Free How I Married a Marquess by Anna Harrington

a kiss was even possible!
    And oh, what a delicious kiss it was, too, one that left her quivering and craving the tangy taste of him.
    Forcing back a soft moan, she tentatively touched the tip of her tongue against his. He inhaled sharply, and she thrilled at his reaction. Lost in the heady sensations that his kisses poured through her, she rose up on tiptoe to boldly return the kiss, run her fingertips through the silky softness of his thick black hair, and lick brazenly into his mouth.
    “Josephine,” he groaned. He captured her tongue between his lips, sucking hard and drawing it deep into his mouth until he stole her breath away, until fingers of liquid flame rose up from her toes and tickled at that private place between her legs. And then she did moan, long and loud and shamelessly.
    She tore her mouth away from his, panting and fighting for breath. She buried her face in his chest and halted the wild ride he was giving her before she completely lost control to him.
    As she clung to him, her weakened knees shaking so hard beneath her she had to lean against him to keep from falling away, she wrapped her arm around his neck and rested her forehead against his hard shoulder. Her body pulsed hot. Trembling. Aching. And traitorously wanting more.
    “Good God,” he breathed, incredulous, his mouth buried against her hair.
    Good God indeed. How was it possible that he could make her so uncontrolled and reckless with only a kiss? “But…but I don’t even like you,” she protested in a confused whisper.
    “I know,” his husky voice rasped out. “Damn curious to me, too.”
    His hands ran down her back in slow, gentle caresses as if he couldn’t stop touching her. Although, truth be told, she didn’t want him to stop. Which made him more dangerous than she’d ever imagined. Because not only would he eventually prove no different from all the other men before him, this one held the power to learn more about her than she could ever reveal.
    “But you have such an effect on me, Josephine, you don’t even realize…and I have no idea why.” His large hands cupped her bottom and gently pulled her hips tight to his, to mold her wantonly against him. And God help her, she let him do just that. “You’re a puzzle to me, holding all kinds of secrets. And I love a good puzzle.”
    Secrets . Her heart raced impossibly faster. “I’m not—” She inhaled sharply as he squeezed her bottom in his hands. “I’m not a puzzle.”
    “A mystery, then.” His warm lips brushed against her temple. “One begging to be solved.”
    Shamelessly delighting in the scandalous way he held her, she protested weakly, “I’m not begging for anything.”
    He gave a wicked laugh and tipped up her face. “Not yet.” His stare turned predatory as he lowered his gaze to her mouth. “But you will.”
    There was no mistaking his meaning, and an unexpected wave of longing rippled through her so intensely that it gathered into a burning flame in her belly and ached to be extinguished. “I’m just—” She shivered as his hands slid up her sides, his thumbs pressing over each rib as he moved higher. “A normal woman.”
    “Oh no, you’re not.” He lowered his head to kiss teasingly at the corner of her mouth, the tip of his tongue darting out to taste her. “Not with the way you’ve intrigued me since the moment I first saw you.” He gently took her bottom lip between his and sucked, eliciting a soft whimper of pleasure from her. “There’s something about you, Josephine,” he murmured hotly against her mouth. “Something only you do to me. And I need to figure out why.”
    She turned her head away before she begged him to kiss her breathless the way he’d done before, when he flamed that delicious throbbing that heated wickedly between her legs. But she managed only to bring his mouth against her ear, where he devilishly traced the outer curl with his tongue. She trembled.
    “No, I am normal. I like dances and gowns,