you for giving me this opportunity.” She knew she’d be lost if not for his
generosity.
“I have other motives for taking you in.” She stiffened as he stood from his chair
and walked toward her. “You have nothing to fear from me.”
Then what other motives did he have for hiring her? It was evident he required a secretary.
But Sir Ian was in need of a governess, and that hadn’t turned out in her favor.
“I see where your thoughts are leading you,” he said softly, as though worried he’d
said too much.
She looked at him sharply. “And where is that?” She cringed at the harshness in her
tone. She could not forget her manners when Mr. Riley had shown her nothing but kindness.
He sat on the edge of the ottoman that separated the two chairs and reached for her
face. She winced at the first soft glide of his fingers across her bruised cheek.
“It pains me to see this reaction in you.” With gentle fingers he grasped her chin
and tipped her face up so he could meet her eyes. He looked at her as though he saw
right through her. “You won’t always flinch away from me.”
The promise in those words sucked the air right out of her lungs.
Under other circumstances, the perceptiveness in his sharp slate-gray gaze might frighten
her. Instead, the quiet patience she saw there made her feel safe. She knew with every
fiber of her being that this man would protect her from knowing any more harsh realities.
Protect her from the likes of any more Sir Ians. And that thought stilled the anxiety
inside her.
“What do you want from me?” she whispered.
His gaze never broke from hers as he caressed the side of her face, rubbing his thumb
over the mark left by Sir Ian. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
Her lips parted with the promise and conviction in his voice. She thought about what
she should say, but she was unable to formulate a coherent sentence when he was touching
her.
“Do you feel it?” he asked, as he leaned in closer, his sharp eyes piercing right
through to her heart. “Do you feel something undeniable happening between us?”
The pitter-patter in her chest had her heart beating overtime the nearer Mr. Riley
drew. How could he feel how she did? Was such a thing even possible?
“I know your curiosity will win out,” he said without needing her to answer.
It was so hard to define what she felt. But it couldn’t be denied that she felt something
she’d never felt around any other man.
His thumb brushed over her parted lips, the motion slow and seductive. Erotic. She
struggled to take another breath, afraid to dispel what had started between them.
She never wanted the intimacy of their stolen moment to end.
Mr. Riley’s thumb brushed against her tongue as she darted it out to moisten her dry
lips. Tasting the salt of his skin, she closed her eyes, trying to find her equilibrium
in her world that was fast spinning out of control.
Senses heightened with the absence of eyesight, she was still shocked when the warmth
of his breath brushed across her lips a moment before his lips sealed over hers. His
lips were soft but unrelenting, searching yet patient. He pulled at her mouth in a
coaxing manner and tasted her bottom lip before covering her mouth again and stealing
the breath she exhaled in surprise.
She should discourage his advances. Push him away. But she was lost to his touch.
And while she relished the feel of his mouth on hers, she needed to anchor herself.
Stop this madness.
Instead of doing what she should do, her hands fisted in the soft material of his wool coat, and she pulled at his
lips as he’d pulled at hers. That she even knew how to do such a thing astonished
her.
She was running on pure instinct now.
With his hands buried in her hair, the hairpins pressed painfully against her scalp.
She knew she should care about what she was allowing, but she didn’t stop him, and
she certainly couldn’t stop herself.
generosity.
“I have other motives for taking you in.” She stiffened as he stood from his chair
and walked toward her. “You have nothing to fear from me.”
Then what other motives did he have for hiring her? It was evident he required a secretary.
But Sir Ian was in need of a governess, and that hadn’t turned out in her favor.
“I see where your thoughts are leading you,” he said softly, as though worried he’d
said too much.
She looked at him sharply. “And where is that?” She cringed at the harshness in her
tone. She could not forget her manners when Mr. Riley had shown her nothing but kindness.
He sat on the edge of the ottoman that separated the two chairs and reached for her
face. She winced at the first soft glide of his fingers across her bruised cheek.
“It pains me to see this reaction in you.” With gentle fingers he grasped her chin
and tipped her face up so he could meet her eyes. He looked at her as though he saw
right through her. “You won’t always flinch away from me.”
The promise in those words sucked the air right out of her lungs.
Under other circumstances, the perceptiveness in his sharp slate-gray gaze might frighten
her. Instead, the quiet patience she saw there made her feel safe. She knew with every
fiber of her being that this man would protect her from knowing any more harsh realities.
Protect her from the likes of any more Sir Ians. And that thought stilled the anxiety
inside her.
“What do you want from me?” she whispered.
His gaze never broke from hers as he caressed the side of her face, rubbing his thumb
over the mark left by Sir Ian. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
Her lips parted with the promise and conviction in his voice. She thought about what
she should say, but she was unable to formulate a coherent sentence when he was touching
her.
“Do you feel it?” he asked, as he leaned in closer, his sharp eyes piercing right
through to her heart. “Do you feel something undeniable happening between us?”
The pitter-patter in her chest had her heart beating overtime the nearer Mr. Riley
drew. How could he feel how she did? Was such a thing even possible?
“I know your curiosity will win out,” he said without needing her to answer.
It was so hard to define what she felt. But it couldn’t be denied that she felt something
she’d never felt around any other man.
His thumb brushed over her parted lips, the motion slow and seductive. Erotic. She
struggled to take another breath, afraid to dispel what had started between them.
She never wanted the intimacy of their stolen moment to end.
Mr. Riley’s thumb brushed against her tongue as she darted it out to moisten her dry
lips. Tasting the salt of his skin, she closed her eyes, trying to find her equilibrium
in her world that was fast spinning out of control.
Senses heightened with the absence of eyesight, she was still shocked when the warmth
of his breath brushed across her lips a moment before his lips sealed over hers. His
lips were soft but unrelenting, searching yet patient. He pulled at her mouth in a
coaxing manner and tasted her bottom lip before covering her mouth again and stealing
the breath she exhaled in surprise.
She should discourage his advances. Push him away. But she was lost to his touch.
And while she relished the feel of his mouth on hers, she needed to anchor herself.
Stop this madness.
Instead of doing what she should do, her hands fisted in the soft material of his wool coat, and she pulled at his
lips as he’d pulled at hers. That she even knew how to do such a thing astonished
her.
She was running on pure instinct now.
With his hands buried in her hair, the hairpins pressed painfully against her scalp.
She knew she should care about what she was allowing, but she didn’t stop him, and
she certainly couldn’t stop herself.
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