Page 85 of If the Slipper Fits
“You’re taking me with you,” she said, happiness bubbling up inside her. Because she had known he would, even though he owed her less than nothing. He might not want her any longer, and helping her might yet bring calamity down around him, but he could never abandon her, not and still be Caden Thurgood.
Only the sure knowledge he now found her less than alluring kept her rooted to the spot instead hurling herself against him to rain kisses over his face.
“You are the most confounding woman. After everything, did you really expect me to leave you here? By God, I oughtt—”
Her good intentions flew out the window. Hands fisting his lapels, she dragged her face into his warm neck. His rough stubble scraped her cheek but she didn’t care. “Don’t be daft. I knew you never could.”
His arms came around her, hesitantly, as if he didn’t know whether to hold her or shake her. “But you just said…” He cursed softly. “Tell me you’re not crying.”
“I’m not crying.” She rubbed the tip of her nose against his collar bone. She never cried. She had no idea why her eyes leaked.
His powerful arms tightened, pulling her into his hard, warm body. One of his hands cruised over her middle back in a slow circle she felt all the way to her toes. She steeled herself against the melting sensation swirling through her. He was merely offering comfort.
“Your non tears are soaking my skin. Anna, look at me,” he demanded, voice gruff.
She tilted her head back.
Their gazes met. The tenderness in his eyes stole her breath.
He brought one hand to trace the salty tracks on her cheek. “I’ll take care of you, no matter what.”
A wobbly smile curved her lips. One of her hands released its death grip on his robe to cup his cheek. “I know,” she whispered. “Just like when we were children.”
His teeth flashed white as a bark of laughter escaped him. “You’ve lost me. What are you talking about now?”
“Your favorite childhood game, Robinhood? Outwitting the villains to save the less fortunate?”
The softness in his gaze vanished. A muscle ticked in his jaw and something hot and primal swirled in the blue depths of his eyes. “I’ll let you in on a secret. Prince Charming rescues the stolen Princess was my favorite game, with you at least, particularly when we were older.”
“But you opposed it so vehemently.” Awareness of his body, everywhere it touched hers, tingled through her.
He grunted softly. “Because kissing you felt…good. Too good. Left me restless, edgy, irritable.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll tell you something else. There’s nothing, not one damned thing, I don’t desire about you, Anna.”
“That’s not true,” she argued. “We just agreed—.”
“No. You assumed. You need me to spell it out?” he growled.
She nodded, anticipation igniting all her senses.
“You call me chivalrous. Gallant. There’s nothing gallant about how I feel every time I lay eyes on you. Every time I smell your scent. Every time I recall the sweetness of your mouth, the softness of your skin. Christ, if I weregallant, I'd be bedding down in the barn with the grooms, not sharing a chamber with you.”
Her words came out a breathless whisper. “That’s impossible. The innkeeper would wonder why since I’m your sister. I…I thought you’d begun to think of me as such.”
His mouth twisted in a sardonic smile. “I assure you, there is nothing fraternal about what I feel for you. Nothing gallant. Nothing chivalrous.”
She licked her lips. “You’re certain?”
He choked on a laugh, then lowered his lips to her ear. “I watched you climb from your bath and envied every last water droplet that had the good fortune to touch your skin.”
She gasped, shocked—but not aghast as she ought to be. Instead delicious heat unfurled in her belly.
“I drank in the sight of you, pink and naked and delectable. From the moment I discovered you in that damned coach the need to ravish every square inch of you has consumed me. I close my eyes to shutout the sight of you, then fantasize about touching you, tasting you, having you.Christ.I’m no bloody paragon, Anna. You may as well get that out of your head.”
His rasping words set her body aflame.
