“You know I have been given many excuses to help a lady of her dress,” he rasped, bringing his other hand up to her neck.
Deborah’s lashes fluttered shut as his fingertips smoothed from under her ear, down the line of her neck, and down to her bare shoulder. Spasms of pleasure rocked her next as his lips followed by placing a warm, lingering kiss against the exposed flesh.
“I have never seen the blame be put on an insect, though.”
She could hear the sarcasm in his deep voice and knew he was taunting her. Deborah forced her eyes open, shooing away the delightful sensations tingling over her body, and stepped out of his grasp.
“It was not an excuse,” she said bitterly, turning to face him. She then gestured down to the deceased insect as proof.
“Perhaps not,” Cedric mused, closing the small space between them, “But that does not mean we should ignore the opportunity this little problem of yours has granted us.”
He reached toward her then, and Deborah’s body hummed with pleasure as his fingertips found their way around her throat. His dark eyes raked down her body, and when they met her green ones again, his satisfaction was evident.
“You truly are beautiful, you know,” he whispered, stroking his thumb slowly over the pulsing vein in her throat.
Deborah closed her eyes and swallowed, silently willing her body to stop trembling.It was just his thumb for heaven’s sakes!
Yet even though she tried to tell herself she knew it wasn’t true. It was the timbre of his voice, the tantalizing scent of his masculinity, and the daunting way that even just the touch of his finger seemed to fill her body with longing- an urge she’d onceswore to never feel for a man after what Sylvester had done to Hester.
“I am not as affected by your flattery as some of your other conquests,” she replied, far softer than she would have liked. She forced her eyes open again, willing herself not to give in to the pleasure now coursing through her entire body, “You cannot just melt my will with your words.”
Cedric’s lips twitched toward a smile as his gaze dropped to her mouth.
“No?” He mused.
Her heart hammering, Deborah shook her head.
“Well. It seems I might have to try something else then,” he huskily replied.
His hand tightened around her throat and pulled.
Deborah felt herself swaying toward him. Told her body to stop. Told her mind to stop. Yet even as she did, she closed her eyes and parted her lips.
She expected Cedric’s kiss to be possessive and brutal. Something that would alarm her and provide proof she did not want him. Instead, his lips were soft, tender. They brushed along hers, slowly coaxing them to follow suit, and with a whimper, she obeyed. The tip of his warm tongue traced along her bottomlip before he drew it into his mouth, suckling her softly as his hand slipped from the front of her throat to the back of her neck, and he pulled her closer.
Yearning washed through her mind, rendering it blank as her body began to obediently follow his kiss and touch. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to chase those feelings, and parted her lips just a little more so she could take his bottom lip. Before she could, his tongue slid into her mouth, and as he massaged it over hers, she gasped and felt her entire body begin to tremble.
“Sorry for the delay, Your Grace, I- oh my!”
The sudden sound of another person’s voice jolted Deborah from her reverie, and she shoved Cedric away before covering her mouth. She looked toward the voice and saw a maid standing there in apparent shock.
“A thousand apologies, Your Graces,” the maid immediately apologized as she dipped into a low curtsey, “I had thought you had rung your bell for assistance, but I was clearly mistaken. Please, forgive me, I will leave you be at once!”
“No,” Cedric said, sounding completely unfazed and unbothered despite what had just happened.
Deborah’s gaze snapped to him, and she found him smirking with obvious triumph.
“Her Grace will need your assistance getting ready for bed, I believe,” Cedric went on. “Just give us a moment, would you? Perhaps you could wait in her sitting room?”
The maid readily agreed and quickly closed the door behind her.
The moment they were alone, Deborah turned back to Cedric and shoved at his chest, and he had the nerve to chuckle as he took a step back.
“How dare you!” She exclaimed as she hurriedly gathered her sleeves up in her arms, “What did you do to me? I did not want that!”
“Oh, I think you did, Miss Hunt,” he taunted, “You just needed to let go of some of that fantastic control of yours.”
His grin was positively devious as he moved to walk past her, but paused just as their shoulders lined up.