Alyssa blinked, thrown off balance by the look in his blue eyes and his softly spoken statement as he maneuvered her further into the room, into the shadows, away from the other people wandering in and out of the assembly rooms. “Invitation?”
“I accept.” Griff brought his face closer to hers. “Because, in any event, I find the expression on your face and the pucker of your lips fascinating and quite suddenly, irresistible.” Leaning forward, he touched his lips to hers.
Griff meant to satisfy his curiosity, to see if her plump, rosy lips were as soft as they appeared to be, but Alyssa gave a startled gasp at the unexpected intimacy, and he took advantage of the opportunity. He teased at the seam of her lips, running the tip of his tongue across it, gently entreating her to grant him full access to the sweet recesses of her mouth.
Alyssa didn’t disappoint him. She made a soft sound of willing surrender and allowed him further liberties.
Griff captured her breath, swallowing the soft sigh that escaped her lips as he deepened the kiss. She tasted of orgeat, of barley water and almond flavoring, and the tart sweetness of untutored innocence.
A door to one of the card rooms slid closed, and the sound of the orchestra striking up another tune drifted from the ballroom along with bits of hushed conversation and soft laughter. Griffin broke the kiss.
Alyssa opened her eyes and murmured a protest. “What?”
“Shhh.” Griff pressed his finger against her lips, feeling the dampness he’d left there. “We’ve company.” He motioned Alyssa to the couch, then stepped back, turning so that his broad shoulders shielded her from view as another couple started toward the room.
Griff grabbed a match and dipped it into the bottle of igniting liquid. The match caught. A flame shot up from the end of it, and the odor of sulfur filled the air. Griff singed the end of a feather, waved it around for good measure, then extinguished it and the match.
The footsteps outside the door halted. The couple exchanged a few whispers and moved on.
The unmistakable smell of sulfur had signaled that the room was occupied.
Griff exhaled a sigh of relief. It wouldn’t have been enough to stop a worried mama, a light-headed deb, or one of the patronesses, but it had been enough to deter another couple hoping for privacy. He glanced around. The fact that he’d been kissing Alyssa Carrollton in full view of anyone who happened to venture into the ladies’ retiring room or—Griff crossed the room and peeked around the draperies—across the corridor from anyone in the card room who happened to look up from play, was a sobering thought.
“Are we safe?” Alyssa whispered from behind.
“I am,” Griff answered. “But I fear you may be in grave danger.”
“From what?” She stood on tiptoe, looking for the menace, trying to see over his shoulder.
“Not what,” he murmured. “But whom.”
Alyssa leaned back, staring up at his face. “I very much doubt that anyone would dare to accost me with you here to protect me.”
“That’s true,” he replied in a low, husky tone ripe with layers of meaning. “But who will protect you from me?”
Alyssa’s breath quickened, and her heart began a rapid tattoo.
Griff stared at her neck, mesmerized by the tiny pulse point rising and falling in the soft, vulnerable hollow of her throat.
“I wasn’t aware that I needed protection from you, Lord Abernathy.” Her voice quavered, and she pressed her knees together to keep from shaking or collapsing at his feet.
“Then allow me to make you aware.”
He closed his eyes and pressed a kiss against the pulse beating in the hollow of her throat, then slowly, tenderly kissed his way up the curve of her neck. He nipped at her earlobe, and Alyssa sucked in a breath as a rush of warmth flooded her body from head to toe. Her legs began to tremble, and her knees nearly buckled at the surge of raw emotion flowing through her.
Griff tightened his arm about her waist to keep her from sinking to the floor, then smiled a wicked little smile and breathed against her ear.
The warm, moist air against her earlobe became a current o
f electrical charges, carrying dozens of tiny shocks that imprinted themselves upon her soul. The atmosphere around them crackled with tension and the stirrings of desire. Her whole body seemed to tingle, and Alyssa marveled at her reaction. She’d never felt anything like it, and she wondered, suddenly, how many other surprises Lord Abernathy had in store.
She didn’t have long to wonder, for he flicked his tongue against the pearl drop fastened to her earlobe, before plunging the hot wet tip of his tongue into the shell-like contour inside her ear. She nearly yelped in astonishment as the sudden, startling impropriety of that touch sent her senses reeling. He laved her ear, and Alyssa settled comfortably in his arms, yielding to his naughty breach of etiquette, opening herself up to more of his tantalizing surprises, welcoming the erotic sensation as he sent more shivers up and down her spine.
Griff felt her tremble in his arms and paused briefly to savor the effect, then continued his journey, kissing his way along her jaw until he reached her mouth.
Griff brushed her lips with his—once, twice, thrice—then covered them with his own, paying particular attention to her plump bottom lip as he savored the texture, tracing his tongue over it, memorizing the pattern of the fine lines that marked it. He sucked on her bottom lip, teasing her, tempting her to open her mouth and allow him right of entry and permission to explore.
Alyssa surrendered to temptation, parting her lips, inviting him inside, silently entreating him to deepen the kiss. He complied, moving his lips on hers, kissing her harder, then softer, then harder once more, testing her response, slipping his tongue past her teeth, investigating the sweet, hot interior of her mouth with practiced finesse.