that was spiraling swiftly out of control. His body clamored for release.
Feasting on her mouth, Gabriel quivered as her hands inched slowly down his bare chest. Then she began exploring his arms so hesitantly, as if she had never touched a man before. God, she was driving him mad. His brother must have tipped the girl off on exactly how to seduce him; he must have warned her not to come on too strong with Gabriel after his long abstinence, and once more, Derek was right.
If she had been all over him like the sort of women he was used to, he would have found her so much easier to resist. Instead, her tentative approach made him ache. Her slow exploration had him quivering with impatience to feel those soft, sweet hands all over him.
He had sworn to himself he’d resist her, but what was the point? What was he trying to prove? He could no longer remember. There was only her beauty, her fire, her taste.
A chap was entitled to change his mind now and then, was he not?
Desperately eager to lose himself in sensuality with her, he was rock-hard, indeed, quite in danger of losing his towel, but he couldn’t care less. His blood surged as he ravished her willing mouth; it was wonderful.
He felt alive again, and he wanted her.
His bed nearby seemed to beckon. Still lost in kissing her, he began moving her gently toward it.
Sophia had lost all memory of how they had gone from fighting to this.
Her fevered trance was too deep to keep track of such petty details as Gabriel’s delicious tongue swirled in her mouth. His steely arms were wrapped around her, his hands traveling up and down her back, her waist, her hair. Her duty, the danger, her quest were all forgotten in the scandalous joy of his kiss.
The feel of his skin was so beautiful under her palms, with its kid-leather texture, still slightly damp from his bath, growing warmer; she could feel his temperature rising as she stroked him. Every inch of Gabriel Knight brought her greater pleasure.
His arms were outrageous, muscled with bulging curves of smooth stone—magnificent shoulders—and,
ah, God,
his sculpted chest.
She wanted to kiss him everywhere, but for now, she contented herself with caressing him. No, she could never get bored of that, and he certainly seemed to enjoy it.
Once more, she traced her trembling fingers along the line of his thick, sturdy collarbones, and then, down, through the crisp, light furring of hair on his chest. He growled with pleasure against her mouth as her hand glided tenderly over the swell of each pectoral muscle to play with the sweet little nub of each manly nipple.
Wobbly-kneed with desire, she was aware of his raging erection throbbing against her stomach. The layers of her gown and the towel still wrapped around his waist could not disguise the mighty evidence of his want. It made her a little nervous, admittedly. At the back of her mind, she supposed she was playing with fire.
Unfortunately, her powers of reason had fled—until the moment she realized that Gabriel was shepherding her oh-so-adroitly toward his bed.
When it dawned on her what he had in mind, she planted her feet on the ground and tore her lips away from his, coming suddenly back to her senses.
Good God, what am I doing?
This could not happen. Where was her brain?
“What’s the matter, angel?” Gabriel murmured with a steamy half smile.
“I can’t do this!” she gasped out, still panting.
He touched her cheek, his gaze full of hazy-eyed need. “Of course you can.”
“No—I can’t.”
“Why not?” His eyes had darkened to midnight blue; his lips still shone with the wetness of her kisses.
With a low whimper of frustration, Sophia tore her stare away from his too-delectable self. “My duty,” she mumbled halfheartedly.
He let out a husky laugh. “Never mind the bloody housework. We’ve got better things to do. Come on, love. If it’s a question of money—”
“It is
not
a question of money!” she exclaimed,
Scott Pratt
Anonymous
Nichi Hodgson
Katie MacAlister
Carolyn Brown
Vonnie Davis
Kristian Alva
Lisa Scullard
Carmen Rodrigues
James Carol