Page 77 of The Lady Needs a Rogue
Ah, she did. And she liked it. So very, very much.
She answered his passionate query without words. Canting her hips to draw him even closer, she kissed him again. Parting her lips, she drank him in. The taste of his caress. The feel of the crisp, dark curls on his chest beneath her eager fingers. The sound of his low moans of need.
A hunger more powerful than physical desire kindled deep within her. Her pulse raced as a wave of anticipation crashed over her. For so very long, she’d lived without passion. Without tenderness. Without love. But now, she could not deny the yearnings of her heart.
Without warning, he broke away and raked his fingers through his hair.
She could only gaze at him, stunned. Suddenly, it felt as though the air had been squeezed from her lungs. “What is it?” she murmured after the span of several heartbeats.
“Macie . . . lass . . . this isn’t right.” His words seemed a raw confession.
“You’re wrong,” she whispered. “Everything about this is right.”
“Ye don’t know what ye’re saying.” Finn caught her hands in his. “What ye’re doing.”
She gulped against a sudden rush of emotion. “Tell me you don’t think this is merely a game.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “To the contrary, this is all too real.” He brushed a butterfly kiss over her cheek. “But that doesn’t change the fact... this is not the way it should be.”
“And if I disagree?”
His lips slid over hers, tender and undemanding. “Ye deserve so much more than this.”
She pulled in a breath, inhaling the crisp, masculine scent of bergamot and man.
“I want you, Finn. Can’t you see that?”
His hands framed her face. For several beats of her pulse, he simply looked at her, as if to memorize every nuance of her expression.
His lips brushed a light kiss over her temple. “I do, lass. And bloody hell, I want ye more than ye can imagine.”
“And if I want to spend this night with you?”
“Macie, I can see the truth. Ye’re more innocent of the ways of men and women than ye like to let on. I’m not wrong, am I?”
Pressing her lips together to steady her emotions, she shook her head. “Why does it matter to you?”
“Because ye deserve better than this.” A soft smile curved his mouth as he studied her. “Tell me the truth, lass.” His lips brushed a feather-soft caress over hers. “Are ye a virgin?”
“Is it so very obvious?” she whispered.
“Only to a man who has seen the wonder in yer beautiful emerald eyes.”
She cocked her chin, summoning a bit of boldness. “And if... if I think it’s time.”
“That moment will come.” His voice was a husky rasp as he lightly stroked the curve of her cheek. “But not tonight.”
She turned away. Suddenly, the delight she’d felt in his arms had transformed to something far different. Her heart felt as if it had been caught in a vise, and there was only one choice. She had to get away. Now.
Macie rushed to the door, but he caught her wrist. “Don’t go, lass. Not yet.”
She gulped against the sudden burning pain in the back of her throat. “I must return to my own room... to my own bed.”
Where my heart is safe.
“Turn around, Macie.” Each syllable seemed a husky plea. “I need... I need to tell ye more... I need to tell ye what I’m thinking.”
She choked back tears she could not bear to shed. Not in front of him. “You made yourself quite clear.”
