Sinfully Yours (Hellions of High Street 2)

“Yes, in many ways, he was.” A sigh. “And yet, he had his faults. His devotion to his passion for science was unfair to Mama. It seems to me that a good relationship involves compromise.”

“We all have faults, Anna.” Devlin captured the tip of her shirtpoint between his fingertips and began to toy with the fabric. “Some are far worse than others. Believe me, I should know.”

There was a strangely vulnerable note in his voice that belied the sardonic words. She caught his wrist, the sudden movement causing the lantern flame to flicker wildly within the glass globe. “Why is it that you keep casting yourself in such a harsh light? I think you are far more noble than you care to admit.”

“I assure you…” He freed his hand with a quick flick and touched the top fastening of her shirt. “I am not feeling remotely noble at this moment.”

Was she willing to step beyond the boundaries of her world? Anna watched the starlight skitter over the rough stone below the window. This time, there would be no going back.

“Neither am I,” she whispered.

Devlin hesitated, as if giving her a last chance to rescind her words.

“I’m not afraid,” she added. In truth, she was, just a little. The unknown was frightening—but also exhilarating.

Sinner or saint? Perhaps the difference wasn’t black and white but a shadow-kissed shade somewhere in between.

Reaching out through the hazy half-light, Anna feathered a fingertip along the line of his jaw. “I’m not afraid,” she repeated, this time a little louder.

The physical touch seemed to dispel whatever misgivings held him in thrall. Expelling a sharp whoosh of air, Devlin seized her wrist and pressed a kiss to her palm.

The petal-soft caress of his lips sent a spear of heat through her core. A sound—it must have come from her, for the automaton had gone silent—echoed off the walls.

“Sweeting,” he whispered. One by one, her shirt’s fastening yielded to his hurried tugs.

The fabric slipped over her head, leaving her upper body clad in just a thin chemise. Anna wasn’t sure whether she was hot or cold—despite the fire inside her, the dark-misted air raised a pebbling along her bare arms.

And then, the chemise was gone and his mouth closed over her breast.

Dear God. Dear God. His tongue teased round and round until her nipple felt like a burning ember about to burst into flame.

She cried out again and again as wave after wave of pleasure rippled from her scalp to her toes. Fisting her hands in his shirt, she pulled it up over his back.

Devlin broke off his embrace just long enough to yank it off. The white linen fluttered away through the shadows.

Like the ghost of my old self, was Anna’s fleeting thought. In the next instant, however, she was no longer thinking of the past or the future.

Only the magic of the present moment.

His wicked, wanton, wonderful mouth possessed hers. He tasted good. More than good. A hint of brandy-sweet heat, a potent male essence that sent desire bubbling through her blood.

Of their own volition, her fingers found the fall of his trousers.

A throaty groan, and Anna felt his hips shudder. That her touch could affect his self-control emboldened her to push the layer of wool and the cotton drawers beneath it down to his knees.

Another sound, low and rough, as Devlin kicked off his shoes and his rumpled garments.

“How very lovely that breeches are so much easier to remove from a pair of shapely legs than all those cursed layers of fluff,” he murmured, expertly stripping off the rest of her clothing.

She laughed against his mouth. “You’ve had a good deal practice, so no wonder you’re so skilled at it.”

“I’ve far more interesting skills to display, sweeting.”

Anna found herself rolled onto her back, her shoulders sinking into the napped fabric with a velvety sigh.

Outside, the weather seemed to have turned stormy. A peltering rain drummed madly against the window glass, and a faraway thunder rumbled through the distant moors.

Or maybe it was just her vivid imagination. If she were to finally write a seduction scene for Emmalina and Alessandro, it would be one with a wildly romantic setting such as this one.