Slowly she tilted back on her hands until her bosom tested the gown’s décolletage. On first wearing, she’d considered this dress indecent. After two days mostly naked, wearing clothes at all felt like a major concession to decorum. “How appallingly dull.”
“Exactly.” His gaze dropped to her cleavage, shamelessly displayed, and his nostrils flared. She’d always considered herself ridiculously over-endowed, but she’d quickly discovered Jonas liked her generous breasts.
“And unfair.”
“It seems perfectly fair to me.” He leaned in until only an inch separated them. The yen to bridge the gap pulsed pleasurably in her blood. “You’re too dangerous a weapon to fall into careless hands. You should be locked away where you’ll do no harm. With me.”
“How would we pass the time?” She adopted an air of boredom. Her heart pounded so hard, surely he must hear it. She arched her neck so her hair cascaded across the blotter behind her.
“Let me demonstrate.” His laugh trickled down her backbone like perfumed oil. “Brace yourself.”
“Well, that’s romantic. The chambermaids must swoon at your slightest word.”
“They collapse at the mere mention of my name. I’m always tripping over insensible domestics. It’s devilish tiresome.”
“I’m sure.” She hardly knew what she said. God help her when he finally laid those clever hands on her. “Shall we go upstairs?”
“Yes.”
She began to slide off the desk but he caught her waist, keeping her in place. Even through her dress, the shock of contact made her stomach lurch. Startled, she looked up. “Jonas?”
“Later.” From the adamant line of his jaw, she guessed he intended to use her here in the library.
“We can’t.” Her insouciance dissolved into fluster. “What if Mrs. Bevan comes in?”
He shot her a mocking look. “You don’t sound nearly as bold as you did a few minutes ago.”
She blushed. And cursed that she did. “Well, what if she does?”
“Believe me, Mrs. Bevan knows to wait for a summons.” To her surprise, he kissed her, a desperate ravishment that left her breathless. His voice lowered to a seductive murmur. “I love that I can still make you blush.”
“I still have a few morals left.”
“We’ll have those out of you in no time. Prepare yourself, bella. Your education continues.”
Ruthlessly he turned her so she bent across the desk with her feet resting on the floor between his. She placed her hands flat on the blotter to save herself from falling. He brushed aside the soft weight of her hair and pressed a sucking kiss into her nape. She trembled and her knees turned to water.
When he lifted her skirts above her waist, exposing her, she couldn’t restrain a nervous whimper. “What are you doing?”
“You’ll see.”
Actually she probably wouldn’t. She wasn’t blindfolded as she’d been every time he’d tumbled her in the bed upstairs, but he still turned her away from his face. How she longed to look into his eyes when they made love. Every time he denied her that privilege, her yearning became stronger.
“Let’s go upstairs.” She edged away. She guessed he meant to mount her like an animal. His earthy crudeness should disgust her. Instead her heart slammed against her ribs with flaring excitement.
“Not yet,” he said mildly, placing a commanding hand on her back as he gently but inexorably pushed her down. She trembled as air brushed her private places. She knew Jonas watched her… there. She was caught between piercing curiosity and the modesty she thought she’d abandoned with her virginity.
“How convenient that you’re not wearing drawers, la mia vita.” His voice vibrated with approval. And need.
“If you tell me to trust you, I’ll clout you with the inkwell,” she muttered, her hands fisting against the desk.
He laughed softly. “Have I led you astray yet?”
“You’ve done nothing but lead me astray,” she said drily, wondering how he expected her to string more than two words together.
“You’ll need something to hold onto.” His voice deepened to a growl.
“You?”