For Your Arms Only by Linden, Caroline (best fiction books to read .TXT) 📗

tugged. Cressida gasped, lifting her chin, and he brushed his lips against her neck, right at the base of her throat where her pulse beat wildly against her skin. Her head swam. This was intoxicating—and he was only kissing her neck and playing with her hair. His fingers were combing out her braid, and in a few moments her hair hung in a wild mess down her back, growing more tangled by the second as he plunged his hands into it, cradling her head and holding her face up to his.

Abruptly he scooped her up, boosting her to sit on the desk behind her. Her fingers tangled with his as they both pulled at the fastenings of her dressing gown, and then he stripped it from her arms. He kissed the curve where her neck met her shoulder, sucking at her skin until she shivered. He popped loose the buttons that held her nightdress closed, undoing them until he could push the worn fabric over her shoulders to her elbows. Then Alec pulled back until she opened her eyes and blinked at him, gloriously disheveled and aroused.

He was just looking at her, his gaze roving over her. Her skin pebbled into gooseflesh, from the chill of the air and the heat in his gaze. “Beautiful,” he murmured, skating just the tips of his fingers over her collarbone. Cressida moaned, her body quivering at the whisper-light contact, and yanked at the constraining fabric, trying to free her arms to reach for him. Alec put his hands over hers, holding her palms flat on the desk. “Wait,” he breathed, leaning in to kiss her lightly on the mouth. “Just wait…”

She felt acutely exposed as she was, sitting on his desk naked from the waist up. Every breath seemed to draw her skin tighter and tighter until she thought she might snap and break at the next touch. But he didn’t touch her. His hands stayed on hers, trapping them in place while he lowered his head and began to taste her skin.

Cressida had never felt beautiful in her life. She was too tall, too plain, her hair neither blond nor brown, her eyes an odd shade of brown so light they sometimes looked almost yellow. Her figure was neither curvaceous nor willowy slim, and her feet were dreadfully large. But as Alec bent his head reverently to her shoulder, she felt, if not exactly beautiful, then desirable. Very desirable. And she liked it. That look on his face, taut and dark with desire for her, sent a tremendous rush of excitement through her. Granny had always told her and Callie never to trust a man when he was wild with lust, but this was not any man; this was Alec. She felt treasured and safe and even…yes…beautiful with him.

Suddenly he shoved himself up, away from her. “Oh God,” he said, half in disgust, half in mortification. “Not on a desk.” He turned to her almost desperately. “Will you come upstairs with me?”

Cressida’s heart was beating so hard her whole body shook, and she wasn’t sure her legs would support her. But she looked up at Alec, his expression almost fierce with desire as he waited for her answer. His short hair stood up where she’d run her hands through it, his chest heaved with every breath, and Cressida felt a heady mix of love and lust scald her veins. “I’d go with you anywhere,” she whispered.

His eyes blazed. He seized her hand and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist in a kiss so hot her eyes started to close. Then he pulled her off the desk and out of the room.

Chapter 24

Later, Cressida would be very thankful it had been so late at night. She and Alec hurrying through the house, hand in hand with clothing in disarray, must have made quite a sight. Twice Alec stopped abruptly to pull her into his arms for another deep, hungry kiss. By the time he shoved open the door of his chamber and led her inside, both were out of breath.

He let go of her hand and closed the door. “Are you certain?” he said quietly. His voice vibrated with barely leashed tension.

Cressida managed a small nod. “Yes.”

With a soft click, he turned the key in the lock behind him. The key flashed in the dim light from the fire as he tossed it aside, but Cressida barely noticed that. Her hands curled and uncurled as he came toward her, unhurried but deliberate. She didn’t move except to raise her chin and look him boldly in the face.

He touched her cheek, caressing her jaw. Cressida made no effort to hide the tremor that went through her; she loved the feel of his hands on her skin. She shrugged off her dressing gown, letting it fall to the floor. His breath hissed between his teeth. She tugged one sleeve of her nightdress, baring her shoulder right below his hand. He traced her collarbone and glanced at her with a rakish smile hovering about his mouth.

“I quite like being seduced,” he murmured. Cressida had just a moment to blush at her own forwardness before he hooked one finger in the neckline of her nightdress and tugged the whole thing down over her shoulders.

Her breasts seemed to tighten and swell as his eyes traveled over her. Her skin tingled until she was wild for him to touch her. But Alec stepped back instead of falling on her, and stripped off his cravat and waistcoat though he never looked away from her. Cressida devoured him with her eyes even as she wanted to scream in frustration. When he reached for her again, she retreated a step, letting her hips sway and flashing him a coy smile. She quite liked seducing him, actually. The nightdress slid down to her hips, but she caught fistfuls of the fabric to