Her body froze, and Devlin went very still. “If you wish for me to stop, you have only to say so. I may be a rogue, but I am not a cad.”
Yes or no?
Anna hitched in a slow, shuddering breath. Against all rules, against all reason, she felt safe in his arms. “Oh, please. D-don’t stop. I want to know…I want to know…”
Know what?
Anna wasn’t quite certain how to put it into words. Her body speaking a strange language all its own.
And yet, Devlin seemed to have no trouble understanding exactly what it was saying.
“Let the tension melt away, sweeting,” he murmured.
As he traced a light kiss along the line of her jaw, Anna felt a delicious warmth radiate out through her limbs. Her legs turned a trifle unsteady, and if not for Devlin’s hold on her waist, she might well have slumped to the floor.
“Mmmm.” Letting her eyelids fall half-closed, she twined her arms around his neck. “Being ravished is really rather pleasant.”
He let out a low, husky chuckle that made her insides give a lopsided lurch. “Do pay attention. I shall lose all credibility as a rake if the object of my evil intentions should fall asleep during the seduction.”
“Are you seducing me?” Anna nuzzled the starched points of his shirtcollar. “By the by, you smell very nice.” Inhaling deeply, she held the tantalizing scent in her lungs for as long as she could. “Like spiced smoke and tawny port.” And a myriad of other intriguing pleasures that are forbidden to a lady.
“I am not quite sure who is seducing whom,” answered Devlin a little raggedly. His hand feathered higher.
And suddenly the world slipped off its axis.
Clutching at his coat, she held on for dear life as he grazed the top of her stocking, and bare flesh met bare flesh.
And then he delved into her core.
“Oh. Oh.” A fresh wave of dizziness overwhelmed her.
Devlin stilled her trembling lips with a kiss. His taste and his touch sent shiver after shiver thrumming through every fiber of her being.
I am possessed…
An unfamiliar heat, silky and liquid as sun-drizzled honey, welled up within her as he found a hidden pearl within her feminine folds.
Whatever wicked enchantment held her in thrall, Anna found herself wishing it would go on forever.
“Spread your legs, Anna,” coaxed Devlin.
With a wordless gasp, she slid her kidskin shoes over the smooth parquet.
His lips were now pressed to the hollow of her throat. He murmured something—she knew not what. The wild pounding of her pulse drowned out all else as a new surge of heat spiraled through her belly, seeking release.
Tightening her hold on his shoulders, Anna arched against his hand. Want, need. Want, need. “I want…I need…”
“Hush, sweeting,” he soothed. “I know what you need.”
His stroke quickened and she thought she might burst into flames.
Devlin shifted slightly, muffling her soft cries in the folds of his coat. And then, just when the molten heat was too much to bear, her body convulsed in a sudden burst of firegold sparks.
When at last the shuddering sensations subsided, Anna slowly opened her eyes, unsure whether she was in Heaven…
Or Hell.
No wonder young ladies were warned to stay far, far away from Temptation. The taste of Sin was far too sweet.