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Max wondered if his head was spinning due to weakness from his wound or from Marietta His heart, too, had redoubled its efforts to escape from his chest And yet his voice, when he spoke, was cal any of the insanity he knew he had fallen prey to

“Now you kiss me,” he heard himself say in that reasonable voice, and kneould be the Bedlam for him

Her lashes lifted and she gazed at hiuid blue eyes “Do you think I can?”

“It’s what courtesans do”

She licked her lips and he alhtly, to avoid their noses getting in the way, and began to do to hiid, to prevent hi that soft, delectable body to his Marietta ht not be an expert but she was keen, and she had a seductive charm that Max had noted froood courtesan, perhaps it was her destiny to follow in her mother’s footsteps, as she claimed, but there was a resistance to the idea inside him that he couldn’t explain, and didn’t want to explore

Marietta felt as if her insides had liquified, turned hot and sweet She wanted to curl up on Max’s knee, and cling to his neck and kiss him forever Why had no one ever told her that a kiss could be like this? So sensuous and powerful Not just the prelude to the physical act of connection, but a book all on its own

Max’s tongue slid against hers, and she heard him moan as if he couldn’t help it His hands were now clasped about her waist, tight, and when she would have pressed closer he held her away Keeping her at a distance Except for her mouth

It should have felt detached, but there was so that they were separated by so little, and yet their et closer, to ers, and then she wanted to undo the buttons of his coat, one by one, and explore She hadn’t forgotten the night he had lain, naked, in bed and she had seen most of him

There must have been a sound at the door, but Marietta didn’t hear it, and she was positive Max didn’t either But the next , as if a tray of tea cups had been caught in a gale Shocked, Marietta turned just in ti back out of the room, his eyes lowered, and then he closed the door with a clunk There was no doubt he had seen the

E as it was, she didn’t care I’ve done it! she thought I’ve co Max, and enjoying it, that she hadn’t given a thought to Aphrodite Beco on her mind

Had he enjoyed it, too? He was just pretending, was he, playing a part? Huh! She let her lips trail over his jaw, little biting kisses, and then she flicked her tongue against his skin, tasting him

He shuddered “Marietta”

And she knew then that he wanted her as ht say, his body wanted hers For soave her a sense of power over hi used and abandoned

Max sighed and turned his face so that her brow rested against his cheekbone “I think we have shocked the servants enough for one day,” he said in a voice she hardly recognized “Enough, Marietta”

“Why?” she protested “He’s gone now, and we’ve only just begun Kiss ain”