Oh, God, she wanted to kiss him back, she wailed inwardly, keeping her jaw clamped shut. She wanted to taste him, fall back against the squabs and let his mouth wander everywhere. His hand was cradling the back of her neck, slowly massaging it, and she could feel herself begin to melt anyway, soften against the steady pressure of his strong body.
He lifted his mouth for a brief moment, and in the darkness of the unlit carriage she could see the glitter of his eyes. "Open your mouth for me. Charlotte," he whispered. "I've been waiting hours to kiss you and I'm running out of patience. "
Her shock was enough that she did as he told her, and his kiss was full and deep, a possessive hunger she felt vibrating through her body. She stopped struggling, when she knew full well she should have fought even harder. She let him kiss her, closing her eyes and savoring the taste of him in her mouth, and he pulled her unresisting body onto his lap.
"You can do better than that, sweet Charlotte. By the time I left you, you were growing quite adept. Give me your tongue. ”
“Give me yours," she murmured, “and I’ll bite you. ”
She could feel the laugh rumble through his body as it pressed against hers. "No, you won’t. " And he proved it, tilting her head back, cradling it with one of his hands, and kissing her so thoroughly she felt as if she were melting against him. She made a small, whimpering noise, and she knew what it was. The sound of surrender.
He'd removed her loo mask and tossed it to one side, and he was busy unfastening the ribbons that held the domino close about her. "How could you think I wouldn't know you?" he chided softly. "I know the way you move, the way you bite your lip when you're nervous, the sound of your laughter, your eyes. I know your hands and your skin, your scent, the way you try to pretend that something doesn't bother you when you're very bothered indeed. " He slid one hand down between them, between her thighs, and she tried to squirm away from him. "Though I must admit I'd like to hear your laugh more often. Perhaps see you scowl less and smile more. ”
“Leave me the hell alone," she said breathlessly, hoping the curse added the peremptory note mat her aching voice lacked.
He caught her chin, pulling it up to meet his face, and she looked into his devastating smile. "I can't do that, love. That's been my problem for the last three weeks. I can't stop thinking about you, and I'm afraid no one else has managed to distract me. ”
So she wasn't alone in this, she thought miserably. That was something, at least. He lusted after her. She could feel his erection beneath her hips, and she moved, just enoug
h, a subtle caress that made his arms tighten around her.
“Holy Christ," he muttered in her ear. "Don't do that. "
“Why?"
“Because I'd like to wait until we get back to my house. "
Her heart leaped into her throat. "I'm not going to your house. "
"I'm afraid you are, love. You're in my carriage, and that's where we're heading. Don't worry—I'll send a note to Lady Whitmore, telling her you're safe. No one else will have any idea you've gone off for a libidinous interlude. "
"I'm not going anywhere at all with you. Leave this carriage. "
"It's my carriage," he said apologetically. "I made arrangements after I saw you dancing. You told me you didn't dance. Come to think of it, I remember an occasion when you trampled on my feet hard enough to cripple me for days. Do you save your wicked clumsiness for me alone?"
She could feel the color flood her face. Suddenly it was three years before and she was gawky, clumsy, so in awe of the man that her feet didn't move. New strength swept through her, and she yanked herself out of his arms. He let her go, and she ended up on the opposite side of the coach, glaring at him.
"Don't be ridiculous. You danced with me, and with several other fortunate gentlemen. I was quite annoyed with them. "
He was lying. It was all part of his mockery, and she couldn't understand what pleasure he derived out of being so cruel. "Have you ever seen me dance in public, my lord? Normally I would assume you wouldn't have paid attention one way or the other, but I assure you tonight is the first time I've danced since that unfortunate time you were forced to partner with me at Lady Harrison's. " Her voice was flat, emotionless. If he wanted to embarrass her, cause her pain, she wasn't going to let him see it.
"Do you expect me to be shamed by that? How foolish of you, to let a dandy's stray comments affect you. If I listened to all the malicious things people have to say about me, I'd be curled up in a ball somewhere. " He paused, looting at her. "Is that what you did? After I effectively demolished you?"
Author: Anne Stuart
"You don't even remember," she muttered, not wanting to look at him.
"Lady Harrison's. You were wearing some abominable pink creation that clashed with your glorious copper hair. We danced a country dance, a complicated one, I believe. I think it was 'Prince William. '"
To this day Charlotte couldn't hear the strains of "Prince William" without feeling ill. She stared at him in disbelief.
"And you remember all this because. . . ?" she said
His half smile was barely visible in the coach. "Because I'm seldom such a total bastard, and I try not to pick on the defenseless. You looked so crushed that I never forgot it. "
"And this is the way you apologize? By abducting me?”
"No, my precious. My apology was that delicious fuck we had three weeks ago. Abducting you now, as you insist on calling it, is my way of repeating that most excellent activity. "