Free Further Than Passion by Cheryl Holt Page B

mother's."
    Which meant she must have previously had a family of some affluence. What had happened t o lay her low? It was a fascinating detail to probe later, but for the moment, he had more captivating aspects to unravel.
    "She must have been very beautiful."
    "She was."
    He tossed the robe on the floor, and she didn't fight him. Scowling, she watched him as one might a dangerous predator, and she was wise to be wary. Where she was concerned, he felt capable of any nefarious conduct.
    He leaned down to kiss her ruby lips. For the briefest second, she allowed the contact; then she turned away, and he grazed her cheek, her ear.
    "Stop tormenting me," she whispered. "Please."
    "You're so damned sweet. How can I resist?"
    Shrugging, he was unable to further justify his mischief. Any coquette in London would gladly entertain him, so he couldn't explain why he persisted. A female of lesser morals would be so much more amenable to seduction.
    At his refusal to go, she was so forlorn, and he couldn't bear that she was unhappy. She brought him an odd joy, and he was eager for her to experience the
     
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    same contentment. They shared a special connection, which they needed to explore, and he intended to pursue her until he could comprehend it.
    "What do you want from me?" she implored.
    "Aside from terrific sexual relations?"
    "Yes. Aside from that."
    She blushed so furiously that he was certain she was a virgin. What if she was? Could he ruin her? Should he?
    Though he had many faults, he wasn't that much of a cad. Yet he was convinced that being intimate with her would be a life-altering event. When something so marvelous could occur, what point was served by passing it up?
    He yearned to have her smiling, but he wasn't sure how to cheer her. Her pot of tea was on the dresser, and he went to it.
    "Is this tea?"
    "Yes."
    He lifted the lid and sniffed. "It smells peculiar. What have you put in it?"
    "If you must know, I added a restorative. I've been under the weather."
    "Since when?"
    "Since I met you."
    He picked up the envelope of powder, and she sprinted to him, determined to snatch it away, when he made an exaggerated fumbling motion and dropped it. The granules spilled and filtered into the weave of the rug.
    "Oh no!" she keened. "Now see what you've done. "
    Falling to her knees, she tried to scoop it up, but the particles were impossible to salvage. She peered up at
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    him, so distressed that he almost felt sorry for behaving like such an ass. Almost. He was too charmed by how each and every expression flitted across her pretty face.
    "And what's this?" He grabbed the vial and held it toward the candle. The liquid appeared to be red wine, and he wondered if it was.
    "It's fo r ... for treating women's ailments."
    "Really? Are you suffering?" He studied her bewitching figure, his gaze taking a leisurely journey across her breasts. "From feminine ailments, that is? You look fine to me."
    She blushed another delicious shade of red, and he wedged out the cork, which panicked her. "Give it to me, Marcus! Don't joke about this."
    He hoisted the bottle out of her reach, and she stretched and struggled, attempting to seize it. Their wrestling forced her to press herself to him, and he could discern every delectable inch of her torso. She was rounded yet slender, curved in all the right spots, and they fit together perfectly.
    Sparks were flying, the air electrified by their proximity. He hugged her close, his naughty fingers creeping to her bottom, the gesture flattening her loins to his. His phallus reacted, growing rigid as stone, and he flexed into her.
    She might be an innocent, but when his body moved with hers, she froze and gasped with surprise.
    "You feel it, too, don't you?" he queried.
    "No," she lied.
    "It's meant to be, Kate." He was echoing the words of the apothecary, and she blanched. Had the man said the same to her?
    He tipped the vial and swallowed down the contents,
     
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    and it wasn't wine as he'd