Page 27 of The Dangerous Love of a Rogue
‘Ignore it. Your brother had a reputation. Now he has a wife. This is about us, no one else. You and I are all that counts.’
‘Only because you need my money.’
‘What I need right now, Mary, is not your money. I need you.’
Turbulent emotion writhed inside her.
When his lips touched hers, longing overrode everything. She forgot doubt, responding as his tongue slipped past her parted lips. When his tongue withdrew, she dared to slide her tongue into his mouth. He caught it lightly between his teeth, for an instant, before sucking it deeper.
It was so intimate…
Her fingers combed through his hair.
I love you.The words whispered through her thoughts unbidden. She did, though, she loved him, no matter what John said, no matter the risk. She loved him.
His lips left hers and pressed a path of kisses along her jaw, then down her neck.
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said, against her skin.
She shivered. ‘And rich,’ she whispered into the air, forcing her mind to stay aware.
His head lifted and a soft laugh left his lips. ‘Yes, you are rich, but there is far more to you than money.’
His hands rose, and his fingers gently tugged the short sleeves of her gown down from her shoulders, the neckline hung loose and her bodice sagged. His gaze dropped to her breasts, in the moment before his heated palms cupped them.
Mary’s mouth dried. She looked up and saw a faint image of them reflected in the glass. His dark hair against her pale skin, as his lips touched the hollow at the base of her neck where her pulse flickered.
His fingers slid beneath the fabric and embraced her breasts.
A sweeping sensation plunged through her middle. She ached for him.
He eased one breast free as his head lowered, then his lips covered her nipple, his tongue cradling her, and he sucked.
Her bones dissolved and her fingers curled into his hair, as she watched the mirror image above them. This was wicked, but delicious; the sensations more intoxicating than wine.
Still sucking her breast, his hands began lifting her dress.
Cold realisation drenched her, he was not going to stop. ‘No.’ She grasped his shoulders and pushed him away. ‘No.’ She had not lost all sanity.
His gaze cut through the darkness as his fingers let her dress fall, his heavy breaths echoing around the glass.
‘Mary…’
She would have stepped back but his hands cupped her buttocks and held her closer, pressing the column of his erection against her stomach through their layers of clothing. ‘See what you do to me.’
‘Let me go.’ She pushed his shoulders.
He conceded and stepped back. ‘You have no need to be afraid of me.’
Her fingers shook as she righted her bodice and lifted her sleeves, unable to look at him.
‘I would not hurt you.’ The tone of his voice had hardened as John’s did.
Fear lashed out. What if her instinct was wrong? She had good cause not to trust him. It was not only John who thought ill of him, he was an outcast, ignored by most.
‘For God’s sake, Mary.’ His pitch lifted to anger.
Her chin tilted to a defiant angle. She must stop this now. ‘I will not meet you again.’
