Page 31 of King of Rogues
“Naomi,” he whispered.
Without conscious thought, she lifted her head, offering her lips to him. Monsale brushed the mere hint of a kiss on her mouth. “Naomi.”
Her eyelids flew open when he nipped on her bottom lip with his teeth. Her whole field of vision was now filled with his light gray eyes. Two stormy pools that beckoned for her to dive into them and let herself go.
His lips came down on hers once more, and he claimed her mouth. Naomi groaned. This was what she had dreamed of for countless years. One moment of perfection and the thought of where it would lead.
Naomi’s lips parted as Monsale’s tongue swept past them and into her mouth. For a strong, determined man, he was surprisingly gentle with his kiss.
She tasted the hints of black tea and orange preserve, a delightful combination she was willing to spend the rest of her life enjoying if given half the chance. One kiss with Monsale would never be enough.
As the kiss continued, Naomi sensed his hesitation. He was holding back, waiting for her permission to continue. Or for her to push him away.
I have waited years for this, for you to claim me. What took you so damn long?
Grasping the front of his coat, she pulled him closer, exalting when Monsale took his cue from her actions and deepened the kiss. It was time to put all those pointers about the art of kissing she had garnered from her married friends into practice.
Their tongues tangled in a frantic, messy encounter. She bit his top lip, and he withdrew. Their gazes met, a flash of passion flaring between them, before a grinning Monsale came back for more.
On and on the kiss continued. Mouths working feverishly together. Greedy for one another.
She didn’t stop him, not even when he flicked the front button of her pelisse open and brushed his fingers over her peaked nipple. Her gown and light stays yielding as he pinched the bud between his finger and thumb.
Yes. Yes.
“I can just imagine how you will feel when I have you naked and beneath me. But tell me Naomi will you cry out my name when I bring you to climax, or will your mind be too muddled as your body explodes with pleasure?”
“I…I don’t know. I”
She did know how it felt to come under her own hand, often imagining it was him stroking her sex. But even as the haze of lust held her in its grasp, a spark of lucid reasoning broke through.
Naomi pushed at Monsale’s hand, and he released his hold. If he was lucky, he may one day find out what seeing her in the passion of her orgasm looked like; but that day was not today.
He drew back, a look of hesitation lingered momentarily on his face before his usual expression of supreme self-confidence returned.
“You know you want to experience what it would be like to lay with me. I can read your mind. It is taking all your strength not to beg me to make you mine here and now. I know you wanted it last night,” he said.
Naomi drew in a shaky breath, her body desperate to give in and claim what it craved. Her sex clenched and pulsed with need. Any moment now and she would gladly seal this deal with the devil.
“My title, my lands, and fortune would be safely out of Prinny’s hands. All you have to do is put your name on the list, and start planning our wedding night,” he added.
His words sent Naomi tumbling out of her lust filled fog. She punched her fist as hard as she could in the middle of his chest. A shocked, Monsale fell back. “Naomi!”
“Get off! Get away from me! You are a nothing more than a conniving swine! You will do anything to thwart the Prince of Wales, but nothing to declare your heart. This was all a wicked ploy to get me to put my name on that bloody list. What will it take to get you to understand that my answer is no?”
Her hand went straight to the roof of the carriage, and she banged loudly on it.
“Stop! Stop the carriage now!”
They both swayed as the coach veered over to the side of the street and came to a sudden halt. Naomi wasn’t done. She launched herself at Monsale, fists flying. He put his hands up trying to ward her off. “Deuce woman! Stop it.”
She landed a hard slap to his face just as the door of the carriage opened. The poor footman stood in the street a stunned expression on his face.
Monsale came back to her one last time, leaning in close. Their lips once more mere inches apart. “Are you insane?”
Naomi shot him a look of pure hatred. “No, but I would be if I added my name to that infernal list. There shouldn’t even be a list.”
Tears stung her eyes. She was certain her heart would break all over again.
