Read Online Punish Me With Roses - a Victorian Historical Romance by Juliet Moore - Free Book Online
Authors: Juliet Moore
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thigh was pressed against her skirt. If she wasn't feeling nervous, he'd be quite surprised. He could barely stay calm himself.
She took a long tremulous breath. "For safety. Â It made sense at the time."
He saw that she was flushed, but perhaps that was the heat in the room. He was feeling quite hot.
"What if a nefarious sort is looking for someone to kidnap and offer back to their family at a high ransom?" she continued, and it seemed as though she did it in order to keep talking. She took another deep breath. "He might be asking lady's names in order to discover who would be a worthy victim."
Using his nearness as a weapon was not entirely unappealing. The longer he sat there, the closer he moved, and the better it felt. The only problem was that he kept losing his train of thought. It must be something about her perfume. It was doing funny things to his memory. He struggled to remember what he was going to say next. "But why would you think that your name would cause any alarms?"
She shivered and he knew it was out of passion. She licked her lips. "For...well, for obvious reasons."
"But your name…" he stared, and found himself whispering, "is quite common." He'd never noticed just how dark her eyes were. He felt his good intentions drowning in their depths.
"I hardly think Clavering is a common last name, considering," she said.
Her last words hardly registered in his head. Alex was too close to her heady scent of wildflowers and spring air. How she carried the aura of spring through the winter, he did not know. But one smell of her permeating fragrance sent his mind into a whirl. He wanted to gasp long, full breaths of her. He wanted to make her breathless and eager for his scent. He wanted her.
Had they been having a conversation? He no longer remembered what it had been about. If it had been important, he wouldn't have forgotten it so easily. Yes, he assured himself, it must have been something frivolous.
He breathed in another incredible whiff of her and took in the whole picture. He glanced down her body, at her pale bosom, at her amazingly tiny waist. Looking at her didn't dispel his olfactory-born desires or even lessen them. It just added to his complete sensory experience. He wanted to take in all of her. With time, he would.
Enigmatically, her beauty was of the cool kind, completely out of sorts with the way she smelled. But somehow, it matched. Somehow, each deepened the appeal of the other. Lord, how she made his pulse race!
He had been speaking to her all day and could imagine her kind, seductive voice as though he could hear it right then. But he also heard her laborious intakes of breath. She was having a hard time breathing, just as he was. It was awe inspiring. Every sense he possessed had been gloriously satisfied...except for one.
Even though they were only inches apart, they still hadn't touched .
He didn't think she could inflame his desires any more, until she did. She moved.
Closer .
Their lips met with the spark of fireworks. He knew he couldn't restrain himself any longer. While he was hot and calm before, now he was burning with energy. He kissed her with far more strength than gentleness. She responded just the way he'd wanted her to, with little gasps of pleasure and no misplaced arms to bar his progress. He moved on.
The longer he kissed her--and it hadn't been very long at all--the more reason he lost. This wasn't an artful seduction. Or perhaps it was.
He was being seduced.
She wriggled beside him and he pulled her onto his lap. He opened his eyes and glanced at her through heavy lids. She opened hers as well and gifted him with a look of scorching surrender. Good lord , if she didn't move her skirts out of the way, he felt he would die.
He moved his hands down her back and gripped the sides of her waist with hungry fingers. He imagined it bare beneath his touch, silky smooth and prime for his mouth. His breeches became even tighter then. He had to wonder if
She took a long tremulous breath. "For safety. Â It made sense at the time."
He saw that she was flushed, but perhaps that was the heat in the room. He was feeling quite hot.
"What if a nefarious sort is looking for someone to kidnap and offer back to their family at a high ransom?" she continued, and it seemed as though she did it in order to keep talking. She took another deep breath. "He might be asking lady's names in order to discover who would be a worthy victim."
Using his nearness as a weapon was not entirely unappealing. The longer he sat there, the closer he moved, and the better it felt. The only problem was that he kept losing his train of thought. It must be something about her perfume. It was doing funny things to his memory. He struggled to remember what he was going to say next. "But why would you think that your name would cause any alarms?"
She shivered and he knew it was out of passion. She licked her lips. "For...well, for obvious reasons."
"But your name…" he stared, and found himself whispering, "is quite common." He'd never noticed just how dark her eyes were. He felt his good intentions drowning in their depths.
"I hardly think Clavering is a common last name, considering," she said.
Her last words hardly registered in his head. Alex was too close to her heady scent of wildflowers and spring air. How she carried the aura of spring through the winter, he did not know. But one smell of her permeating fragrance sent his mind into a whirl. He wanted to gasp long, full breaths of her. He wanted to make her breathless and eager for his scent. He wanted her.
Had they been having a conversation? He no longer remembered what it had been about. If it had been important, he wouldn't have forgotten it so easily. Yes, he assured himself, it must have been something frivolous.
He breathed in another incredible whiff of her and took in the whole picture. He glanced down her body, at her pale bosom, at her amazingly tiny waist. Looking at her didn't dispel his olfactory-born desires or even lessen them. It just added to his complete sensory experience. He wanted to take in all of her. With time, he would.
Enigmatically, her beauty was of the cool kind, completely out of sorts with the way she smelled. But somehow, it matched. Somehow, each deepened the appeal of the other. Lord, how she made his pulse race!
He had been speaking to her all day and could imagine her kind, seductive voice as though he could hear it right then. But he also heard her laborious intakes of breath. She was having a hard time breathing, just as he was. It was awe inspiring. Every sense he possessed had been gloriously satisfied...except for one.
Even though they were only inches apart, they still hadn't touched .
He didn't think she could inflame his desires any more, until she did. She moved.
Closer .
Their lips met with the spark of fireworks. He knew he couldn't restrain himself any longer. While he was hot and calm before, now he was burning with energy. He kissed her with far more strength than gentleness. She responded just the way he'd wanted her to, with little gasps of pleasure and no misplaced arms to bar his progress. He moved on.
The longer he kissed her--and it hadn't been very long at all--the more reason he lost. This wasn't an artful seduction. Or perhaps it was.
He was being seduced.
She wriggled beside him and he pulled her onto his lap. He opened his eyes and glanced at her through heavy lids. She opened hers as well and gifted him with a look of scorching surrender. Good lord , if she didn't move her skirts out of the way, he felt he would die.
He moved his hands down her back and gripped the sides of her waist with hungry fingers. He imagined it bare beneath his touch, silky smooth and prime for his mouth. His breeches became even tighter then. He had to wonder if
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