“No.”
She glanced toward the door. “One kiss before Frances returns. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and tonight’s bad dream makes me more certain than ever that we can’t hold back with each other. If we’re to part in a few days, then I want the memory of your kiss to hold in my heart for the rest of my days.”
“Memory is a function of the brain, not the heart.”
She shook her head in protest. “Remembering you is a function of my heart. That’s where I keep what’s most precious to me. That’s what you are to me. The most precious thing on this earth. I hope that’s what I am to you. I wish you’d tell me, but I know you won’t. You’ll deny all feeling beyond mild affection for me, something you can easily control and suppress. But what you really feel doesn’t have to be said with words. Show me, Brynne. I need to know what’s in your heart.”
“No.”
“Because if we do part forever, I’d want the memory of you. I’d want you to remember me and know you were the first man ever to kiss me. That you made my first kiss as beautiful and special as any girl’s first kiss ought to be.”
“No one’s ever kissed you before?” He was surprised, but pleased and ridiculously possessive, aching to claim her for himself. Lettie was relentless in her determination to have that kiss and his desire for her was equally relentless.
“I saved myself for you,” she said, casting him the softest smile and efficiently dropping him to his knees in surrender.
Her first kiss! She’d roused his lust so completely that his body roared with a hot, hard heat that wouldn’t be quenched even if he strode naked outdoors and rolled his body in the ice and snow. He’d always wanted to kiss her, had dreamed of being the first man to claim her because he was a big, possessive oaf. More than that, he wanted to be theonlyman ever to claim her.
But that was just an impossible dream. The reality wasn’t nearly so pretty, for all he had to offer was a life of hard work and constant struggle. For that reason, he had to refuse her request. No kiss. Not ever. But the ‘no’ stuck in his throat.
Her screams and the abject terror he’d seen in her eyes while she was in the throes of her vision were still vivid in his mind. But so was her smile and her insistence on not dwelling on her fears. Her body felt warmer now and she no longer trembled. Her eyes were the softest green, soft and hopeful as a kitten’s. One kiss. That’s all she’d asked of him.
Only one.
He would make it one hell of a kiss.
“You win, Lettie.” He lowered his mouth to hers and captured her lips with the feral hunger that had long gnawed at his heart, the unsatisfied craving that had driven him mindless for years and would continue to taunt him long after this kiss ended.
One brief taste of Lettie’s sweet nectar would never be enough, but it was all he dared take, all he would risk for fear he’d never be able to let her go if he allowed more.
Lettie was right. They needed this one kiss, this one memory, this one precious moment to carry them through the years they would surely be apart.Hell, yes.He wanted to kiss her.
He wanted to bury himself deep inside her and claim her for his own.
He wanted to capture her innocent heart.
He wanted to explore her incredible body.
He wanted to claim Lettie, the earl’s daughter. The lady who was too far above his station. The sweet girl who’d felled ruffians and cleaned his wounds and talked to angels and insisted on loving him.
He deepened the kiss and poured his heart and soul into this sweet moment, for they would never share another. A shudder ran through him as he caught her up in his arms and held her against his heart.I love you, Lettie.
He dared not speak the words aloud, for all hope of a happy life for Lettie would end the moment he said them. She’d vow to love him back for always, and he didn’t want her to do it, he didn’t want her caught up in a hopeless love. Lettie was meant for a comfortable life, meant to marry a nobleman who could offer her all the advantages of his rank and title, meant to know the fulfillment of a husband who doted upon her and would provide all that Brynne could not… a fashionable home, a handsome carriage, a generous allowance.
So he ran his hands along her body to memorize her every soft curve, for this would be their first and last kiss. The first and last time they ever spoke with their hearts. One being, one body. Their two hearts beating as one.
He groaned and cupped her breast when she began to squirm against him, for she wanted more but was too innocent tounderstand the desire she was feeling. She was a passionate little thing and could not hold back her sensual nature or the ache that built within her until she could bear it no more and begged him to relieve it with her every moan and breathy whimper.
He ached too, convincing himself that he could take a little more,wantingto take that little bit more even as they approached the dangerous cliff of their pent up desire. He lied to himself and pretended he was in full control of his heart and body. One kiss. First and last time.
She arched her back to give him better access to her breast.
His control shattered.
He gently kneaded the lush mound and ran his thumb across its straining tip, loving the way she responded to his touch, her nipple turning pebble hard against his fingers. “Sweet mercy, Lettie!” He’d never experienced anything like the heat now coursing through him. Nothing could extinguish it. Not a roll in the snow. Not a dip in the ice. Not an eternal winter.
He was fiery hot and aching.
So was she.
