Page 62 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“Green with flecks of gold.” Allie lifted onto her toes, letting him take her weight and studied the depths of his eyes. There was a kaleidoscope of colors hidden in the mossy green, but what she liked most was how they blazed with desire now. “Green amber,” she said softly. “You may recall that I blurted it like a ninny.”
“You were talking about my eyes.” He murmured the words as if fascinated by the realization.
“I was struck by them. By you.”
“And I by you.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, and the heat of him warmed her much more than the fire. “Even when you mussed my desk.”
Allie reached up and slid his tie from his neck. Deftly, he helped her slip her unbuttoned bodice from her shoulders.
“So if I made your desk messy again, you wouldn’t mind?” she teased.
He answered by wrapping her in his arms and lifting her onto the edge of his desk. “I wouldn’t mind at all.” With one finger under her chin, he tipped her head up and took her lips.
Allie pressed her hands to his chest, relishing the fierce thrash of his heartbeat. Then her fingers found the buttons of his shirt, and she worked at each one impatiently.
Ben tugged at the fabric of her skirt, gathering it up until he’d raised it and her petticoat up to her thighs.
“How is it possible to be this soft?” he asked,his fingers sliding along the inner edge of her thigh.
A shiver chased down her spine, but it wasn’t cold. Heat spread out from every spot where his skin met hers.
Which made her want his touch everywhere.
“Wait,” she whispered, and he instantly stilled.
Allie slid off the desk and onto her feet and turned her back to him. “Will you help with my skirt and petticoat?”
He fumbled with the hook on her skirt, but it might have been because he’d bent to press kisses against her shoulder, her neck, and the wicked spot behind her ear that shot heat straight to her core.
Soon he’d pushed her skirt over her hips, then her petticoat, and she worked the hooks and eyes of her corset at the same time. Soon she stood in only her chemise and stockings and drawers, and he helped her pull the chemise over her head.
She turned toward him, suddenly chilled, and he took her lips. Then he wrapped his arms around her, and she felt safe and warm and knew she was right where she was meant to be.
She reached down for the fastenings of his trousers, yearning to discard another layer of fabric that separated his body from hers.
“Not yet,” he told her. “Let me take you to bed.”
He bent to scoop her into his arms, but Allie sidestepped toward the desk. “Here,” she insisted.
At first, she thought he might disagree. She wasn’t certain what had possessed her to demand it. Desire was making her bold.
Ben stunned her by stepping toward the desk, swiping his arm across its surface to topple its contents onto the floor, and lifting her back onto it.
Then he kissed her. A deep, searing kiss. She opened to him, teased her tongue against his, got lost in how a kiss could be wild and tender and dizzying all at once.
Then he nudged her knees apart and moved between her spread legs. He bent his forehead to hers.
“Remind me to go slow if you need me to,” he whispered and then he took her mouth again. He gently eased her down until she was clutching at his shoulders, until she lay with her back against the desktop.
He slid the ribbon of her drawers free and tugged the fabric from her hips and down her legs.
She was naked before him, more vulnerable than she’d ever been with anyone. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, but it wasn’t from embarrassment or shame. Nor from the fire that filled the room with a flickering warmth. She was flushed with need, her every sense was heightened and every inch of her yearned for his touch.
“You’re stunning,” he murmured, tracing his fingers down her chest, then dipping to take her nipple between his lips. “And delicious.”
She gasped at each stroke of his tongue, then she slid her hands into his thick hair, urging him closer. He was over her, so close and yet still not near enough.
“I want to make this perfect for you,” he whispered.
