Had he truly just asked that question aloud?
“Yes, you did. Now are you quite done interrupting my moment?”
“Ye—”
Her soft warm finger was on his lips, pushing them with just enough force to stop movement.
“I was—” Trying to speak only moved his lips against her fingers, thus sending a flash of warmth down his spine. It was better not to talk.
“Better,” she murmured. And that once unreadable darkness in her eyes could now be properly interpreted.
Arousal.
Lust.
Carnal attraction.
Salacious intentions—
He could feel his own eyes widen as he watched her raise up on her toes, still not quite able to reach her destination. And he didn’t know what possessed him to do it—in all reasonableness, he could probably blame his male nature—but he bent his knees and dipped his head. Her murmur of approval sent another shockwave through him.
“Good pirate,” she murmured.
Yes. That’s exactly what she said right before she kissed him.
Chapter 6
SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE it. Any of it. The dance. The fleeing. The room. The banter. And now…the kiss.
Who even was she?
This was not her normal behavior. She played it safe. Conformed to the rules. Adhered to her mother’s strictures. She was the one who always had the straightest spine, the most agile dance steps, the perfect conversational reply. Never in her life would she have considered going against the expectations placed upon her. Except in her writing. That secret part of her that was her true self. Perhaps having that release rejected was forcing her to find release in a new way.
But what was it about this pirate that brought out the wildness in her? Made her want to release something with him? She didn’t even know what she wanted to release, but she could feel something coiling within her. Almost like a snake. She was watching her prey and she was about to snap and snatch him up. That was the most ludicrous thought that had ever pranced through her mind. More so than even anything in her writing. Yet here she was. Thinking about snacking on this pirate.
With each decision and each action that followed, there had been that gentle little voice warning her that she shouldn’t do it.
Weak!
That’s what the voice was. It was the same voice that had led to her receiving rejection after rejection after rejection. She was tired of it all now. If life experience was what it took to get her books in print, then she would damn well get herself some life experience. Even if it involved a fake pirate.
A fake pirate was better than no pirate.
A grumpy, albeit handsome, pirate wearing a ridiculous eye patch. How he had gone all night with the use of one eye was beyond her, but some people really committed to their costumes. And this man was a champion at it. He hadn’t broken character for a moment.
So for the first kiss of her life, she was planting her lips on him. And his hands were gripping her hips with some intensity she had never felt before. As her chest heaved against his, the friction rubbed her nipples into pebbles, so she took another shallow breath hoping for increased sensations. The pause was just enough for him to pull them both back to the desk behind him where he rested his backside. Spreading his legs, he pulled her between his legs.
When she pressed in closely, he lifted her skirts and she felt something hard press against her thigh. It should have terrified her, but life experience was calling. Never mind the ache in her core. That was bellowing at her as well. Desperate for some attention. Some relief. Something. Perhaps this was all relevant to that release she was looking for.
She nuzzled her center against the rock hard bulge in his breeches and they both gasped. At least, she thought they both did, but perhaps her gasp had been loud enough to count for two people. Because when she glanced up at him, he didn’t have the look of a man who had justinhaled a large puff of air. No, his half-lidded eyes smoldered as he studied her lips. Her gaping lips.
Yes. Life experience. God. She needed more of that. Her body wanted to mount itself upon this behemoth of man. She could already picture herself climbing up his thick torso and placing her knees on the desk while she straddled him, desperate for closer contact.
As if he could read her mind and wanted to slow her pace, he anchored his hands on her bare skin while her skirts billowed over his forearms.
But no, he wasn’t going to be the one in control of this. He wasn’t the one who got to set the pace. Who the hell did he think he was? And who did he think he was toying with?
Slowly, she pulled her knee up, running it along his outer thigh, pressing in closer. Watching his head roll back and his eyes close, she propped her knee on the desk.
