She was pricklier than a cornered hedgehog. He rather enjoyed nettling her and a sudden, wicked impulse to continue hit him just then. “Oh dear,” he said, feigning worry.
That deep, warm gaze swung back to his. “What is it?”
“I fear I’m going to sneeze,” he told her.
“Good heavens.” Her eyes widened and then narrowed as the grin he couldn’t quite contain emerged. “You’re not serious.”
“No.” He reached the top of the stairs and headed down the hall.
“That was not a kind jest, Your Grace,” Lady Stokey chastised him.
He stopped before her chamber door. “Perhaps not kind but certainly humorous. Would you be so obliging as to turn the knob for me, my lady?”
Making a sound of irritation, she did as he asked. Something within him stirred as he stepped over the threshold into her private rooms. He pushed the door closed with his shoulder, trying to ignore the awareness creeping over him. Damn it, what was it about the small woman in his arms that made him want her so much? He’d seen more than his fair share of beauties. He’d long thought himself immune to the lure of a lovely woman. The lust coursing through him made little sense. He hadn’t been so moved by the mere presence of a woman since Bess. The thought of the sweet, innocent woman he’d loved made his blood run a bit colder. She could not have been more different than the willful, decadent Lady Stokey.
Heath stalked the last few feet to her bed, stopping to carefully lower her to it. Lady Stokey’s eyes were on his. Their noses nearly brushed. Her lips parted. The desire he’d been doing his damnedest to dash away returned, hitting him in the gut with the force of a punch.
“Thank you,” she said softly. Her hands were still on his shoulders, burning him through his jacket, waistcoat and shirt.
“You’re most welcome,” he returned in a voice gone rough. He knew he should straighten, put some distance between them, ring for her maid and leave the chamber. But she was a temptation he couldn’t resist. From the moment she’d rounded the bend in the maze and he’d caught sight of her, the sun glinting in her golden curls and twin patches of pink on her cheeks, her curves molded in a scarlet day dress, he’d been thinking of kissing her. Undoing the line of buttons on her bodice. Peeling her out of her gown to see if her breasts were as full and luscious as they appeared beneath her proper layers.
Before his conscience allowed him to change his mind, he lowered his mouth to hers. She opened to him and he took advantage, sweeping his tongue inside to taste her. Her fingers slid from his shoulder to his neck, sinking into his hair. An arrow of heat shot directly to his cock, making him instantly hard. One of his hands moved to her elaborate coiffure, itching to undo it and unleash her long blonde curls. With his other hand, he cupped her breast. She arched into him, filling his palm with the curve of her breast that wasn’t contained by her corset, making a throaty sound of appreciation deep in her throat.
He wondered if her nipples were hard, and if they were the same pretty pink as her soft lips.
Damnation.
He hadn’t meant to give in to his baser instincts. But now that he had, he couldn’t seem to stop. He wanted more of her. Couldn’t help himself from pressing his knee to the bed and leaning over her, the better to kiss her senseless. When her tongue ventured against his, a shot of unadulterated, reckless need blazed straight through him as if it were an inferno. He dragged his mouth down her throat, kissing the creamy skin he’d admired in the gardens. She even tasted of violets, sweet and floral, and for some reason, he found it incredibly erotic. The high lace collar of her gown served as an impediment for further exploration, so he released her breast to find the line of fabric-covered buttons keeping him from what he desperately wanted. He slipped them from their moorings, returning to her mouth for another deep, passionate kiss.
One, two, three, four. He counted each button he freed in his mind, eager to see and touch the skin he’d revealed. He wanted her so badly he ached with it. And if her response was any indication, she wanted him back with every bit as much fervor. Five, six, seven, eight.
Heath broke the kiss and raised his head to gaze down at his handiwork. Her red bodice had gaped over her breasts, exposing two generous swells above her white embroidered chemise. He met her gaze then, sensing her watching him. Her mossy eyes were glazed with passion, her lips swollen from his kisses. Several of her curls had come free of their pins, tumbling about her shoulders. Even mostly clothed, she was the most gorgeous creature he’d ever seen. He wanted to toss up her skirts, find the slit in her drawers and slide home. Deep inside her.
“Is this why you insisted upon carrying me to my chamber, Your Grace?” she asked, her voice breathless. Dazed. Slightly on guard.
He couldn’t blame her. Her words sliced through the haze of yearning clouding his brain. Dear God. What had come over him? He’d meant to aid her, to keep her from harming herself. Instead, he’d closeted himself inside her chamber and all but ravished her. She was an incapacitated woman, for Christ’s sake. It wasn’t as if she could flee him.
“Of course not,” he murmured, furious with himself for his weakness. He had not stooped so low ever in his life. He always treated ladies with care. He certainly never all but made love to them a mere half hour after chatting with them in a bloody maze. “I must apologize, my lady. I have no idea what came over me.”
“I’m sure I do,” she said, the saucy woman. She lowered her gaze to the obvious bulge in his trousers, which hadn’t had the courtesy to abate even a bit. The minx. He should have been scandalized by her boldness, but it only made him harder. Damn it all.
As much as he wanted to continue what he’d begun, he knew he could not. It wouldn’t be fair or right. Not for Lady Stokey and certainly not for himself. He was here to acquire a wife. Not a mistress. Even if that mistress was as ravishing and deadly to his sensibilities as the woman before him. He removed his knee from her bed and straightened, knowing he ought to keep his distance from her or else he’d be drawn back into her charms.
“Once again, I apologize. I shall ring for your maid to see to your ankle.”
He bowed and turned on his heel, not waiting for her response. The need to flee was just as strong as the need to stay and finish what he’d begun. And Heath knew he must never embark on a seduction with a woman like Lady Stokey. It would only lead to ruin. He’d closed the door to passion a long time ago, and he had no intentions of reopening it now.
Reckless Need is available now. For additional excerpts and a list of online retailers, visit Scarlett’s website.
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Heart’s Temptation
A Mad Passion (Book One)
Rebel Love (Book Two)
Reckless Need (Book Three)
Sweet Scandal (Book Four)
Restless Rake (Book Five Coming Soon)
Wicked Husbands (Coming Soon)
Her Errant Earl (Book One)
Her Lovestruck Lord (Book Two)
Her Reformed Rake (Book Three)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Love’s Second Chance
Reprieve (Book One)
Perfect Persuasion (Book Two)
Win My Love (Book Three)
Coastal Heat
Loved Up (Book One)
Award-winning author Scarlett Scott writes contemporary and historical romance with heat, heart, and happily ever afters. Since publishing her first book in 2010, she has become a wife, mother to adorable identical twins and one TV-loving dog, and a killer karaoke singer. Well, maybe not the last part, but that’s what she’d like to think.
A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse. When she’s not reading, writing, wrangling toddlers, or camping, you can catch up with her on her website www.scarsco.com. Hearing from readers never fails to make her day.
Scarlett’s complete book list and information about upcoming releases can be found on her website, www.
scarsco.com.
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