Read Online Finding Miss McFarland by Vivienne Lorret - Free Book Online

yourself so easily, believing your worth is nothing more than your father’s account ledger,” he growled, his temper getting the better of him. He’d never lost control of it before, but for some reason, this tested his limits. If he could see she was more than a sum of wealth, then she should damn well put a higher value on herself. “If you were my sister, I’d lock you in a convent for the rest of your days.”
    Miss McFarland stepped forward and pressed the tip of her manicured finger in between the buttons of his waistcoat. “I am not your sister, Mr. Croft. And thank the heavens for that gift too. I can barely stand to be in the same room with you. You make it impossible to breathe, let alone think. Neither my lungs nor my stomach recalls how to function. Not only that, but you cause this terrible crackling sensation beneath my skin, and it feels like I’m about to catch fire.” Her lips parted, and her small bosom rose and fell with each breath. “I do believe I loathe you to the very core of your being, Mr. Croft.”
    Somewhere between the first Mis-ter Croft and the last, he’d lost all sense.
    Because in the very next moment, he gripped her shoulders, hauled her against him, and crushed his mouth to hers.

C HAPTER F OUR
    F or the first time in her life, Delaney stood perfectly still.
    She didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t even blink her eyes.
    This couldn’t be happening. Griffin Croft wasn’t kissing her. He wasn’t lifting her to her toes in the middle of the conservatory, just steps away from the crush of the Dorset ballroom.
    And yet . . . he was .
    His warm, hard mouth slanted over hers. Wondrously heated breaths flared from his nostrils, igniting the air between them. Where his chin pressed into hers, she could feel the tiniest unshaven whiskers inside the deepest part of his cleft. Her breasts flattened hard against his chest, and the pounding of his heart felt like a fist threatening to break through a door. Only she was that door. Down the center of her back, his hand roamed. Fingers splayed, he touched every rib and vertebra as if committing her skeleton to memory. His exploration continued until that hand settled into the dip just above the rise of her derriere. And then, he drew her even closer.
    If she’d worn stays, she was certain she wouldn’t be able to feel the buttons of his waistcoat. Wouldn’t be able to feel her nipples harden, sprouting to life beneath the layers of fine linen and silk.
    The crackling that possessed her every time Griffin Croft was near burned hotter than before. Instead of pinpricks of heat, tiny flames licked over her flesh, threatening to char every inch. This time, she didn’t mind in the least.
    “Open for me,” he growled against her lips, tilting up her chin.
    It was only when she felt his other hand teasing the underside of her jaw that she realized he was no longer the one keeping her up on her toes. Well, not entirely. The hand nestled into her lower back was doing a fair job of holding her against him. Yet the arms she’d twined around his neck were doing the rest.
    Impulsively curious, she did as he bade, wondering what new sensations would unfold. His staggered breath puffed against the damp underside of her lips. In that moment of hesitation, she opened her eyes, having no idea when they’d drifted closed.
    What she saw in his gaze stole the last remaining breath from her lungs. It, too, came out staggered. Brown and blue colors swirled together in that beautiful lake water she’d noticed only days ago, but what she hadn’t noticed was how it seemed to churn and undulate beneath the surface, as if coming to a slow simmer. The heat of it was so potent she could almost touch it with her fingertips, sure they would come back blistered.
    What startled her most of all was how his gaze seemed to reflect everything inside of her.
    Suddenly, she wanted to push away. “Mr. Croft, I—”
    A low sound tore from his throat as he captured