For an endless moment, it felt like the world stood still and waited for her answer.
When it came, it almost took him to his knees.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”
Chapter 13
Duncan’s hands were steady as he cupped her face, never taking his gaze from hers. Her emotions flitted across her face—trepidation, caring, desire, anxiety. It was all there, laid out for him to see. That she wanted his touch as much as he wanted hers was reassuring, her nervousness wasn’t.
With a barely there touch, he stroked the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip, feeling the warmth of her breath on his skin.
“Alizarin Crimson,” he whispered. “With highlights of Rose Madder, Jaune Brilliant and white.”
She swallowed. Her eyes darkening until the iris turned a Phthalo green. “How do you know the colours? You’ve barely glanced at my lips.”
If he hadn’t been standing a hairsbreadth from her, he wouldn’t have heard the question or seen the yearning vulnerability in her eyes.
It was the vulnerability that made him give her the truth. “I have your lips memorised. I could paint them with my eyes closed.” He inclined his head towards her, closing the scant distance until his words brushed over her mouth. “I paint them in my sleep and wake wondering if the colour will taste as fresh as it looks. Will they taste of peaches? Like the highlights. Or will they taste like ripe raspberries? Like the darker hues. What do you think, Donna?”
She didn’t answer, but he felt the pulse under his fingertips speed up.
“Let’s find out.” His lips brushed hers with each word as he held her eyes captive with his.
Soft. Her lips were softer than rose petals but plump and full like a ripe plum. He pressed a gentle, chaste kiss against them and heard her breath hitch.
“More?” he whispered.
She nodded as her fingers curled into his shirt.
“Aye. More.” He angled her head to tease her lips with his, tugging at that full bottom lip until she opened her mouth for him.
With a needy groan, he stepped closer until he was standing between her knees, and he could feel the heat of her body against his. Her eyes lost focus, and her eyelids closed slowly as though they’d become weighted. Dark, black lashes formed a crescent across her pale skin as a rose stain bloomed on the apple of her cheek.
His tongue licked out across her bottom lips. Peaches. Damn. He loved peaches. Slowly, with care and longing, he traced the shape of her lips with his tongue. Perfect. He needed more. So much more.
His hands moved, one to clasp the back of her head, his fingers threading through that thick, luscious hair of hers, the other to span the small of her back. He pulled her up and into him as he deepened the kiss.
Their tongues tangled as he chased her taste. That sweet, elusive peach flavour that he knew he was already addicted to. Tentatively, her tongue chased his into his mouth, and Duncan caught it, sucking on it hard. A desperate moan escaped Donna, and her arms wrapped around him, holding him tight.
A heady feeling of power, lust and need rushed through him as he realised what her hold meant. She wanted him to fly away with her. She was clinging on for the ride, expecting him to keep her safe while he made her soar.
And he wanted to.
But he couldn’t.
Not yet.
***
Slowly, softly, their lips separated. Donna’s eyelids felt heavy, and her brain full of fluff. Her only thought was that she needed more. She leaned into Duncan, but his warmth was suddenly gone. She swayed on the stool and forced her eyes open, to see him pacing. His lips were kiss-swollen, his eyes were dark, and his hair was standing on end. He looked like a wild man.
“Crap,” he snapped. “This is all wrong.”
It was a cold bucket of water right over her head. The shock almost threw her heart into arrest. It was wrong? Kissing her was wrong? She blinked hard. Her mind stunned. Her emotions frozen. She was still dazed from a kiss that had rocked her world, and he was saying it was wrong?
He spun to face her. “Don’t worry. I’m going to sort this. I’ve been reading up on it, and I know what I’m doing. I got carried away in the moment, but I’ll fix it.”
“What?” She managed to force the word out as her brain reeled. He wasn’t making any sense, but she dreaded that he regretted kissing her because he was still in love with his wife.