Page 14 of Boxing With My Duke
Carlton knew it was wrong. Knew she was still in the throes of her dream. But he couldn’t stop himself. Not at this moment. Not when every part of him was flooded with desire.
Closing his eyes, he kissed her. Her lips trembled and his passion soared as she responded to his kiss. She opened her mouth, and he swept his tongue in and caressed hers, then ran it gently along the curve of her full lips. A breathy moan escaped her, and she pressed herself against him.
The feel of her luscious breasts pressing into his chest intensified his need to an almost fevered pitch, and he dived in for another deep kiss.
Her lips were made for kissing and her body was made for loving, but he forced himself to stop. What am I doing? She’s having a nightmare and I’m taking advantage of her.
He wanted her, but not like this. He had to put an end to this…now. Pulling away, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently patted her face. “Catherine, wake up, love.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “Wha-what’s happening?”
“You were having a nightmare…”
“Oh, no! What was I saying?” she asked, her eyes wide in her stricken face.
“Something about a box. You begged me not to leave you in there. Were you upset about the hiding place in the carriage?” Double Damn! “I didn’t think of that at the time. I’m so sorry for being so thoughtless.” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like a first-class heel. Not only for making her hide in the box in his carriage when the highwayman had shown up, but for kissing her when she was in the throes of a bad dream.
“No. Yes. No. I get panicked when I’m in closed spaces. But I was fine. You did nothing wrong, Carlton.” She glanced down and plucked at the coverlet. “My brother and I played hide-and-seek when we were small. It was our favorite thing to play. I’m afraid my hiding place was too good. He couldn’t find me and forgot to tell anyone. We were five. I was trapped in the window’s box seat in the library for hours. Sometimes, I have nightmares about it. And sometimes I become most anxious when I feel trapped in enclosed or dark spaces,” she said in a soft voice. “I know it’s childish, but there you have it.”
“It’s not childish,” he said, lifting her chin and looking into her eyes. “That was a genuinely frightening experience you had as a child. Sometimes those stay with us for many years.”
“Thank you for understanding,” she whispered. “Um…Carlton?”
“Yes, Catherine?”
“Did we just kiss?”
“Well, technically, you kissed me first. Not that I minded, but I’m afraid we got a little carried away.”
“Oh!” She averted her gaze. “I-I, did you think it was brazen of me?”
“No. I thought it was wonderful of you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Um…Carlton?”
“Yes, Catherine?”
“Just so you know, it was my first kiss,” she whispered. “And I-I’m glad it was w-with you.”
“You are?” Her first kiss? How has this beautiful woman never been kissed before? Carlton felt conflicted in his reaction. Anger that she’d never experienced a kiss before and pleased as punch that he’d been her first.
Her cheeks blushed a pretty pink. “Well, I have never spent so much time with a man outside of my family. Between the death of my older brother and then my father, I’ve never been officially out in Society…” She shrugged her delicate shoulders.
“I see. Well, that explains why I never encountered you at any Society functions. Not that I go to many, mind you. Only when I can no longer stand my dear mother’s nagging. But if I had met you at a ball, I would have damn well asked you to dance and, most assuredly, stolen a kiss or three behind a potted palm.”
She giggled and gave him a teasing punch on his shoulder. “I am very sorry for being so brazen in my sleep. I can’t imagine what came over me.”
“Don’t be sorry! I found it most pleasurable.”
She looked up…and her eyes brightened. “You did? I wish I’d been awake, so I could remember it.”
His eyes held hers. “I suppose you could persuade me to go for a second round.” He held up a hand. “Purely for the memory, of course.”
“You would do that?” Her eyes misted.
