Authors: Nichole Matthews
She held her breath, wanting him to go further, but afraid of the feelings coursing throughout her body as her body responded to his expert touch. She felt weak
ened by her overwhelming
yearning
.
“Breathe, Persephone,” he whispered against her mouth, his soft breath a balm
and his mouth closed on hers in a tender kiss
.
He took his time, slowly, thoroughly, patiently. He stroked a hand down her throat, down her arm to grip her waist.
When her body quivered with hunger, her lips softened and he took the kiss deeper, opening her lips with his own. He nipped at her bottom lip and she gasped allowing him to invade her mouth, taking possession.
Her toes curled when
h
is tongue brushed against hers, swept through her mouth.
Her arms lifted and h
er fingers tangled in his silky hair and she kissed him back until her head became dizzy.
He tore his mouth from hers
,
his breath coming in deep gulping gasp
s
. H
is hair mussed from her finge
rs; fell around his
face flushed with desire
, his lips swollen from her kisses.
When he stopped, she couldn’t move, could only star
e
up into his intent gaze.
She leaned against the door
trembling
, out of breath
. H
er breasts rose and fell
with each ragged breath she drew
and watched as he moved around her room, dragging his fingers through his hair and faced off
with her from a distance
.
Parker
closed his eyes momentarily to gain
control of his desire.
The sight of her swollen lips
made his cock twitch in his trousers,
the way her breath hitched and her pulse jumped when he was near
made him nearly lose control. He knew he couldn’t lose control. Not with her. There were too many unknowns yet to uncover.
“I shouldn’t be touching you but
God help me I don’t want to stop.”
He breathed out almost wearily, frustration flickering across his expression as he stared at her
with the hint of a smile kicking up one corner of his mouth.
“I’m sorry
,
sweetheart;
I
don’t want to lose control
.
I don’t want to frighten you.
” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “Please forgive me.” His eyes a deep blue, like a stormy sky
,
pleaded with her.
She walked up to him and wrapped h
er arms around his waist burying her face
against his chest and listened to the wild beating of his heart. It
s
erratic beat sent a spiral of satisfaction down her spine. She wasn’t the only one who could lose control
and she was pleased with that knowledge
.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before h
e put his hands on her upper arms and pu
sh
ed back from her so that he could look int
o her eyes. She raised her passion filled eyes to
his and he closed his eyes on a groan. This was going to be harder than he thought.
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms in soothing strokes.
“You don’t understand, Persephone.” He released one arm to wrap his hand around her nape. She could feel the leashed power in his gentle touch. “I want to undress you and cover your naked body with mine. Damn the consequences.” He stuck his fingers in her hair and tugged letting pins scatter to the floor in tinkling sounds
as he expertly plucked the rest from her curls and w
atched as it fell in thick waves
over her shoulders and down her back almost to her hips
.
“I want to l
et your hair down
and
let it
cover us both
as I run my hands over your body
.
” He paused, looking off into the space ahead of him. Something deep stirred in his face, and
she felt his hand press
infinitesimally tighter at the back of her
head
, crav
ing more from her. Wanting to take more from her
.
“
You intrigue me. You fascinate me.
You surround me
.
”
H
e groaned out the last words.
The way he said it sent a rush of heat to her face and her throat went dry.
She could feel the passion in his words as they washed over her, her skin grew warm and tingly.
His fingers massaged her scalp and she sighed as heat
began to build again in
her body in a slow wave that pooled in her belly, then churned igniting a deeper craving then she could have dreamed and making her forget the evil hands that had once traveled the same path over her body.
She ached to feel his strength. She trembled helpless.
She watched as his throat worked on a hard swallow.
“But I can’t do that to you.” He held her gaze. “You deserve to be wooed.”
A strange feeling flowed through his chest at the thought that he wanted to woo her.
A slight frown marred her brow at his words. “I
do not require coddling, Parker,
”
she assured him, h
er chin jutted out defiantly
, she drew a deep breath
.
His hand brushed
her hair, then lowered
to trail a finger along her jawline.
“You may not require it, but you deserve it.”
He bracketed her face with his hands, his gaze hungry
,
searing her down to her soul before lowering his lips to hers
, his lips sliding softly across
her
s
sending shivers of sens
ations straight to her center
. He pulled
back
touching
her kiss swollen mouth with one finger and ran it along the seam to the corner and back across.
She wanted to beg him for more.
His forehead pressed against hers.
“
I may be a bloody fool and I may regret this,
but
I will take my leave of you.
”
He leaned down and brushed the softest of kisses across her mouth.
“For tonight.”
She stared after him, a hint of a smile
lurking
on her lips when he
slipped quietly down the darkened hallway.
She
closed her door and sagged against the hard surface
.
He was an amazing man.
She squeezed her eyes shut. His kindness. His generosity of spirit. She knew his soul.
She began to circle the room
, stopping in front of the vanity.
Even after these few weeks there didn’t seem to be much softness about her, what could Parker see in her?
But she smiled and hugged herself tightly.
***
Par
ker leaned on the railing of the
balcony
,
his cheroot held loosely between his fingers
,
staring out into the night.
Walking away from her had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He took a deep draw. He needed to find answers and quick.
He wanted to assuage her fears. He wanted to do so much more.
He ran his tongue over his lips still
able to taste
her on his flesh.
Fresh lust kicked him in the gut.
His need still heated to a feverish level.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
He watched the glowing embers of h
is cheroot lighting the moonlit
balcony, his harsh breath slowly easing, and at least now his body was under a semblance of control.
He sighed deeply, dropping his cheroot and crushing it under his booted foot.
This was going to be a long night.
He removed his cloth
es and quietly slipped into
bed.
***
“We all deem it necessary to guard our identities, Gr
anville.
”
Manton sat forward in his chair his fingers
steepled
under his chin. “You’ve lost control
of this situation
.”
Granville hesitated
, a little shiver rippling
through him
.
“One dead, one missing.
”
Manton spoke politely, but Granville could hear the underlyi
ng menace in his speech. “Tie up
the loose ends, Granville, or I will.”
Mary
Mary
quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row
B
right and early the next morning Parker walked
into the breakfast room to
f
in
d it empty
. This didn’t surprise
him; h
is
a
unt usually broke her fast in her room and generally didn’t wake before eleven.
Thinking of
Piper and Rockwell,
he fought a gri
n. He
didn’t want to think of them
and what might be occupying their time
,
and
Persephone
’s routine
was still somewhat of a mystery.
He moved to the
mahogany
sideboard, piled his plate high with fluffy eggs, bacon, ham, and toast, then moved to sit at the round breakfast table
and enjoy the silence
.
Sunlight spilled through the tall windows that surrounded the room and prisms of colored light danced across the table as the sun filtered through the stained glass on the door that lead into the
conservatory
.
He really should give Persephone a tour of the
conservatory
, although he suspected she had already acquainted herself with the delightfully heated room in the two weeks that she had resided with them. He had noticed a discarded shawl lying across the wide bench seat when last he had entered
, m
uch too worn to be his aunt’s.
Thinking on the shawl, he decided that he would
send round a note to
Allingham
Park to have a new shawl made
from some of
Hawksley’s
wool and he would throw th
at
rag
into the nearest fire
to be burned. She deserved better than that.
Parker looked up as a footman set a silver pot of co
ffee to his right. “I can pour,” h
e dismissed the man and reached for the pot of coffee and filled his cup. He sipped at his coffee thinkin
g of her. When he first found Persephone
in his field, he hadn’t expected to find her so enticing. Perhaps he w
ould
make arrangements to give her a tour today growing fearful that today could be the last. He wondered daily if he would wake up and
find her a
nd
Tillie
gone and he was no closer to finding out who she truly was.
***
Persephone sat with her legs stretched out on the wide bench of the
conservatory
, the b
right colorful flowers bloomed strategically throughout the room and the
lovely scent of orange blossoms assa
iled
h
er
senses
as she sat with her
head propped on her arm over the back of the seat. Tillie
seemed to be thriving in the
n
ursery. She was no longer afraid that she might be in danger. Well at least not physical danger. She was most definitely in danger of losing her heart to him.
It was a nice feeling to know that she was safe and that they didn’t have to spend the night outside in the cold. That she could stop her incessant worrying, at least for a moment.
She leaned her head back against the cushions.
He kissed her.