A Daring Passion

His gaze skimmed over her upturned face, lingering on the uncertain line of her mouth.

“That skin. I have never seen anything like it. So pure and soft.”

She unwittingly licked her dry lips, not realizing her mistake until a flare of raw desire rippled over his face.

“We…we were discussing your brother and how you intend to prove his innocence.”

Slowly, relentlessly he moved forward, forcing her to back away until at last she found herself flat against the wall. Her breath came in small bursts as the world narrowed to the man looming over her.

“The only certain means of ensuring his innocence is to capture the bastard who contrived the trap. Of course, I must first find him,” he said, although it was obvious his mind was on things other than his words.

“Well, he certainly is not in this nursery,” she rasped.

“No.” His hand once again returned to her throat, as if he truly were fascinated by the feel of her skin. “Actually, it is doubtful he is even in England. I would guess that he made his way back to France the moment my brother was arrested.”

“Then should you not be chasing after the villain?”

His head lowered until his lips were brushing her temple. “There are matters here that I must tend to before I can begin any chase. Matters that will have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, I can think of a most pleasant means of passing the remainder of the night.”

His lips brushed down the curve of her cheek, lingering at the edge of her mouth.

“Wait…” she breathed as her heart thundered. Dear God, her entire body felt as if it were on fire. Her skin prickled with excitement, her stomach twisted in knots and something lower ached with a desire that was directly connected to this man.

And even more terrifying was the realization that she no longer wanted to fight this terrible desire.

The nuns might have drilled into her the stark importance of a woman maintaining her virginity until she was properly married, but Raine was a realist at heart.

She had already accepted that there was no husband and no happily-ever-after in her future. And that was before she had gone missing for God only knew how long, kept in the house of a rake.

There would be no one in her future. At least no one who would care whether or not her innocence was intact.

As if sensing her inner turmoil, Philippe nibbled at the lobe of her ear, his hands lightly running down her arms.

“I can wait no longer, querida,” he whispered. “You have me mad with need.”

Mad. Yes. It was madness, she thought as he scooped her into his arms and carried her the short distance to the bed. Her gaze remained locked on his extraordinary face as she felt herself lowered onto the mattress, and then he was lying next to her, the hardness of his features unexpectedly softened with need.

Her body felt awkward as his arms gathered her close, her hands not knowing where to go until they at last settled on his shoulders. Thankfully Philippe seemed unaware of her unease as he ran his hands down her back and whispered words of encouragement.

“Yes, Raine, touch me, I need to feel your hands against me.”

His hands slid beneath her jacket and began to gently knead her stiff muscles. Slowly she began to relax beneath his touch and his lips brushed down the length of her nose and ever so lightly over her mouth.

She trembled as her lashes drifted downward. “I must be out of my mind.”

“No, meu amor, this was destined from the moment we met.”

Destiny seemed far preferable to simply lust, and as his mouth closed over hers in a searching kiss, she allowed her brief flare of sanity to melt away. Desire, as sweet and warm as the finest liqueur, flowed through her body and her fingers bit deeply into his shoulders.

Hesitantly, she began to return his kiss, a low moan lodging in her throat as he threaded his fingers through the heavy mass of her hair.

His touch was so gentle, almost reverent as he smoothed the tresses from her face. It was at complete odds with the pulsing hardness of the male body that he pressed to hers. She knew enough to realize that he was already prepared to take her, but there was no haste in his seduction.

His lips moved down the line of her jaw, pausing to occasionally take a light nip before he buried his face in the curve of her neck and breathing deeply of her scent.

Oddly, Raine had expected the heat and tension that flowed between them, but she hadn’t expected the sense of being…cherished. It undermined any lingering qualms, and she readily welcomed the scorching heat of his mouth as it returned to hers.

With a smooth motion his hands moved to cup her breasts, his thumbs teasing the tight bud of her nipple and making her shudder in reaction.