neck met her shoulder, and God, it was sweet, her skin softer than anything he’d ever touched, a faint scent of fresh greenery clinging to her, the scent surrounding him, teasing his senses until he was drunk with it, every inch of him aching for her, his reason fleeing in the face of a desire that sent him to his knees.

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