Page 6 of The Runaway Heiress
In her room, shielded from the rest of the world by the breadth of his body, it seemed like one kiss was possible. Just one before everything changed and she was forced to go to Anton. Didn’t she deserve just one moment of joy?
Before she could stop herself, Sophie leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. They were warm and firm as they parted in shock beneath her. His breath washed over her. He was going to pull away. She could feel him gathering himself to do just that.
She made a soft sound of protest in the back of her throat. A sound she didn’t recognize, and it made him pause. His lips softened and parted over hers, moving gently and coaxing more from her. Then she tried something she had no idea she knew how to do; she touched his perfect bottom lip with the tip of her tongue.
Gray groaned softly. She fairly purred at the sound and her palms moved up his arms to his shoulders. His hands closed on her hips and pulled her against him causing her to gasp at the contact of her front to his. He pressed the advantage and the tip of his tongue gently pushed inside to brush hers. The foreignsensation of him, hot and moist in her mouth, made her blood thicken and pool deep in that newly awakened part of her. He must have known, because his hands moved down below the bustle of her dress to cup her bottom where it met her thighs and pull her tight against him. Something hard pressed against her stomach.
It should have frightened her; she thought she knew what it was, but nothing about Gray, aside from the intensity of her feelings for him, frightened her. She didn’t want an inch of space between them, so her arms circled his shoulders and she pulled herself closer. His fingers tightened as a low and primitive sound came from his throat. And suddenly the kiss became something she never expected. It became the conversation that always existed, hovering between them but never expressed in words.
It was hungry and unrestrained and so much more intimate than she had ever thought a kiss could be. And, all too soon, even that wasn’t enough. Gray moved her back until she felt the press of the table against her thighs and she knew what he wanted. Closer. Her hands blindly pushed the jewelry to the side, and he lifted her so she sat on the edge, her thighs pushed apart so that he could settle between them.
He kissed her again before his fingers tangled in her hair to pull her head back. She was reluctant to lose his mouth until it began blazing a path of open-mouthed kisses down her neck. Then he settled on the swells of her breasts and breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent.
“Gray,” she whispered and curled her fingers around the warmth of his neck. If this was all they could have then she wanted it all. She wanted as much from this stolen moment as they could possibly squeeze. “Yes.”
It was all the encouragement he needed. He tugged on the silk of her bodice and the cool night air touched a breast, only to be replaced by the wet heat of his mouth. Sophie gasped and heldhim to her as odd pulses of pleasure shot to her groin when he suckled her. She gave herself up to the decadence of his mouth feasting on her and dropped her head back against the cool mirror, eyes heavy-lidded with passion. It probably would have taken her a lot longer to notice it, except he paused and pulled back enough to drink in the sight of her exposed to him. The pause made her open her eyes and that’s when she saw the door behind him.
It was still open.
His mouth settled on her again and suddenly she realized the picture they would present if someone should happen by. A small part of her wondered if the pleasure might be worth the inevitable punishment, but no. There was no telling what Jean would do to Gray.
“Gray.” It was a whisper, too soft to dispel his passion. Then more urgently. “Gray! The door is open. Mon Dieu, the door!”
Shit!
Gray pushed away from Sophie with such force he propelled himself backward several feet and made the dressing table wobble precariously. What the hell had happened to him? He’d only meant to help her with her jewelry but her warmth, her scent, the sweet innocence in her eyes had been his undoing. And when she’d pressed her lips to his, he’d told himself one kiss wouldn’t hurt anything. He’d never meant for it to go further, never meant to put his mouth on her body. If anyone had seen them—he didn’t even want to think of that. Even now, chest heaving from lack of air and an excess of adrenaline, he couldn’t tear his eyes from the sight of her nipple, pink and glistening from his attention.
Thankfully, she became aware because she had the good grace to blush and pull up her gown. Then, more slowly, she pushed forward until she dropped down to stand on the thick carpet.Gray would have helped her but his hands shook and he wasn’t entirely sure what he would do if he touched her again.
“Why did you do that?” His voice was harsher than he intended.
She bit her bottom lip, clearly as confused as he was. “I…I’m sorry. I wanted to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time.”
Gray might have laughed. Even he wasn’t sure what the harsh exhalation of air meant. She surprised him. But it wasn’t a subject he was willing to discuss. She was off limits and the sooner he put distance between them the better. The longer he stayed in her room, the more his good sense deserted him.
“Is that all the jewelry?” He took a step toward the pile on the dresser but waited for her to move out of the way before he approached it, still unable to trust himself with her.
“Yes.”
Gray picked up the sapphires and diamonds and suddenly hated himself for having to take them away from her. He paused and looked at the pile in his hands. They must be worth a small fortune. Then he noticed her dressing table held only a few bottles of perfume, a pot of skin cream, and assorted cosmetics. It was devoid of the jewelry box he expected.
“He doesn’t let you keep any jewelry at all, does he?”
Gray had followed her to her room because Sinclair had mentioned the safe. Usually, Sinclair followed her upstairs and waited for the maid to hand the jewelry over to him, so that he could put it in the safe in LaSalle’s study. Gray had convinced himself that the jewelry was important in some way, family heirlooms. He had not expected her to not have any jewelry at all in her room.
When she didn’t answer he pinned her with his gaze. “No,” she whispered.
“Why?”
No answer.
But she didn’t need to answer. LaSalle wanted to keep her. To keep her he had to make certain she had no means of running away.
“You don’t want to marry that bastard, do you?”
She reluctantly shook her head and there was a suspicious sheen in her eyes.
Gray noticed it and detested the twin spasms of pain and anger that shot through his heart. “Dammit!”
