Page 17 of Enchanting the Duke

She hesitated, only for an instant.“Do it.”

He did, and the rest of the world fell away.

CHAPTER SIX

Chrissy was soft under his hands, shockingly so, and Nomansland found himself drowning in the taste of her.She kissed like a girl who’d only read about it in books—fierce, fumbling, entirely unguarded.He pressed her back against the paneling, and drank in her gasp as he nipped at her lower lip.

Chrissy’s fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer, as if she feared he might vanish should she let go.The thought made him smile against her mouth.He ran his hands down her sides, mapping every rise and fall, every shiver, until he reached the rigid boning of her stays.He slid one palm between her body and the wall, spanning the small of her back, and drew her flush to him.

“Is this proper?”she murmured, though she made no move to stop him.

“Not even remotely,” he replied, voice rough with want.

She laughed, a sound so wild and bright he could feel it vibrating in his bones.He kissed her again, harder, letting himself want her for the first time in living memory.The shock of it nearly undid him.

He pressed her hand to his heart.“Feel that?”he asked, and she nodded, wide-eyed.

“It’s like a drum,” she whispered.

“You do that to me,” he said, nuzzling her jaw.“No one else.Just you.”

She bit her lip, glancing down between them, then back up.“You’re trembling.”

He was, and it shamed him, but it also set him free.He wrapped both arms around her, hauling her up until her toes barely skimmed the ground.She clung to him, giggling into his collar, and he wondered how he could have ever been afraid of this.

“I want to ruin you,” he said, the words a secret oath.“I want to be your first and your last and every one in between.”

She shivered, either from cold or from the promise.“I’d like that.You promised to show me what my grandfather wrote about.”

He groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.“You are the most dangerous girl in London.”

“I hope so.Show me.”

He had every intention of doing so, but the corridor was too exposed, the risk of discovery too high.He set her down, smoothing her skirts, and took her hand.

“Come with me,” he said, and together they slipped down the hall, past gilt-framed ancestors and a suit of armor that seemed to nod approval.

He found an antechamber—empty, dim, and just private enough.He pulled her inside and latched the door with a soft click.The hush was immediate, broken only by the distant thrum of the quartet.

He backed her against the door, kissing her again, this time slower, taking inventory of every sigh and every yielding inch.His hands cupped her face, then slid down to her shoulders, then to her waist, memorizing the shape of her.

She caught his wrist, pulling his hand up to her chest.“Here,” she said, guiding his palm to the swell of her breast, just above the edge of her bodice.Her skin was hot through the fabric.“I want you to.”

He obeyed, tracing the curve with his thumb, feeling the sudden, frantic beat beneath.She arched into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?”he asked, his voice hoarse.

She opened her eyes, dazed but wickedly amused.“You’re a boxer.You could crush me with one hand.I think I like it.”

He nearly lost himself then.With a growl, he bent and bit her earlobe, then trailed kisses down the side of her throat.She let her head loll back, baring herself without hesitation.

“God, Chrissy,” he said, words muffled by her skin.“You taste like sin.”

She laughed again, but it faded quickly as he cupped her other breast, kneading gently, feeling the nipple harden beneath the layers of linen and silk.She dug her nails into his arm, not enough to hurt, but enough to make him want more.

“I want to touch you,” he said.“All of you.”

“Then do it,” she whispered.“Before I lose my courage.”