then the second. By the time she stood before him in her corset
and chemise, her hands had begun shaking and she had difficulty
commanding her fingers to work.
She’d thought at some point, he would have
mercy on her and tell her to stop, but it seemed he intended on
taking this to the furthest point that he could.
The buttons of her corset made a slight
popping sound as she pulled them free of their buttonholes.
Her nerves jangled, her fingers unsteady as
she worked the tight buttons loose and finally had her
under-support removed. The moment the corset came free, she felt
her breasts settle heavily in the fine cotton of her chemise. Her
nipples puckered as they always did when the tight nuisance was
removed.
She stopped, trying to gather her
courage.
“You can turn your back, if that makes it any
easier. Or do you require my assistance?”
The last thing she wanted was to give him an
excuse to come and help her undress. The very scandalous idea of
him being so close to her while she was naked set her blood to
racing.
She shook her head, gathering her fleeting
courage. “I’ve been dressing and undressing myself for quite some
time now,” she said on a tight, shaky breath.
No, she thought it would be better for him to
remain seated and behind his desk, as far from her as possible
whilst she was in such a vulnerable state. But she would take him
up on his offer to turn her back to him.
She loosened her hair and allowed it to fall
down her back, hoping the tendrils would provide some measure of
shielding to her naked flesh when it was finally revealed. Grasping
the hem of her chemise, she hauled it up her body and over her
head, dropping it in the seat of the chair and quickly covering her
breasts and sex with her hands before anything could show.
She kept her eyes closed in mortification,
but she heard the sharp intake of his breath when she stood before
him, at last completely naked.
Just because her back was to him did not mean
he couldn’t see her assets or that she would brazenly show herself
off to him.
Her skin tingled in the air despite the
warmth of the fire in the hearth.
“Turn around,” he said, his voice strangely
husky.
Winter squeezed her eyes shut and slowly
rotated. A shiver of cold wracked her body. She shuddered,
practically feeling his eyes roaming over her.
His chair scraped on the hardwood.
“Move your hands. I want to see all of you.”
His deep voice sounded close. She couldn’t bear to open her eyes
and look at him like this.
Winter thought her heart would explode from
nervousness and fright. Reluctantly, she removed the shield of her
arms and hands, allowing her limbs to drop by her sides.
“I thought you were going to make me remove
them myself,” he said. His voice by her ear startled her. She
jumped and her eyes flew open to see him standing in front of
her.
He looked down at her, his expression
unreadable. Winter stared straight ahead as if she were awaiting
death by a firing squad.
“The artist’s imagination was quite…vivid,
but I can see the limitations of using only the mind to capture an
image. You are more breathtaking in the flesh, Miss Stevens,” he
murmured, walking around her and examining every inch of her
body.
He raised a hand as if to touch her, but
merely skated the air inches from her skin, as if imaging what it
would feel like to rest his hand on her bare waist, the small of
her back, and her buttocks. As he came around to stand in front of
her again, Winter couldn’t help the jolt of pleasure that rocked
through her core at the heat in his eyes.
God forbid she enjoy him looking at her, but
she did. If ever she was in doubt of her reckless, wanton nature,
she could no longer deny it. Curse him for awakening forbidden
desires in her, for forcing her to his will and confusing the state
of her mind.
For a brief moment, Logan couldn’t seem to
catch his
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