“Yes?”
“I desire to write a lett
er to my mother and I was in need of parchment.”
He stepped closer. Close enough to breathe in the sweet scent of jasmine.
“Parchment?”
“Yes.”
“Now why, Miss Karkoff, do you suppose I do not believe you?” he murmured, leaning forward to lay his hands on the surface of the writing desk, effectively caging her between his arms.
She licked her lips as she struggled to meet his heated gaze. “I haven’t the least notion.”
“No doubt because it is a lie.” He rubbed his cheek against hers, savoring the warmth of her satin skin. His restlessness eased, to be replaced by a surge of anticipation. “Like so many others that tumble from those sweet lips.”
Her hands lifted to press against his chest. “Must you always be so insulting?”
He shifted to nuzzle the tender spot below her ear, using his body to pin her against the desk as he jerked off his cravat and shrugged out of his jacket. His waistcoat followed, along with his linen shirt. If she wanted to touch his chest, then by God he intended to enjoy it.
Covering her hands, he pressed them firmly to his bare skin. “You would prefer compliments?” He nipped the lobe of her ear. “Very well. Shall I tell you that your hair is the precise shade of summer sunshine and your eyes were surely meant for an angel? Or perhaps you prefer to know how I spend my nights dreaming of removing your clothing so I can devote hours to exploring your alabaster skin?”
With a violent shudder, Leonida attempted to arch from his tender caresses. “So, you do not trust me or even particularly like me, but you are willing to bed me?”
He pressed his mouth to the base of her throat, his tongue stroking over her racing pulse.
“I did not say I did not like you.” He nibbled his way down the plunging vee of her night rail. “I like this very much.”
She groaned, her fingers flexing until her nails dug into his skin. The tiny prick of pain only intensified Stefan’s turbulent need.
“Stefan, you must stop.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
Her words came to an abrupt halt as his teeth captured a puckered nipple through the thin fabric of her gown.
“Yes?” he murmured as he teased the beaded tip with his tongue.
“You are so damnably smug,” she growled, leaning forward to bury her face in the curve of his neck.
Flames licked through his body, hardening his muscles and making his hands tremble as he tugged her fingers down to the waistband of his breeches.
“Not smug, overdressed. Help me.” He lost the ability to think as her fingers fumbled with the hooks, brushing the head of his arousal and sending tiny jolts of pleasure down the shaft. He hastily kicked off his slippers as the trousers slid down his legs. “Christ, what have you done to me?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.” At last rid of his clothing, Stefan scooped the delicious bundle of soft woman in his arms and carried her toward the nearby bed. Laying her upper half on the mattress, he knelt on the carpet between her dangling legs. For a moment he simply allowed himself to drink in the sight of her lying on his bed, her golden cloud of hair spread like a halo around her flushed face. Then, with reverent care, he began pushing up the hem of her night rail. “No matter how often I warn myself that I am a fool to allow my lust to overcome my common sense, I cannot resist your temptation.”
“Stefan…”
“No,” he rasped, lowering his head to brush his lips along her inner thigh. “No more talking. I have to have you, my dove, before I go mad.”
She made a strangled sound deep in her throat, her hands clutching the blanket beneath her as he slowly explored the petal-soft skin. The scent of jasmine became even more intense as he neared the juncture of her legs, seeping into his blood until he was drowning in desire.
His fingers slipped beneath her knees, tugging them farther apart as he ran his tongue through her moist cleft. Her soft scream of pleasure echoed through the room, but thankfully not loud enough to bring the servants running. With a smug pride at the knowledge that he was the first and only man to ever have tasted of her sweet innocence, Stefan licked and teased until she was twisting restlessly beneath him, her hands tangling in his hair as she hurtled toward her climax.