Page 43 of If the Slipper Fits
“Oh, is that why? And here I thought it was because you liked my kisses.” And, my God, but he wanted to kiss her just now.
She withdrew her hand and burst with laughter. “Of all the pompous—”
Her laughter proved contagious. “—You aren’t going to deny you demanded I kiss you after each and every rescue?”
Abruptly, she sobered. Her gaze lowered to his mouth. “I don’t recall. I’m sure it had nothing to do with…It was just the way the storyline went. The prince rescued his princess and, ofcourse, bestowed a kiss.”
His body, already simmering with suppressed need, tightened with arousal. “I see. You’re sure?”
She lifted her chin. Two matching splotches of pink stained her cheeks. “Quite sure.”
“I propose an experiment.”
“What sort?” she whispered, but she raised her fingertips to her lips as if cognizant of what he intended.
Blood pounded in his ears. He was playing with fire, but couldn’t seem to make himself stop. He locked eyes with her and wrapped one arm around her waist, drawing her close. He cupped her nape, fixing her head at precisely the right angle for his kiss. Her skin was cool and silky smooth beneath his fingers.
“Well, then, Princess. Shall we take this up post-rescue?"
Her magnificent eyes widened. “Post-rescue?”
“I’ve freed you from the villain and transported you to safety.” He waited several torturous seconds for her agreement—or rebuttal—tense and ravenous.
“Thank you, my prince,” she breathed, and closed her eyes.
Heart slamming against his ribs, he did not hesitate. He closed the distance between them, brushed his mouth over hers, and swallowed a groan of pure pleasure.
Her lips were soft and warm and pliant beneath his. Using the merest pressure, he tasted, savoring hints of sugar and mint and awakening feminine passion. He ached to deepen the kiss and plunder her sweet mouth, but he held back, needing a sign the same heady desire thrummed through her.
When her hands landed, feather light, on his shoulders and crept up to twine around his neck, he nearly gave in to the clamors of his body to take more. Instead, he teased her senses alive with tender kisses that strained the limits of his control.
Finally,finallyshe leaned closer, her hands simultaneously tugging at his neck.
He did not budge.
She pulled harder, succeeding only in drawing her torso more snugly into his.
Still he resisted her efforts—until he heard her low, barely discernible whimper of need.
His blood turned to fire in his veins. His mouth sealed over hers, his tongue sliding over the seem between her lips, seeking entrance.
She opened for him on a gasp and he entered her intoxicating warmth. With each greedy slide of his tongue, the flames of desire licking at his insides burned brighter, hotter.
She responded with a sweet ardor, arching her head back, weaving her fingers into his hair.
His hands roamed over her, committing to memory every curve of her body, reveling as she trembled at his touch. She was soft and lithe like perfectly ripe fruit, ready to be plucked from the branch.
A conflagration of pleasure and agony filled him to the brink, urging him to take things further,now. To lay her back, peel off her gown and grant his hands and mouth and cock the freedom to please her—and sate his own desperate craving for her.
Desire for her shook him to his core, and he’d only kissed her. Had he ever wanted a woman so badly? Had he ever known this overwhelming, all-consuming passion?
Something akin to terror filled him. He ripped his mouth from hers and pressed his damp forehead into her neck, dragging in ragged breaths, steadying himself through sheer force of will. He’d teased her about liking his kisses, but, in the end, she possessed a sorceress’s power over him.
He raised his head, noting her own dazed expression. Gods she was beautiful, with that heart shaped face, that luminous skin, those tilted, exotic eyes.
“Caden?” Her fingers toyed with the hair at his nape. She licked damp lips, parting them as if in invitation for his kiss.
He rose from the settee, all but crashing into an adjacent armchair in his haste to get away from her and the spell she cast over him.
