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"No, just honest" He was close-just a hair's breadth away

"Really?"

John made a reply, but Belle didn't understand hiainst hers Sheshe'd wanted this forever, silently thanking the gods and her parents (although not necessarily in that order) for advising her not to accept any of the men who'd offered for her in the past two years This hat she'd waited for, had barely dared to hope for This hat E at each other, s behind closed doors This was-

John gently ran his tongue along the soft skin of her inner lip, and Belle lost all power to think She only felt, but, oh, how she felt Her skin tingled-every inch of it even though he was barely touching her Belle sighed, sinking into hi instinctively that he would knohat to do, how to ainst hi out the war a sharp curse, his breathing harsh and uneven

Belle blinked in confusion, not understanding his actions and feeling utterly bereft She gulped down her pain and hugged her legs to her body, hoping that he'd say so that would explain his actions And if he didn't, she just hoped that he couldn't see howfrom his rejection

John stood up and turned away fro up at hiht that there was so extremely bleak about his stance Finally, he turned around and offered her his hand She took it and rose to her feet, softly thanking hih his thick hair He'd never meant to kiss her He'd certainly wanted to, but that didn't ht to touch her And he'd never dreamed how much he'd like it, or how difficult it would be to stop

God, he eak! He was no better than Spencer,lady, and the truth was he wanted more So much more…

He wanted her ear and her shoulder and the underside of her chin He wanted to run his tongue along the length of her neck, trailing moist fire down to the valley between her breasts He wanted to cup her backside and squeeze, pull her into him, use her as a cradle for his desire

He wanted to possess her Every inch Over and over

Belle watched hihtly away from her, and she couldn't see into his eyes When he finally looked back at her, however, she was shocked by the harsh expression on his face She took a step back, her hand unconsciously co?" she gasped

"You ought to think twice before you throw yourself at erously close to a hiss