The Redemption of a Rogue, стр. 26
Instead, he was seduced. He stared as she caught his hand between hers at last, lifting it. Her gaze caught his, holding steady as she kissed his fingertips, the back of his hand, the inside of his wrist. Then she pressed his hand to her heart. He felt it throbbing under the softness of her breast.
He wanted to make it throb even harder.
“Take me to your bed,” she whispered as she lifted to her tiptoes and brushed her lips to his. “Please.”
He caught her waist then, overcome by the desire she created in him. He dragged her hard against him, his fingers clenching against the middle of her back as she arched against him. He dropped his mouth, reaching for control, fighting for it with every part of his body. And then he kissed her. Soft at first, harder, then out of control as he tasted her tongue and felt the need in her grow as fast and as hot as his own.
“Come on,” he gasped as he broke the kiss and threaded his fingers through hers. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 10
Oscar hadn’t stopped touching her the entire time they moved through the house together. His fingers had gripped her hip, he’d pinned her against a wall for another of those drugging kisses, he’d brushed her backside with his hand until she stumbled. But now, as he opened the door to his chamber, he stopped pushing and allowed her to enter the room without him herding her forward.
She took in the room as she did so. Unlike the study, which was done in dark tones, his chamber was unexpectedly light. White linens, lighter woods, like this place was a reprieve from the mask he wore. The one of command and control and dark intentions.
Dark intentions that became clear again as they looked together toward the bed on the wall opposite the door. A very big bed, indeed. Her breath caught as she looked at it, then at him.
“Still like the terms of your bargain?” he asked, arching a brow almost in challenge. As if he expected her to find some means of escape.
Instead she began to unfasten her gown. “I suppose we’ll find out in a moment, won’t we?” she asked.
His eyes went wide. “Far more than a moment, my dear. We really must raise your expectations.”
She laughed and her fingers fumbled against her buttons. She hadn’t anticipated this side of him, playful, teasing…but she liked it. Possibly too much.
Luckily he didn’t allow her any time to revel in it or explore it. He grabbed her elbow and tugged her against him. The playful lover was gone. The dark and dangerous one had returned, and she caught her breath just before his mouth found hers.
The kiss was knee-shaking. He’d kissed her before, of course. So many times in such a short period, and every time she’d been swept away. But this was different. This time when she kissed him, she no longer felt the wheels of his control holding them steady. He was no longer trying to protect her from his desires, from the ultimate end that would involve their bodies merged and their sweat combined as they writhed together.
His purpose was very clear and her knees went entirely weak, as if she were in some fairytale. But this wasn’t a prince with his arms around her. As he tugged her hips tight to his and ground the hard evidence of his desire against her, she realized she was with the beast. A thrill of fear fluttered in her stomach at that thought, but it didn’t make her want to pull away.
She liked it. All those dangerous things this man represented, all the desires he promised to stir with ruthless intent…she wanted it. She wanted him. She wanted it all now.
As if he sensed that, he pulled away from the kiss and stared down at her. His fingers wrapped around the edge of her gown, where she’d begun unfastening herself, and the fabric gaped. He held her stare and tugged, ripping the fabric, sending buttons flying.
“Oscar!” she gasped, half a laugh, half an accusation.
He tugged the fluttering fabric around her arms, twisting it just enough to trap her with it, but not enough to hurt. “I’ll have another made for you,” he whispered, his tone harsh in the quiet. “I’ll have twenty of them made so I can rip them all off one by one.”
She shivered at those words, at the utter disregard for propriety or expense or anything but what he wanted. He hesitated and his gaze softened. “Is it too much?”
She blinked up at him. “Why?”
“There is a strange expression on your face.”
She smiled at his concern, the thing that belied his animal dominance in an instant. “I was just analyzing how much I enjoy having my clothing ripped off, even though I liked that gown,” she admitted.
“Don’t analyze it,” he said, dropping his mouth into the crook where her neck and shoulder met and sucking hard enough that she gasped. “Just give in. Feel it. Enjoy it. You don’t have to do a damned thing, Imogen. Just let me give you pleasure.”
Her knees buckled, but she wasn’t certain if it was because he was doing magical things with his tongue against her skin, or because he offered her a respite from having to manage her entire life. When was the last time someone had taken care of her? When she hadn’t had a thousand duties or fears or obligations?
He was suggesting she could put it all down while in his bed. Suggesting she could be free of everything but sensation.
He reached around, and to her shock, swatted her backside. Hard enough to tingle, not hard enough to hurt through the fabric of her gown.
She jerked her face toward his and he arched a