Page 39 of To Pleasure a Prince

Behold the dragon. His clenched fists, powerful bulk, and fiery face were the very picture of dragonly fury, a barely leashed force awaiting only her word to fly out and destroy everything in its path.

Other men had sworn to fight for her. This was the first man she believed might actually do it. A thrill shot down her spine. “Please stay, Lord Draker. Henry was just leaving.”

Henry whirled on her. “Regina, you can’t mean you prefer—”

“You heard her.” Marcus stepped into the box. “I believe your friends are looking for you downstairs.”

Henry hesitated. Fortunately, the idiot’s brain actually functioned once in a while. With a tight little bow, he exited the box, leaving Marcus and Regina alone.

Now that Henry was gone, she didn’t know whether to be delighted that Marcus had shown up or annoyed that he’d taken it upon himself to interfere. “How did you find me?”

“I followed you. I didn’t trust your cousins.”

“Or me, apparently. I could have handled Henry myself, you know.”

With a glance at the rest of the boxes in the house, he closed the door, then stepped closer. “I could see how well you were handling him.”

“You didn’t give me the chance. When you came in, I was about to use my ‘strong right arm’ on him. That would have stopped him.”

“It didn’t stop me from kissing you on your doorstep last night,” he murmured into the darkness. He was much closer now.

She shivered deliciously, but didn’t move. She had two choices. The wise one was to rebuff him as swiftly as she’d rebuffed Henry. The foolish one was to see where this led.

Earlier this evening, she would have made the wise choice. But Henry’s pathetic kiss had shown her one basic truth. She’d never been attracted to any man as powerfully as she was to this one. Despite his grousing. Despite the beard and rude manners and the way he always kept her unsettled.

Or perhaps the unsettled part was what attracted her. “I could have stopped you last night if I’d wanted to,” she admitted.

“So why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to.”

His eyes glittered dangerously in the semidarkness. “But tonight you wanted to stop me. Tonight you wouldn’t even let me hold your hand.”

“Because I-I wanted to teach you some manners,” she lied.

“I’m rather thickheaded sometimes.” Suddenly his hands were on her waist, drawing her behind the curtains at the back of the box, giving her a chance to resist. “Perhaps we should repeat the lesson.”

The husky words sent a thrill of anticipation coursing through her rapidly heating blood. Breathless, she slid her hands up the mighty arms that engulfed her. “Perhaps we should.”

That was all it took to have him kissing her. And it was every bit as wonderful as she remembered, hot and sweet and silky. His mouth consumed hers, taking everything with that amazing boldness he showed in all that he did. But where Henry’s boldness had appalled her, Marcus’s only made her want more.

She clutched eagerly at his brawny shoulders. How nice to be out of control for a change. And this was so very out of control. They were alone in the dark; no one could see them behind the curtains. Certainly no one could hear them, with the noisy patrons conversing over the performers. If anyone did hear, they would probably assume some doxy and her companion were making use of an empty box.

At times like this she wished she were his doxy, especially when he plundered her mouth like a marauder, possessing it so thoroughly that she felt melded to him like wax to a wick, the two of them erupting into flames together.

His mouth left hers to burn a path of fire along her jaw. “You defended me to them downstairs. Why?”

“You heard us?” she whispered, cursing her friends for their snide tongues.

“I heard them behaving like asses. I heard you defending me.”

“They don’t even know you,” she choked out, though it was hard to speak when he was nibbling her earlobe and laving her ear with his heated tongue.

“I don’t know you, either,” he whispered against her ear. “I thought I had you figured out. I thought it was only the public nature of our association that bothered you. I thought that was why you acted as if you disliked me. But then you defended me to your friends.”

“I don’t dislike you. I never disliked you.”

He nuzzled her neck, his beard tickling her sensitive flesh. “Then why have you been so cool to me tonight?”