Page 124 of To Catch A Rogue

"I daresay a little bit more than that," she choked out.A virgin? How on earth could he...?All those girls he'd chased when he was younger. And he'd been away for nearly three years. She'd never dared hope.

Charlie shrugged. "A little bit more than that." Once again those dangerous blue eyes locked on hers. "I became a blue blood when I was fourteen. It took me over a year before I could fully control myself. Blade warned me to be careful when it came to fooling around with girls. There are two kinds of lust when it comes to the craving, blood lust and... well, sex. Both can set a blue blood over the edge and it’s easy to confuse the two in the heat of the moment. I didn't want to risk it. I was careful. But I didn't dare push too far, because he was right. Itwasoverwhelming at times."

Lark's mouth dropped open.

"And then there was you," he said, his voice roughening.

"You never even noticed me," she protested.

"Not when I was sixteen, no."

"Not when you were seventeen, either. Or eighteen."

"Seventeen," he admitted. "I was seventeen and you were sixteen. Or... Christ. Nineteen, now I know the truth."

Charlie swam closer. Lark's back hit the edge of the pool, but he didn't stop. Simply set his hands on the stone on either side of her hips and watched her.

"March 21, 1884," he said softly.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"That's the day it all changed. I'd told you I could steal anything that wasn't nailed down, and you challenged me to steal the key Master Whitlow, the brewer, kept around his neck. Said you could beat me to it. Remember Old Man Sagan who patrolled the brewery? With his mechanical hounds?"

Lark's mind raced. Clarity dawned. "Blade thrashed the pair of us within an inch of our lives. That's all I remember."

"Yeah, well my recollection’s a little different. We were fleeing through the brewery," he said, his gaze sliding lower. "It was two months after you first wore that horrible dress. Neither of us had anticipated the fact that Whitlow had the brewery patrolled after a string of recent break-ins. Those bloody hounds were on our heels, and you found a ladder leading into the rafters. We scrambled up it and found ourselves trapped. And worse, Old Man Sagan was coming."

"What has this got to do with—"

"It hadn't entirely escaped my notice that I wasn't the only one growing up. Your shirts no longer fit quite so loosely, and your breeches weren't baggy any more."

"You noticed?"

He loomed closer, breath whispering against her wet lips. "I noticed. And when we had to hide in the brewery vat to escape, you came out all wet."

"I smelled like beer for a week."

"You were...All. Wet," Charlie repeated softly, leaning closer. His lips skimmed her jaw. "I could see through your shirt. It clung to you in places I'd never really paid much attention to before, and I'm not ashamed to say I didn't look away."Lark's breath caught as his hands skimmed her waist.

"And then," he whispered, "we had to crawl out of the brewery through a skylight. When we collapsed on the roof, you were draped all over me. I could barely breathe from the climb, but the craving started itching through me. Every single inch of you was pressed against me, and you lifted your head and smiled, and...." He looked away. "It was suddenly screaming through me, no longer merely a whisper. It was like some part of me came to life, and it was never going to go away again. Here you were hugging me, and saying, ‘Thank God we made it,’ and I wasn't sure if I wanted to drink your blood or fuck you."

She remembered now.

He'd snapped at her and pushed her away, and then they'd hurried home, and Charlie had avoided her for weeks. She'd thought it had been because of the verbal thrashing Blade gave him.

Charlie's thumb slid up and down her side. "It scared the hell out of me. I'd never wanted to hurt anyone, but suddenly all I could think about was you. I was losing control, and badly, and that's when Blade and Will started teaching me to box. If I was exhausted, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad? At least, that's what they were hoping. Didn't quite work that way."

Her heart pounded.

"Did you tell them it was me...?"

He shook his head. "I'm fairly certain Blade knew. He never said anything though." Charlie released a long breath. "Lark, when I left the rookeries, it wasn't just because of what happened to Tin Man. When you stopped breathing that night...." He shuddered. "It was like a switch flipped in my brain. Barrons used his blood to heal you, but I couldn't control myself again. I could barely stand to let anyone else in your room while you surfaced. I knew what you were going through with the craving, but I couldn't help you." He brushed his mouth against her shoulder, stirring the thin fabric of her chemise. A minute kiss. "I couldn't be there for you while you healed, because all I could think about was claiming you. Even now"—he lifted his eyes, and there was no more blue in them—"I'm on the edge."

Some blue bloods grew territorial with certain people.

But she’d never, ever expected to it to happen to her and Charlie.

"You keep throwing other girls in my face," he said. "But it’s you. It’s always been you. I haven’t touched anyone else since the night of the revolution. I don’t even know if I could anymore."