He started toward her, and she commanded, “Stay where you are, you bounder!”
“I don’t think I will.”
She dashed into the closet, but there was no rear exit, so she had nowhere to go. He scooped her to his chest and wedged her against a dresser, then he kissed her as if they’d been lovers for years, as if he had every right.
He might have been possessed. His hands were in her hair, his tongue in her mouth, and his palms roamed over her torso. His masculine frame was crushed to her more feminine one. His belly was flat, his thighs hard and muscled. As she snuggled with him, she felt petite and vulnerable, as if she’d been in dire need of his help and was finally about to receive it.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. She was no trembling ninny, and she knew how to kiss a man. He was quite adept at it too, and it occurred to her that the fellows who’d dared to proceed in the past had been tepid and cautious.
He was fierce, blatant, and brazen, and she was quickly overwhelmed.
She’d been told blunt secrets about private conduct. Fish had never thought a girl should be kept in the dark about sexual matters, so she’d been very candid as to what was expected in the bedchamber. Libby had learned all sorts of things she shouldn’t, and with Luke proving himself to be very skilled at seduction, she was suddenly considering dissipation she had no business considering.
With her clothes off and her wearing just her robe, chemise, and drawers, it seemed as if she was naked. It had her wishing she was wanton, that she’d paid more attention when Fish had been clarifying the woman’s role in a tryst.
Down below, there was obvious carnal evidence of how she’d enticed him, how his body was inflamed by their proximity. He was pressing his loins into hers in a delicious rhythm that stunned and thrilled her. Her anatomy recognized the road he was determined to walk and joined in with incredible vigor.
She couldn’t guess how long they continued. Nor could she predict what might have happened, but he was better at controlling himself than she was. If it had been left up to her, there was no telling what wickedness she might have pursued.
He slowed and drew away, and he peered down at her with such affection that she was exceedingly flummoxed. Because of her odd upbringing, she’d convinced herself that she understood how affairs commenced and flared, but clearly, she’d had no genuine idea of the furious passion that could be immediately generated.
How was she to handle all the sensation he’d ignited? How would she ever revert to being the woman she’d been before he’d started in on her?
He smirked with manly arrogance. “I’ve been dying to do that ever since I first laid eyes on you. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“How utterly marvelous to hear it.”
“I had decided, once I crossed paths with you again, and I refused to suppose I wouldn’t, that I would put myself out of my misery by kissing you—whether you were amenable or not.”
She chuckled. “I might have been a tad amenable.”
“It hasn’t calmed me down though. Not in the slightest. I want to do it again. I want to do it forever and never stop.”
“You’re dangerous.”
“Not usually, but you’ve stirred a beast inside me.”
“Should I be flattered or terrified?”
“You should be both.”
He leaned in and nibbled a trail down her neck to her nape, and he took bites on her skin, at the spot where her neck met her shoulder. Goose bumps slithered down her arms.
“I like the way you smell,” he said. “It drives me wild.”
“I can tell.”
“What are your plans for the rest of the evening?”
“I’m going home.”
“No, you’re not. You’re coming with me.”
“To where?”
“I haven’t figured out the location yet, but it will be somewhere quiet where I can have you all to myself for hours and hours.”
“I’m sorry to report that you have completely misconstrued the kind of woman I am.”
He frowned. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning I’m a singer and performer, so you’re assuming I’m loose.”
“Aren’t you?”
“No. I’m actually very boring and moralistic.”
His lazy gaze wandered down her torso, his ferocious regard lingering on all her aroused female areas.
He scoffed. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true.”
His frown deepened. “Are you playing a vixen’s game with me? Is that it? Are you hoping I’ll offer you money to socialize with me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“If that’s your ploy, you should be aware that I never pay for companionship.”
“As if I would agree to such a sordid arrangement.”
She must have looked sufficiently offended because he studied her, then said, “I’ve insulted you.”
“Of course you have. In my line of work, I receive many, many suggestive proposals, but I never accept any of them.” She motioned to the door. “Would you leave?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No. What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I have a show.”
“At night?”
“Yes.”
“How about in the afternoon?”
He delivered another thrilling kiss that went on and on. It lowered her defenses and shot down any walls she’d erected to keep him at bay.
“Two o’clock,” he said. “We’ll go for a ride.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, and she kicked herself for capitulating so easily.
“I’ll pick you up at your home. Where do you live?”
“I’m not about to tell you.”
“Then I’ll meet you here at the theater, out on the front walk.”
“All right.”
“Wear your most scandalous gown so I’ll be absolutely tantalized.”
“What is your favorite color?” she asked.
“Red.”
“I have several red ones. I’ll select the most alluring one for you, but I can’t imagine why I’m being so accommodating.”
“I always get my way. You’re simply learning fast.” He stole a final kiss. “If you think you can avoid me, if you’re not here at two, I’ll come to the theater tomorrow night. During the middle of your performance, I will march onto the stage and carry you off while everyone is watching.”
“You probably would, wouldn’t you?” She bristled
