drifting shut as he savored her taste and scent. To his surprise, she didn’t struggle but instead stood very still against him. He could feel the arousing quiver of her body as he held her.
The kiss was deliberately long and hot. Molding his mouth to hers in sensual pressure, he changed the angle time and again, licking the line of her lips, slanting against her until she yielded to his silent request and parted to let him inside. His tongue slid into her mouth and began to explore and caress just as he let go of her wrists and slipped one arm around her slim waist and let his other hand find the wealth of her silky hair. He tugged at the pins and the whole mass came loose, tumbling in a satisfying fall over his arm and down her back. Cradling her nape in one hand, he wickedly rubbed his tongue against hers in carnal indulgence.
It was not the way to kiss an innocent young maiden and he didn’t care in the least. It was erotic, it was graphic, and it was the most enjoyable thing he’d done in a long time.
Her initial shocked immobility seemed to fade to something indefinable—if not participation, then at least submission. When he finally lifted his head to peer down at her face, her eyes were closed, the lashes thick and dark against her pale cheeks. Her freed arms were not precisely embracing him back either, but one small hand rested lightly on his shoulder and the other hung limply at her side.
Slowly her lashes lifted.
He expected outrage and fury. More, he knew he deserved outrage and fury. But Jessica just stared up at him with those lovely eyes and swallowed, the muscles twitching in her slender throat.
He wanted to kiss her again. He ached to kiss her again. Gently sliding his thumb along the line of her jaw and down the graceful curve of her throat, he lifted her chin with a forefinger. Her fingers tightening on his shoulder was all the invitation he needed.
Their mouths melded together, this kiss was gentle as the other had been fierce and demanding. She opened willingly, letting him savor her sweetness and warmth, her hand creeping up to touch his hair and clasp his neck. That simple gesture and the light pressure of her forearm against his heated skin sent fire spiking through his body, an unexpected exultation tightening his chest. Jessica was kissing him back and she was enjoying it.
There in the pooling moonlight, he was keenly in tune with every response she made to him. The quickened beat of her heart. The breathless gasp when he brushed his mouth across the underside of her jaw and touched the sensitive place under her ear. The way she shivered in his arms as he took her mouth again and again…
“Uncle Alex?”
The interruption barely registered until Jessica jerked suddenly in his arms, fighting and pushing to be free. He let her go and turned around. A small figure stood a few feet away on the path, staring at them. Long blond hair hung in spirals over a pale embroidered sleeping gown. Tiny bare feet peeped from beneath the hem.
He was plagued, he thought darkly as he stared at his eight-year-old niece, by young girls wandering around in the Grayston gardens where they had no business being and at the worst time possible. Clearing his throat, he said hoarsely, “Anne, sweeting, you should be in bed.”
“I was in bed. But you didn’t come up and say good night like you promised. I came to get you.” Her slim shoulders lifted. Anne looked curiously at Jessica’s scarlet face and then back at him again. “What were you doing?”
Oh Lord. He said, “We were…er…discussing something.”
“But how could you talk with your—”
“Never mind.”
A wide grin suddenly split Anne’s cherubic face. “You like each other, don’t you? Are you going to get married like Mama and Papa?”
Alex hastily stepped forward and reached down to take her little hand. “That is not an appropriate question, young lady. Come on, I’ll tell you a story once you are safely tucked in.”
“Can
The kiss was deliberately long and hot. Molding his mouth to hers in sensual pressure, he changed the angle time and again, licking the line of her lips, slanting against her until she yielded to his silent request and parted to let him inside. His tongue slid into her mouth and began to explore and caress just as he let go of her wrists and slipped one arm around her slim waist and let his other hand find the wealth of her silky hair. He tugged at the pins and the whole mass came loose, tumbling in a satisfying fall over his arm and down her back. Cradling her nape in one hand, he wickedly rubbed his tongue against hers in carnal indulgence.
It was not the way to kiss an innocent young maiden and he didn’t care in the least. It was erotic, it was graphic, and it was the most enjoyable thing he’d done in a long time.
Her initial shocked immobility seemed to fade to something indefinable—if not participation, then at least submission. When he finally lifted his head to peer down at her face, her eyes were closed, the lashes thick and dark against her pale cheeks. Her freed arms were not precisely embracing him back either, but one small hand rested lightly on his shoulder and the other hung limply at her side.
Slowly her lashes lifted.
He expected outrage and fury. More, he knew he deserved outrage and fury. But Jessica just stared up at him with those lovely eyes and swallowed, the muscles twitching in her slender throat.
He wanted to kiss her again. He ached to kiss her again. Gently sliding his thumb along the line of her jaw and down the graceful curve of her throat, he lifted her chin with a forefinger. Her fingers tightening on his shoulder was all the invitation he needed.
Their mouths melded together, this kiss was gentle as the other had been fierce and demanding. She opened willingly, letting him savor her sweetness and warmth, her hand creeping up to touch his hair and clasp his neck. That simple gesture and the light pressure of her forearm against his heated skin sent fire spiking through his body, an unexpected exultation tightening his chest. Jessica was kissing him back and she was enjoying it.
There in the pooling moonlight, he was keenly in tune with every response she made to him. The quickened beat of her heart. The breathless gasp when he brushed his mouth across the underside of her jaw and touched the sensitive place under her ear. The way she shivered in his arms as he took her mouth again and again…
“Uncle Alex?”
The interruption barely registered until Jessica jerked suddenly in his arms, fighting and pushing to be free. He let her go and turned around. A small figure stood a few feet away on the path, staring at them. Long blond hair hung in spirals over a pale embroidered sleeping gown. Tiny bare feet peeped from beneath the hem.
He was plagued, he thought darkly as he stared at his eight-year-old niece, by young girls wandering around in the Grayston gardens where they had no business being and at the worst time possible. Clearing his throat, he said hoarsely, “Anne, sweeting, you should be in bed.”
“I was in bed. But you didn’t come up and say good night like you promised. I came to get you.” Her slim shoulders lifted. Anne looked curiously at Jessica’s scarlet face and then back at him again. “What were you doing?”
Oh Lord. He said, “We were…er…discussing something.”
“But how could you talk with your—”
“Never mind.”
A wide grin suddenly split Anne’s cherubic face. “You like each other, don’t you? Are you going to get married like Mama and Papa?”
Alex hastily stepped forward and reached down to take her little hand. “That is not an appropriate question, young lady. Come on, I’ll tell you a story once you are safely tucked in.”
“Can
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