Page 31 of Never a Duchess
“Dewart will wait.” He put his hand on his heart like she owned the beating organ. “Ye shouldnae be here, madam.” Dark eyes held hers, engulfing her in a warm embrace. Tender. Terrifying. “Be assured, I’m nae one to fall for such a trap. But say the word, and I am yers forever.”
“Then leave, Your Grace, for I have no desire to wed.”
No desire to have my illusions shattered.
No desire to lose someone so dear again.
A pained look passed over his handsome features. So convincing, she quickly urged him to play the rakehell. To show her the mannerisms of a man ruled by lust.
Forcing a smile, she readied her defences. “I suppose you will say the same lines but in that velvet voice you use.” The one that stirred the hairs on her nape and sent her temperature soaring. “Don’t forget, you must pretend to have an obsession with my mouth.”
“I’ll nae forget.”
The atmosphere changed with his expression. Who knew that an arrogant smirk could steal all the oxygen from the air, could leave her gasping for breath, floundering?
Dounreay prowled towards her, his gaze devouring every inch of her form like she was his next meal.
Lillian stepped back until her bottom hit the console table.
He did not say the rehearsed line until his body was mere inches from hers, his nearness like kindling to her fire’s flames.
“Ye shouldnae be here, madam.” A deep hum rumbled in his throat. He braced his hands on the wall above her head, trapping her in a masculine prison. “Be assured, I’m nae one to fall for such a trap.”
“Yet here you are, taking advantage of the situation.”
Dounreay pressed his mouth to her ear, his lips tracing the shell. “I mean to take advantage of more than the situation.” He inhaled deeply. “Ye smell so good, love.”
Lust was a wicked thing, a powerful thing.
The mere thrill of it left her sex throbbing.
She would squeeze her thighs together, but he was wedging his knee between her legs, pressing against the intimate place.
“Tell me to leave,” he whispered huskily.
“Leave,” she panted, the word lacking conviction.
Dounreay laughed against her neck. “Ye want me to stay.”
She closed her eyes against the potent sensations.
Kiss me, Dounreay!
Kiss me now!
Kiss me forever and a day!
The compelling song played over and over in her mind.
An addictive tune one could not forget.
He looked at her, his mouth so close to hers they were sharing the same breath. Mating in the ether.
She was going to kiss him. She couldn’t stop herself.
Logical thought took flight. He was the only thing filling her head. Hence why she came up on her tiptoes and brushed her mouth over his brandy-coated lips.
Dounreay inhaled sharply.
