He drew back to pin her with a smoldering look. “And this? How am I atthis?” He fondled her breast so expertly that she let out a strangled sigh.
“You’re . . . very good at that, too,” she choked out.
His breath came in ragged gasps now. “So you like it.”
“Too much.” Yet she didn’t resist when he unbuttoned the jacket of her riding habit. She even shamelessly helped him by undoing the hooks that kept her jacket attached to her skirt and thus not easy to open.
Then he was confronted by her chemisette. He pulled on it, but it didn’t give, yet he could clearly tell it wasn’t an actual shirt. “What in God’s creation is this confounded thing and how does it unfasten?”
Though she shared his frustration, she couldn’t help laughing at it, too.
He scowled at her. “You find my being thwarted by a piece of linen amusing, do you?”
“I wouldn’tdare,” she said with mock seriousness, then laughed at his lowering look. She reached behind her. “It unfastens with buttons, but you’ll have to do it.”
“Show me,” he growled, in a perverse echo of what she’d been demanding ofhimfor the past few hours.
Taking his hands in hers, she brought them back to the only button she could actually reach. But apparently, that was all he needed, for he deftly undid each one and unfastened the ties so he could draw off the chemisette.
At last he had what he apparently wanted. He gazed at the tops of her breasts with a famished look that delighted her. It seemed he wasn’t entirely immune to her attractions after all. And though she shouldn’t care—because she knew he would never marry her if he knew the truth about her—she did take satisfaction from it.
But he wasn’t done with his foray. “I want to taste you.”
Yes, please.But she merely said, “If you wish.”
That was all it took to have him pulling down her corset cups and untying her shift so he could draw that down enough to bare her breasts. He took a long, admiring look at them, hunger clearly flaring in his eyes. And then he bent to put his mouth on one and his hand on the other.
Something feral seized her, making her moan and thrust her breasts at him in a half-conscious bid for more. He sucked one breast like a starving man set before a feast, while he fondled the other in silky strokes that had her growing warm and wet between her legs. She let out a shuddering breath of pure pleasure. The only thing better than this would be having his hand caressing her in that aching spot down below.
Could he tell that she’d shared such intimacies with a man before? Well, notthesedelicious caresses exactly. Lionel had been too impatient to be thorough. Or tender, for that matter.
But to her shock, Joshua was patience personified. As he moved to the other breast, licking and teasing it even as he thumbed the damp, hard nipple of the one he’d just been sucking, she clutched his shoulders and let the thrill of his actions course through her, sweep her away if only for a short while.
That reminder of how little time they dared take made her want to keep him with her. Burying her hands in his hair, she arched her back and held him to her. His queue frustrated her, so she untied it to allow her to run the silky, raven strands through her fingers.
Having him like this was beating down all her carefully constructed defenses, making her want to touchhim, fondlehim. Lord help them both if anyone came upon them while they were behaving in this reckless, mad fashion.
As if he’d read her mind, he said, “I should stop.Weshould stop.”
“Yes,” she agreed, though she wished they could stay here forever. Forget about her past and his. Just do . . . this.
But he was already straightening to pull up her shift and tie it.
Not quite ready to give up their enjoyment, she clung to his shoulders. “Do many people know about this place?”
“I don’t believe so. Just the members of the Society, and they only come here for matches or to practice as a group.” He pinned her with his steely blue gaze. “But since Greycourt owns this land—and knows we’re out here together—it probably wouldn’t do to tempt fate.”
She sighed and looked away. “No.”
With her heart clamoring in her chest, she helped him restore her clothing to its proper place and then donned her gloves. What would he do now? Pretend again that they hadn’t kissed? Ignore those magical caresses she would never forget?
“We should go,” he said, avoiding her gaze as he put on his own gloves and retied his queue.
When he started to move away, she grabbed his arm. “Joshua, don’t.”
He tensed. “Don’t what?”
“Act as if nothing happened. We should talk about—”
