The Marriage Trap by Jennifer Probst Page A

lust and tenderness? What was happening to him?
    Her smile was distant and forced. “You’re right of course,” she mocked. “I’ll stay out of things from now on. But I’m not telling her she can’t go.”
    She tried to back away, but he slid his arms around her back and tugged her toward his chest. “I’m sorry, cara, ” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to say such a nasty thing. You bring out the beast in me sometimes.”
    Surprise flickered over her face, but she remained unyielding against him. “Accepted. Now let me go.”
    Instinct made him draw her closer. She arched upward as if to get away, then hit against his rock-hard erection. She gasped, then immediately stilled. “Seems like the beast side is pretty happy to see me. Insulting me turns you on?”
    He laughed. Her razor-sharp wit never bored him, but lately he learned to push past her comedy routine and glimpse a hidden vulnerability that intrigued him. After all this time, was he finally spotting the real Maggie? He remembered the American expression “all bark and no bite” and wondered if he’d get to test his new theory. “No, cara, you seem to turn me on. As you are well aware. What I need from you now is just to hold you.”
    Her body froze and her voice lashed at him in the need to draw blood. “Trust me, Count, I’ve heard much worse and was never bothered. I don’t need you to hold me.”
    “No, I need you to hold me,” he whispered. “You deserved more than that cheap shot and I need to feel better.”
    She fought as if terrified of a little comfort.
    “Shhh, just for a moment, I promise it won’t hurt much.”
    Michael lifted her up, wrapped his arms tight, and tucked her head against his chest. Her breath came out choppy and uneven, as if she was almost on the verge of panic, but he kept his patience and slowly, she relaxed against him. Her body molded perfectly to his. The taut thrust of her nipples told him of her own arousal, and he bet if he slid his fingers to the pulse by the base of her neck, her heartbeat would thunder like a racing thoroughbred. Still, he made no move to deepen the embrace. He breathed in the exotic scent of coconut from her hair and savored the moment. For a little while, he ached to hold her and remove the pain he caused by his thoughtless remark.
    He didn’t know when the moment slid from warmth to fire. He swore to push her away before anything sexual occurred. His gut told him Maggie rarely experienced the tenderness of an embrace without ties or the culmination of sex. Sadness leaked through him at the thought, and he cursed her parents for raising her in an icebox with a goal to avoid emotions. He wanted to prove he was trustworthy. But once again, she broke his self-control, and in a mad rush of heat, she practically shimmered with sexual electricity.
    He held his breath. Slowly, he slid her back down his body so her toes reached the ground. The hard nub of her nipples dragged across his chest, and his palm settled perfectly on the full curve of her ass.
    Ah, merda .
    His penis ignored his prayers and stiffened to an almost painful length. Michael gritted his teeth and held on.
    Then she looked up.
    Stormy emerald eyes filled with fire. Passion. And stark demand. She shook in his arms as she fought her reaction, but Michael was past politeness and damned himself to hell. At least the road was paved in gold.
    He lowered his head and captured her mouth.
    Her little catchy moan urged him on. He swallowed the sound and plunged his tongue through the seam of her lips. She opened immediately, meeting him thrust for thrust as she hung on to his shoulders and dug her nails in hard. The tiny bite of pain made him nip at her lower lip, the plump, ripe flesh reminding him of a sweet, juicy peach, and then he was lost.
    Somehow, he backed her against the wall and lifted her up. Wrapped her legs high around his waist. Fit his throbbing erection into the notch between her thighs. Then dove back in.
    He