Page 24 of A Governess' Forbidden Flame
Sebastian observed her with a newfound curiosity, as if her response had unveiled yet another, deeper layer of her character. He didn’t want to ask the next question, but curiosity won over.
“Miss Wycliffe…” he started, fighting the urge, but it was useless. He had to know. “What happened in your last governess position that made you want to leave?”
Her body stiffened upon that question.You fool,he thought to himself. This was the wrong moment for him to ask that question and ruin everything, but the words had already left theconfines of his mind and were now between them, like a barrier that kept them apart.
She bit her lower lip nervously, and it awakened every bit of manhood inside of him. He yearned to pull her into his arms and kiss her with more passion than she had ever known, kisses that would prove to her that whatever happened didn’t matter in the slightest bit. But she held her body away from him, refusing his silent, invisible advances.
She inhaled deeply, then walked a step away from him as she spoke. “I just…didn’t see eye to eye with the Lord Davenport.”
He expected more of an explanation than just this vague response, but with her back turned to him, she remained silent. He knew this was his sign to let it go, to simply focus on the astronomy conversation they were having moments ago or to start a new one, but something inside of him refused to obey this rational thought. He wanted to know. No…heneededto know.
“Is that all there was?” he asked cautiously.
She still stood with her back to him. He wanted to approach her, to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer, to tell her it would be all right, that she was here now, and he would never let anyone speak ill of her or harm her in any manner ever again. But he couldn’t do that.
“You can tell me anything…Amelia.” His voice was trembling as he spoke her name, creating intimacy between them that made her turn around immediately. He could see she wasn’t expecting that. Even more cautiously, he continued. “I um…I heard some rumors in theton…about you and Lord Davenport, that you were um…forward with him.” The end of this statement was not a question, but it was not a definite declaration either.
When she finally turned around, tears were glistening in her eyes.
“Lies…all lies,” she replied hastily, as tears started to stream down her face. She didn’t even try to suppress them. “It was he who was forward with me, but I refused his advances, and out of revenge, he told me that my services would no longer be needed, and he also spread that malicious rumor. I didn’t want to leave because his children were the sweetest of angels, but I was forced to…”
She buried her face into her hands, sobbing gently. He neared her immediately, tenderly taking her hands away from her face. He cupped her chin with his thumb and finger, forcing her to lift her gaze and meet his. Compassionately, he wiped away a tear.
“I believe you,” he said softly. “You needn’t fear that something like that will ever happen again. I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable or force you to do anything you didn’t want to, Amelia…”
He knew that saying her name was crossing a line, but he couldn’t prevent himself from doing so. Tonight, they were no longer an earl and his governess, but simply Sebastian and Amelia, without all those shrouds that were hiding their true selves.
“I trust you, Sebastian…” She seemed to feel his longing, and she responded in the same manner. “You are different than them…”
His heart clenched. Everything inside of him was set ablaze. He wanted to annihilate everyone who had ever caused her harm. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and keep her safe from the world. But more than anything else, he wanted to kiss her until the end of time.
He continued to stroke her face gently, not taking his eyes off of her. She was emanating light, and he was drawn to her, like a moth to a flame. Instinctively, she leaned into his touch, and he drew her even closer to himself.
“Your trust means more to me than you can imagine,” he continued, his husky voice now down to a whisper. “I…I cannot fight this feeling anymore, Amelia. I can’t help but be drawn to you, to the magic of your presence.”
Upon those words, he could only feel the magnetic pull between them intensify. Her lips parted, titillating him into things he dared not say aloud.
“I feel it, too,” she admitted.
Sebastian, overcome by the undeniable connection, closed the little distance that was still between them. “Tell me to stop, Amelia,” he implored, his breath mingling with hers.
But she didn’t utter those words. Instead, she met his lips with a fervor that mirrored the passion that had silently simmered between them.
***
The kiss came so unexpectedly, and yet, she knew it was coming. Now, their lips were united in this incredible yearning, savoring every single moment, which she knew was as fleeting as the air they were barely breathing in. Inexperienced as she was, her lips clashed against his, but he gentled it. He was seducing her, and she was falling for him now harder than ever. She could not imagine that a kiss might leave her feeling this way, yearning for more before it was even done.
She placed her hands on his chest, feeling his hasty heart beating underneath the palms of her hands. Eagerness for him made her entire body tremble as he pushed her against one of the bookshelves. As he kissed her through her soft moans, she wondered if he had been dreaming of her as much as she had been dreaming of him, of this moment, of the two of them together like this.
Surrendering to this desire, her fingers pressed harder against his shirt, feeling the strong outlines of his chest muscles. Curiosity forced her to continue exploring his body as her fingers trailed up his neck, grabbing a handful of his hair.
She could feel him pull her gown up around her waist as his hand brushed against the soft skin of her inner thighs.
“Oh…” she moaned softly, biting her lower lip.
The touch was unexpected. It sent a shiver of a thrill down her spine. It awakened every single sense inside of her body, which was at this moment fully focused on him. She smiled to herself. How wonderful his touch felt, how deliciously soft his lips. She wanted more. So much more.
“You are so beautiful, Amelia…” she heard him murmur through the ringing inside her head. “I’ve wanted to touch you from the moment I laid my eyes on you…”
