Page 18 of Dangerous Temptation

His breath was against her ear, and his chest was hot against her back. Elena’s knees wavered, and she clutched the book so tightly it dug into her breasts.

This request was different. He wasn’t offering her a spare room.

‘Why?’ she whispered.

‘Because I slept the whole night through last night.’ His low voice was so close to her ear, she could feel his lips. ‘And because this time I intend it to be about you, not me.’

The book slipped from her fingers and became wedged between her hips and the door. She’d never heard anything sexier in her life.

There he was. This was the man who’d made love to her in the gymnasium, uncaring of where they were or who might find them. This was the virile male she’d worried she’d find if she came here tonight.

And, at the same time, feared she wouldn’t.

‘We … we shouldn’t,’ she stammered. That pink elephant was now stamping its feet, demanding attention.

‘Why not?’

Because he was amoral and unapologetic. Greedy and self-centred.

Although she hadn’t seen that side of him tonight … or at all since he’d returned to the manor …

‘ I shouldn’t,’ she amended.

‘Most people would agree with that.’ His other hand settled possessively on her hip. ‘Then again, they’ve already got the Wolves and Bardots in bed with each other.’

Warmth spread from his hand around to her stomach and down to her core. She leaned her head against the door. Her resolve was wavering.

He nuzzled against her hair. ‘You need to connect with somebody as badly as I do, Elena. We’ve been drawn to each other from the first moment we saw one another. Yesterday proved why.’

Oh, that wasn’t fair.

Talking about their explosive coming together while touching her …

The book hit the floor as she turned around. Her brain felt clogged. She knew she should be thinking a certain way, but she suddenly didn’t know which way that was. The wine. The sexual magnetism. Her moral compass was spinning.

He was already leaning towards her. Seeing the look on her face, he moved in those last few inches. ‘There’s a reason why we were put here together.’

Was there?

Eyes locked on hers, he took off his overcoat. Tossing it aside, he reached for the belt of hers. ‘We could be each other’s salvation.’

His lips settled over hers and the kiss was slow, full-on and sensual. He kissed with his entire body, his weight pressing her against the door. Arousal seeped through Elena and she clutched at him, her fingers sinking into his trim waist.

At her touch, some of his rawness came through. Hungry. Impatient. Whip-sharp.

It brought her up onto her toes, and he flattened her against the door with his knees and hips.

‘You are so unbelievably gorgeous,’ he grated against her lips. ‘I want you so badly, sometimes I can’t think straight.’

A mew left her lips, and the irony wasn’t lost on her. Yesterday she’d opened a door and freed him and his sexual needs. Today he was trapping her against one, making her face her own.

She speared her fingers through his hair. It was softer than it looked. Like a pelt, thick and luxurious.

He nuzzled against her neck and smoothed his hands down her body. Her jacket came off in the process and she shivered violently.

‘Cold?’ he asked, nipping at her ear. Goosebumps ran down her neck and she quivered again. Clipping her hair back had been the ultimate temptation for him. He’d been obsessed with that barrette and her exposed skin all night.

Feeling his lips move along her neck, she was becoming a bit fixated, too. ‘I don’t know what I am.’

He hauled her up against him, curling one arm around her waist and lifting her. She clung to him, wrapping both arms around his neck. He made her feel tiny and feminine when he did that.

‘You just hold onto me, baby.’ Sealing his mouth over hers, he carried her through the kitchen on autopilot.

Elena didn’t know where he was taking her until he put her on her feet.

They were in the grand room in front of all the plate-glass windows.

With night fully settled over the landscape, their reflections bounced off the glass like a mirror.

As she watched, he reached around and caught the zipper at the back of her dress.

There was a soft hiss and then the material was loose.

He peeled it from her body, pushing it down until it pooled at her feet.

She instinctively covered herself with her hands.

Anyone out in those vast woods would be able to see.

Yet seeing him standing over her, fully dressed and businesslike, while she stood in nothing but her underwear and high heels was so erotic she couldn’t stop staring.

He traced the strap of her navy blue bra. ‘You like sexy lingerie.’

She blushed.

‘I’ll make a note of it.’

‘You didn’t give back the bra I was wearing yesterday.’

‘I know.’ He cupped her breast. She caught at his sides, but arched in pleasure.

He squeezed possessively, watching her face with laser-like focus. She bit her lip, but groaned aloud when his thumb rubbed hard over the centre of the cup.

Determinedly, he pressed her down onto the sofa. The leather was cool, but the sumptuous cushions wrapped around her like a second lover. They pulled her in, warming to her flesh and cradling her in comfort. She settled back and watched him curiously, her eyelids feeling drugged.

That wine had been potent.

Or maybe it was just him.

He was breathing hard as he stood over her. ‘Don’t move.’

The sensual feeling intensified when the lights were doused. Instead of falling into pitch darkness, the room was lit by a golden glow that flickered and moved as if alive. Her heavy gaze fell on the hearth. Someone had started a fire.

The flames licked upwards, eating oxygen and spitting it back in pops and hisses.

The warm glow reached out to her, tickling her flesh.

She looked up as Alex stepped in front of her.

His tie was already off and his shirt was unbuttoned.

With the fire backlighting him, he looked like sin itself as he shrugged off his shirt and threw it carelessly across the room.

She reached for him as he halted in front of her.

‘We’re going to go slower this time,’ he said as he caught her by the wrists.

He dropped onto his knees and pressed her hands firmly onto the sofa. He was looking into her eyes so deeply, she felt like he was staring into her soul. When he let go of her hands, she left them where they were, her fingers biting into the soft leather.

He caught her knees then, drew them apart and inserted himself between them.

Elena’s heart began to pound like a big bass drum.

It rumbled in her ears when he caught her hips and drew her forward. He didn’t stop until the hardness of his hipbones pressed into her inner thighs and the stiffness of his erection rubbed against the crotch of her panties. Lodged so tightly, only thin layers of material separated them.

He watched her face intently. ‘I’m sorry if I scared you yesterday.’

Her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t fear she was feeling now.

Compelled, she reached for him again. His physique was so lean and ripped, so hard and chiselled. He came to her, leaning over her, and her fingertips dug into the muscles of his back. With the fire illuminating him, he looked like a golden Michelangelo.

He hovered over her, one hand still firmly wrapped around her knee, the other stroking her hair. He ran his thumb over her barrette and traced the lobe of her ear. ‘Did I hurt you?’

The knot of air in her throat wouldn’t move so she answered with a shake of her head.

‘I was mindless,’ he confessed.

He brushed his lips over hers. ‘I’m going to make you need me the same way.’

That knocked the breath out of her in raspy jolts. She sucked it all back in when he ran his hands down her front, palms flat and fingers spread wide. He raked over her breasts, along her stomach and over her hips until he caught the straps of her thong.

The stretchy material was no match for him.

She bit her lip, but lifted her hips when he raised an eyebrow at her. The nylon pulled wide as he coaxed it over her spread legs, the material biting into her skin. He refused to budge from his place, though, and she had to lift her heels high off the floor to rid herself of the nipping garment.

She groaned aloud when the movement rubbed her core over the bulge at the front of his pants.

The sensation was so erotic and naughty. She was bare while he wasn’t.

Shyness had her trying to close her knees to hide herself, but the move only caught him tighter. He’d planted himself in the best and worst spot possible.

She groaned.

‘Need me yet?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ she hissed.

‘Not enough.’

The front closure of her bra gave way with a pop and he tossed the cups aside, exposing her. Elena gasped when his mouth came down on her. After all the drama with her panties, she’d expected him to tease and coax her.

He did neither.

Instead, he gave her all she could handle.

She clutched the back of his neck as his mouth tugged at her nipple. ‘Alex!’

‘Mmm,’ he hummed, giving her a soothing lick. ‘That’s better. You refused to say my name for too long.’

He caught the tender nub with his teeth. ‘I want to hear you scream it.’

She let out a whimper.

Her tummy trembled as his attention drifted lower. His mouth was hot, but his tongue was like one of the flames in the fireplace. It dipped into her belly button and she twisted. Those flames only licked lower and lower still.

She writhed against the smooth white leather as the fire crackled hot and bright. She was rocking from side to side as he kissed his way from one hipbone to the other, but went shock still when he slid his hand between their bodies and cupped her.

‘Oh!’ Squeezing her eyes tight, she clutched at his forearm.

He ground the ball of his hand in a tight circle. ‘So sweet.’