Reckless in Pink by Lynne Connolly Page A

He kept one hand propped above her head and the other at her side, caging her in delicious captivity. This time he kept his kiss tender, and when she opened her mouth for him, he barely dipped his tongue inside, delicately teasing her.
    Eagerly, she chased him with her own tongue and found him waiting for her. Dominic sucked gently, as she touched the tip of her tongue to the roof of his mouth. Then she nuzzled his teeth, sharp and predatory. He did not scare her. He aroused her.
    He was far more dangerous like this, tempting her to explore and discover for herself what these wonders were like. Oh, she’d been kissed before, but never with such care, such attention, as if she were the only woman in the world.
    That was it. He made her feel special. As if she really mattered. At home she was loved but as one of a family of six, not as a whole, for herself. As a twin, one of a pair. Society loved them for that, but she did not. She wanted to be herself.
    She opened her eyes. He was watching her, his dark, stormy eyes fixed hungrily on her features. The contact sent a new sense of awareness through her, and she moved back, although she had nowhere to go. Her back rested against the wall behind her, and as she stared at him, the chilly damp of the plaster seeped through her clothes. “I should go,” she said.
    “I will take you.”
    Turning her head, she glanced out the window and turned back to him in alarm. “My chair, it’s gone!”
    “I sent them away. We’ll get a hackney,” he said. “You may say you were taken ill and you never went into Lady Colm’s.”
    She nodded. “I want more kisses.”
    With a sudden powerful push, he moved away from her. “Then you’ll have to want. You’ll get no more here.” He spoke in firm, loud tones now. “Come. I’ll pay the madam and we’ll move on.”
    His sultry smile reminded her of the part she was playing here. Claudia should feel dirty, but the notion excited her, sent passion burning deep inside her.
    “You like the idea, don’t you?”
    She put up her chin and shook out her skirts. “What idea?”
    “Customer and whore.”
    The words sent a shaft of heat to her center, that spot between her legs that dampened when arousal struck her. She should deny it, be indignant and protest that she didn’t know what he meant. Maybe flounce to make her point.
    She did none of these things, but stared back, meeting his eyes boldly. “Yes.”
    Silence ticked between them until he smiled lazily.
    “Good,” he said. “Lovers play games, do they not?”
    “We’re not lovers.”
    “We are nearly lovers.”
    She couldn’t deny that. Nearly was very different to actuality. The idea of lying in that bed with him, completely naked, turned her insides to fire, but she would not let him know. He had that admission, and that was all he was getting.
    “The idea is amusing, you must admit.”
    To her relief he played the game. “Very amusing. Madam, shall we go?”
    When he stepped forward, she lifted her face, already prepared of his kiss, but he merely bent and swept the mask up from the floor.
    “Turn around.”
    When she obeyed, he fastened the ties deftly. Then he pulled her cloak back around her and tugged her hood back over her head. He caught a lock of hair, sending a shot of pain through her. When she lifted her hand to free the curl, she found him there. “You should ensure your maid covers all your hair next time. That color is singular.”
    “My sister has the same. Our father used to, before he turned grey. My cousins on his side of the family have it.” She didn’t like to think she was so easily identified.
    “It’s yours alone,” he murmured, tucking the offending curl into her hood. “There. Keep your head down and we’ll scrape through this.”
    Her adventure was ending and she regretted it. “This is still my house.”
    “That is what concerns me.”
    He opened the door for her and took her downstairs. After handing the landlady the extortionate