How peculiar that he should feel like a stranger and a friend at the same time. The duality tied her belly in a knot. Yet she touched him still. She verily wanted to keep touching him until … well, until she was satisfied, however long that might take.
Set my blood on fire, he’d urged her.
Hmm … she wondered.
Fiona slowly skimmed his flesh, reaching for his nipple.
His breath quit.
She hovered above his skin for another tense moment before brushing his taut nipple with the pad of her thumb.
Michael groaned.
How that feral noise stirred the want in her blood. And with a growing, brash impulse, she circled his areola before rubbing the nub of his obviously sensitive nipple, for his muscles capered under her brazen caresses.
“Enough,” he rasped.
With a soft shriek, Fiona found herself in a twirl. Her backside landed against his hard chest. He embraced her, keeping her from turning around, and though she couldn’t see him anymore, she could feel his feverish breath on her exposed throat, and that made her shiver in violent fashion all the same.
“Michael—”
“Hush.”
She pinched her lips together. There was something unnerving about being locked in his arms, unable to move. She had to want to be there, to trust him, or she’d panic.
“I won’t hurt you, Fiona.”
His sounded so genuine, even tender, and the stiffness in her joints eased. Soon she discovered, when she released her fears, her body hummed with an intense and pleasurable birr.
“That’s it, sweetheart.” He nuzzled her throat. “Fall back into my arms.”
Aye, that sounded right.
She shut her eyes. He grazed her midriff, bumped her hips. Heavens, were they dancing?
Fiona dropped her head against his shoulder as he swayed with her in a hypnotic rhythm. Sweat gathered between her breasts and beaded down her spine as her heart roared like a galloping steed.
“Kiss me,” she beseeched, breathless, a deep ache forming in her loins.
“Not yet,” was his hoarse response. “Just a little longer, Fiona, trust me. Wait until the fire is stoked and burning hot.”
“It is!” she moaned.
“Almost,” he promised.
She didn’t believe him; that she could burn even hotter. But when his fingers scraped across her belly, reaching for the stays of her chemise, she gasped like a common wanton.
His hips still rocked hers in a forbidden lilt as he widened the stays of her bodice—and reached under her shift.
Fiona cried out when he cupped her left breast, his palm searing her already scorched skin, but when he kneaded the swollen flesh, thumbed her pointed nipple over and over again, her knees truly buckled.
He nipped her earlobe, letting the supple flesh slip between his teeth, wracking her body with indescribable delight.
Now.
Had he said something? Or was it all in her head? She wasn’t sure of anything. The earth was tipping upside down. Her soul was crying out in blessed rapture. And then, he whirled her around again, making her dizzy.
As her vertigo fizzled, she delved into the torrid pools of his tempestuous grey eyes and caught her breath just as his lush mouth covered hers.
The world paused. She heard her heartbeat in her ears, loud and fierce. Her chest expanded as if it might rupture from the pressure inside her, screaming for release.
His lips lashed hers in rough and desperate strokes, as if he, too, had never been kissed, and she matched his fervor, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in for an even deeper buss.
He returned the embrace, gathered her waist, and when her legs wavered, he lifted her slippered toes right off the ground.
In Michael’s sturdy grasp, suspended, Fiona shut her eyes tight and released a much-needed breath. She tasted the wine on his lips, drinking in the sweetness.
It was nothing like she had imagined, the kiss. She had thought it might be warm and restful, fulfilling her desire—but it was wild, uprooting, frightening and thrilling all at the same time.
Quench her desire? Far from it. It only made her want Michael more. It only made her long for an eternity in his arms. And at the dreadful thought that she might lose him, that the precious moment might end, she released the last of her inhibitions and listened to the hunger pains of her body.
Fiona parted her lips, taking in more of the viscount. When he flicked his sultry tongue over hers, she shuddered in ecstasy.
He delved deeper into her mouth, thrusting, the sensation making her wet with an overwhelming need she had never experienced. Was this true passion? Heavens, no wonder ladies lost their reputations in the arms of rogues like Michael. In that frantic moment, she, too, would trade her station for such a kiss. She even sobbed with want. He had levelled her, as promised, drained the strength from her limbs, and her body sagged, crumpled onto the carpeted floor—still in Michael’s arms.
He had fallen to the ground with her, both gasping for air.
She remained cocooned in his protective embrace as her heart surged and her body trembled, weak with a yearning still pounding through her veins. But then it would pound forever, that yearning. She sensed she would always want more from him, that one kiss was not enough, would never be enough.
He stroked her temple in tender regard. “Are you satisfied, Fiona?”
At the rough rumble of his voice, his hastened breath, she writhed in discomfort. “Not a bit. But I release you, Michael. I’m on my knees.”
“No,” he said in a shaky voice. “If you’re not satisfied, then don’t release me.”
Her hand went to his cheek as she glanced into his turbulent eyes. “I will never be satisfied, Michael. I—I will always want you.”
He bussed her brow. “I suppose that means I’m trapped in your arms forever.”
“But—”
“I’ve never met a woman who needed my touch. I want you, Fiona. In every way. I want to know you, the way I should have grown to know you: the way our parents wanted us to know each other.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I want that, too, Michael.”
“Good. Because I’m not going to let you go. Ever.”
And he sealed that promise with another steamy kiss … just one of many more to come.
THE END
MORE ROMANCES BY ALEXANDRA BENEDICT
CASTLES IN THE SKY
Ashes
Her Lord Cinder
The Winter Rose
Briar Rose
Kiss Me, I’m Gorgeous
THE HAWKINS BROTHERS SERIES
Mistress of Paradise
The Infamous Rogue
The Notorious Scoundrel
How to Seduce a Pirate
How to Steal a Pirate’s Heart (includes:
All I Want for Christmas is a Pirate)
THE TOO SERIES/WESTMORE BROTHERS
Too Great a Temptation
Too Scandalous to Wed
Too Dangerous to Desire
THE FALLEN LADIES SOCIETY
The Princess and the Pauper
STAND ALONE ROMANCE
A Forbidden Love
ANTHOLOGY
Tales of Forbidden Love
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
So Down I Fall
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandra Benedict is the author of several historical romances published by Avon Books. She also writes fiction as an Indie Author. Her work has received critical acclaim from Booklist and a starred review from Publishers Weekly. All of her books are translated into various languages. For more information visit: www.AlexandraBenedict.ca. Or friend her on FACEBOOK.
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