Free Miss Foster’s Folly by Alice Gaines Page B

you asked to take your virtue?”
    Her expression sickened, and she stared down at the floor.
    Oh, no. Oh, bloody hell, no. His gut clenched.
    “You didn’t…that is…you haven’t.” He gulped. “You didn’t find another man to do it, did you?”
    She stared up at him, fury in her eyes. “How can you suggest such a thing?”
    “You asked me, didn’t you?” he said. “How do I know you wouldn’t ask some other fellow?”
    She put her hands on her hips. “Because you’re not just any fellow.”
    Warmth settled in his chest and spread like the feeling of fine brandy. She hadn’t given herself to anyone else, and she obviously thought more of him than she’d let on.
    “So why did you run away from me?” he demanded.
    “I’d planned this trip anyway.”
    “And you’d planned to pretend to be a widow?”
    She lifted her chin. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
    He took a few steps toward her; she stepped backward, maintaining a distance from him.
    “You hadn’t planned to encounter someone who knew who you were, though, had you?” he said.
    She retreated farther. “What are you going to do?”
    He closed half the distance between them. “What I should have done in New York.”
    “You can’t mean…” She held her hands out in front of her. “Not here…”
    “Dear heaven, woman. I’m not going to frig you in someone else’s library.”
    She turned her head and watched him out of the corners of her eyes. “Then, what?”
    “I’m going to give you a taste of what I can offer.” He stepped closer. “And then, I’m going to leave you wanting.”
    She stepped back and back until she hit the wall and couldn’t go any farther. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
    “Oh, but you’ll love the reality. I promise.”
    She flattened herself against the plaster behind her and watched him approach, her eyes so wide they half filled her face. A slight tremble betrayed her fear or excitement.
    He closed the distance between them and put a hand on the wall beside her head. Now that he was going to taste her mouth after weeks of longing, he took a moment for anticipation. Her lips had parted, and her breath came softly between them. He leaned toward her, until his mouth hovered over hers. After a heartbeat or two, she sighed and closed her eyes. Temptation personified. He could wait no longer.
    When he finally kissed her, he gave her no more than a feathering of his lips on hers. Across the top one and then lingering on the fullness of the bottom one. Sweet, so sweet. Like honey and flowers. He did his best to hold himself back for fear he’d lose control. He could rein himself in with some women, but this one worked potent magic on him. Like a narcotic, one sip led to another and then another. Each a little deeper and lingering. A simple caress shouldn’t overpower him, but one from this woman very well might. Before she did, he released her and straightened.
    “Oh, my.” She opened her eyes and raised a hand to touch her lips. “I had no idea.”
    “You still don’t. I scarcely touched you.”
    She moved her hand down her throat. “Do it again.”
    “At your service.” He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head at the right angle to kiss her more deeply. This time, he explored every curve and angle of her mouth, flicking his tongue at the corners and then taking the soft lower lip between his teeth to nibble gently on it.
    No longer shy, she leaned into him and clung to his shoulders. As lost in the embrace as he’d become. He pulled her against him, and her breasts pressed against his chest. Lower, their bodies met where his rod had already grown to full length and stiffness. How he wanted this woman. No other female had held such sway over him. He’d only just touched her for the first time, and she’d set a fire in his loins.
    Now, she was kissing him. Awkward attempts at first, as though she hadn’t figured how the puzzle pieces fit. He let her explore, though it cost him to keep