Oh, things were easier, more natural, when they were gliding around the floor. Juliet glanced around the ballroom. Moonlight streamed in through the terrace doors, catching the crystal teardrops on the chandeliers so that they sparkled like diamonds. The ceiling was a colourful canvas of cherubs playing harps, of Greek gods swathed in red robes, of naked nymphs luring their lovers.
“We can stay here,” Juliet said, without giving a thought to their comfort.
Devlin’s curious gaze dropped to the hard floor. “I don’t think you appreciate—”
“Please, Devlin. Let us remain in here.” She didn’t mean to sound like a coquette, like a woman skilled in the art of manipulating men. “Let us stop talking. I hear the waltz is a prelude to seduction.” Or so Hannah said. “Dance with me again.”
Without further discussion, Devlin inclined his head and then lifted her into his arms.
This time, he did not hum a tune as he held her close. They did not twirl about or break into fits of laughter. This time, they stared into each other’s eyes, moved in a slow, seductive rhythm that made all the blood in her body pool at the apex of her thighs.
She wanted this man.
She wanted her husband.
Was that not the greatest achievement of their union so far?
“You look devilishly handsome tonight,” she found herself saying.
The heat in his gaze sent a shiver rippling to her toes. “And you are by far the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.”
Oh, she knew he was exaggerating, but she drank in the compliment regardless.
“Then perhaps you should kiss me, Mr Drake.”
“Perhaps I should.”
When he stopped moving, she knew she was about to feel those hot lips on hers. Excitement fluttered wildly in her chest like a flock of finches eager to escape an aviary.
The first touch of his mouth was electric. The sudden rush of energy lighting her from within. It lacked the urgency of their first kiss, though that was not a complaint. On the contrary, the way his mouth moved languidly over hers proved far more enticing. With every teasing movement, he gave her a little more, until the need to thrust her tongue into his mouth became overwhelming.
Impatience, coupled with a raging hunger, forced her to penetrate the seam of his lips.
She sensed the shift in him immediately. Needy and desperate, Devlin moaned into her mouth as their tongues tangled.
“Damn, Juliet,” he muttered, dragging his mouth away. “You’
re determined to rouse the ravenous beast when I am trying to be a gentleman.”
She was about to chastise him for mentioning the word beast again, but they had come this far, and any conversation would only dampen the mood. So instead she pressed herself against his solid chest, rained kisses along his jaw, pressed her mouth to the sensitive spot just below his ear.
His groan of pleasure echoed through the vast room. “By God, for an innocent you have the skill of a temptress. Hold on to my neck and don’t let go.”
She did as he asked. She would do anything he asked.
Devlin released his grip. He caught hold of the hem of her dress and shoved her skirts up to her thighs. Large hands slid up over her stockings, up over her bare skin. He cupped her buttocks and urged her to wrap her legs around him. The sensation of having her legs wide and gripping his waist only heightened the pulsing in her sex.
“Your skin is like the softest silk,” he said as he kissed her neck, as he moved slowly around the room in this dance of seduction.
Juliet’s head fell back as his hot mouth trailed towards the neckline of her dress. Oh, how she wished she wore the scandalous dress of a courtesan. How she wished the curve of her breasts bulged so he might lavish them with attention, too.
“I need more than this,” she said brazenly. Desire affected her like a drug, sent her head spinning, her body tingling. “I need to see you, Devlin. I need to touch you. Lock the door.”
With his hot palms gripping her buttocks, they glided over to the door. He pressed her back against the wooden panel as he reached down and turned the key. And then he kissed her again, in the wild, untamed way that told her he wanted this, too.
“You affect me as no woman has before,” he said as he broke to catch his breath.
The compliment meant more to her than he could know. It went some way to filling the cavernous hole in her chest, the one left by grief, by her dreadful mistreatment at the hands of those who might have loved her.