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With a deep breath, she let herself forget all of that She let herself step outside her nuain her common sense and think to stop herself--before she could let hih to stop her, she stood on her tiptoes and slid a hand around his neck, delighting in the sensation of his silky hair against her fingers

This She’d have this before sentencing herself to a cold e of practicality, to a life of loneliness

Chapter Ten

Grier gli eyes as she pressed her lips to his Her heart beat so fiercely she feared it ht burst from her chest AlmostIf she allowed herself to think about what she was doing and allowed such a thing as fear to enter her heart

She saw nothing any her eyes, she only feltShe surrendered herself to sensation, to the waking of desire within her blood

She was no stranger to kisses, but it had been a while The moment she tasted the prince’s lips, she kneas the perfect cure for her numbness

For several heartbeats he didn’t ainst her, and she feared his rejection That he would set her away fro her back, his lips parting against hers She opened her own asp He sed that sound, drank it deep into hiainst hiet nearer

A shudder racked hiue She buried her hands in his hair, pulling hiainst hi of his tongue along her own

His large hands roahtly, fiercely One of those hands slid around to span her rib cage, his thu breast, and her body burned fro delicate or dandified in the way he kissed She felt consuic of his expert mouth on hers Her hands delved deeper into his hair With a hard tug on the strands, she forced his head to a different angle, repositioning his head for her and slanting her ainst his one way, and then another She didn’t know herself any, seizing what she craved as if it were hers As if he were hers

He groaned into her h her

She relished the feverish ue deep in her mouth He made her feel wanted, and that made her feel powerful In that h--as if she could ever have enough of hiered together, clutching one another, stopping only when they collided with a pianoforte

He nipped at her bottom lip and then sucked the bruised flesh into hish Her body hummed, alive and awake as she hadn’t ever felt before That’s all that mattered The extraordinary thrill of thiswar could ruin this ed her lips to his jaw, kissing his bristly flesh, his voice rumbled in her ear "My, my, Miss Hadley, I had no idea such a hellcat lurked beneath Perhaps you’ve reconsideredher where she ho she waswho he was

The fire in her blood cooled The hu life that had so thrilled her slipped away until she was naught but the cold, nu had doused his ardor His hand drifted up froe to brush over her breast The touch jolted her, sparked her toshould As any unwed female who had not initiated a passionate kiss would do

The crack of her palh the cavernous roo at hi the afflicted flesh

"What was that for?" he demanded

"You--you--" Her hand waved between the two of the in her throat

"Kissed you back ?" he finished

"No!" she denied "You touched my--" She sed, unable to say, unable to utter how close she had co herself to the wretch "You touched meIntimately "

"The way you attacked ht that’s where ere headed"

"So this is ed, even as a small voice inside her head whispered, Yes This is your fault You attacked him with your lips like a man-starved harlot Just as he said

Heat swept over her face "You were hardly a victied in the shadowy room "I reacted as any red-blooded man I did not expect er to kiss me in the first place"

Mortified, she closed her eyes in a slow blink She could deny nothing he said She’d behaved the wanton and then slapped hiize For everything The kiss The slap She loathed nothing asA weakness, to be sure, for she knew she was far fro on et the chance to utter those difficult words

He stepped back fro foul And he likely thought she was A tart or worseThe terrible notion seized her What if he thought she was a desperate debutante hoping to get herself coall rose up in her chest that he should think such a thing of her The bitter taste coated hershe had set her cap for him Holy hellfire! She fumbled with her hands, unsure where to put thenified now--to bury the wild, teo and convince hins on his person