felt a light touch at her left ear. She kept her lids closed, she didn’t want to meet those mocking blue-gray eyes. She felt another touch at her right ear and she suddenly realized what he was doing. He was taking off her spectacles! Her lids flew open. “No! I—”
“Christ!”
She hurriedly lowered her long lashes to veil her eyes. “I’d like my spectacles, please. It’s very difficult for me to—”
“Look up. Do you hear me? Look
up
, dammit.”
She reluctantly raised her gaze to meet his own.
Dominic once more experienced the same shock he had received before. Her eyes were not brown as he had surmised, but a deep green and were flecked around the pupil with tawny gold. Enormous eyes, tilted up at the corners and framed with long black lashes that both shadowed and enhanced their exotic brilliance.
“May I have my spectacles back now?”
He shook his head. “I’ve always liked green eyes. I think we’ll dispense with these for the time being.” He tossed her spectacles on top of his shirt on the table. “And don’t keep sidling away from me.”
“They’re not green.” Her voice was muffled and she stared straight ahead at a point in the exact center of his chest. “They’re not any color. They’re witch’s eyes, cat’s eyes.”
“An interesting comparison, and judging by your behavior since I’ve made your acquaintance, I can vouch for the fact that you come by it rightly.”
“They’re ugly.” A slight flush was touching her pale cheeks. “Different.”
“Is that why you wear those spectacles?” His fingers were removing the pins that held her bun in place. “So no one can see how ugly they are?”
“Certainly not, I would never be so vain. I need them. I do a great deal of reading in scholarly studiesand my eyes become quite strained. Poor vision runs in the MacGregor family. My father purchased my first pair of spectacles when I was seven.”
“I haven’t seen you without them since you arrived in Hell’s Bluff,” Dominic observed as he threw the pins on the table. He watched the heavy coils of light brown hair tumble to the middle of her back. Another surprise. The candlelight revealed threads of pale gold in the shining brown mass. “You’ve clearly been doing a formidable amount of scholarly work of late.”
The flush on her cheeks deepened. “I’ve grown accustomed to wearing spectacles. I feel uncomfortable without … What are you doing now?”
“Just running my fingers through your hair.” He brought two long silky strands forward to nestle against her breasts. God, he realized his fingers were tingling as if they had been frozen and were now being painfully brought to life. The thick silky strands flowed through his fingers like warm honey. He wondered how that silkiness would feel against his naked chest as she bent over to …
“Why? Is it untidy?” She frowned. “It’s entirely your own fault. You shouldn’t have taken it down.”
“Perhaps.” The tingling was spreading from his fingers to his wrists and arms. His loins were aching, the muscles of his belly knotting. He shouldn’t have touched her but he’d had no idea she would ready him so quickly. He was usually in control of his responses, but he found he was trembling now like an inexperienced boy. “But I think we’ll leave it down anyway. Sit down.”
She stared at him in bewilderment, her strange eyes shining like two gold-flecked emeralds in her pale face. He suddenly wanted to touch her hair again, feel the silk wind around his fingers and cling to them. He impulsively reached out and came within an inch of contact before he stopped, and then let his hand drop to his side. There would be time for that later, when his first hunger for her was satisfied. He repeated, more sharply this time, “Sit down!”
She dropped onto the seat of the wooden chairbehind her and watched as he knelt before her. He picked up her left foot and pushed the skirt of her black gown,
“Christ!”
She hurriedly lowered her long lashes to veil her eyes. “I’d like my spectacles, please. It’s very difficult for me to—”
“Look up. Do you hear me? Look
up
, dammit.”
She reluctantly raised her gaze to meet his own.
Dominic once more experienced the same shock he had received before. Her eyes were not brown as he had surmised, but a deep green and were flecked around the pupil with tawny gold. Enormous eyes, tilted up at the corners and framed with long black lashes that both shadowed and enhanced their exotic brilliance.
“May I have my spectacles back now?”
He shook his head. “I’ve always liked green eyes. I think we’ll dispense with these for the time being.” He tossed her spectacles on top of his shirt on the table. “And don’t keep sidling away from me.”
“They’re not green.” Her voice was muffled and she stared straight ahead at a point in the exact center of his chest. “They’re not any color. They’re witch’s eyes, cat’s eyes.”
“An interesting comparison, and judging by your behavior since I’ve made your acquaintance, I can vouch for the fact that you come by it rightly.”
“They’re ugly.” A slight flush was touching her pale cheeks. “Different.”
“Is that why you wear those spectacles?” His fingers were removing the pins that held her bun in place. “So no one can see how ugly they are?”
“Certainly not, I would never be so vain. I need them. I do a great deal of reading in scholarly studiesand my eyes become quite strained. Poor vision runs in the MacGregor family. My father purchased my first pair of spectacles when I was seven.”
“I haven’t seen you without them since you arrived in Hell’s Bluff,” Dominic observed as he threw the pins on the table. He watched the heavy coils of light brown hair tumble to the middle of her back. Another surprise. The candlelight revealed threads of pale gold in the shining brown mass. “You’ve clearly been doing a formidable amount of scholarly work of late.”
The flush on her cheeks deepened. “I’ve grown accustomed to wearing spectacles. I feel uncomfortable without … What are you doing now?”
“Just running my fingers through your hair.” He brought two long silky strands forward to nestle against her breasts. God, he realized his fingers were tingling as if they had been frozen and were now being painfully brought to life. The thick silky strands flowed through his fingers like warm honey. He wondered how that silkiness would feel against his naked chest as she bent over to …
“Why? Is it untidy?” She frowned. “It’s entirely your own fault. You shouldn’t have taken it down.”
“Perhaps.” The tingling was spreading from his fingers to his wrists and arms. His loins were aching, the muscles of his belly knotting. He shouldn’t have touched her but he’d had no idea she would ready him so quickly. He was usually in control of his responses, but he found he was trembling now like an inexperienced boy. “But I think we’ll leave it down anyway. Sit down.”
She stared at him in bewilderment, her strange eyes shining like two gold-flecked emeralds in her pale face. He suddenly wanted to touch her hair again, feel the silk wind around his fingers and cling to them. He impulsively reached out and came within an inch of contact before he stopped, and then let his hand drop to his side. There would be time for that later, when his first hunger for her was satisfied. He repeated, more sharply this time, “Sit down!”
She dropped onto the seat of the wooden chairbehind her and watched as he knelt before her. He picked up her left foot and pushed the skirt of her black gown,
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