Regency Secrets, page 51
‘That is very poetic—though a trifle dramatic and not quite accurate. After three months you were safely back in your bed with me, being mightily disturbed by a three-month accumulation of my carnal lust. In fact, I am feeling mightily disturbed right now.’
‘You don’t mind the ghost of Caesar watching on, then?’ he asked.
‘Not in the least. He might learn something from the best lover on earth, ever…’
He laughed and slipped his hand higher up her thigh, curving it over her warmth. Somehow her skin felt different from anyone else’s. It made no sense, but there it was.
‘Perhaps this was why he crossed the Rubicon—the poor fellow was looking for this.’
‘This?’ she sighed, her eyes closing again as he trailed kisses down her throat.
‘This…’ He eased her bodice down, punctuating each word with a kiss as he revealed inch after inch of warm skin. ‘Happiness. Contentment. Challenge. Joy. Pain. Pleasure…’
He slipped the last inch from her tightly beaded nipple and bent to lavish a slow kiss over the sensitive peak that made her twist towards him with a moan, her fingers threading through his hair. But then he drew back, blowing a gentle soothing breath against the damp skin and looking up at her, holding her gaze as he spoke.
‘…and love.’
She rested her palms against his cheeks. Her grey eyes were magnified by the welling of tears and her voice was hoarse when she finally spoke.
‘I would cross any Rubicon for this, Kit. Fight any battle for you. You know that, don’t you?’
Kit waited out the tightening of his throat. He hadn’t completely lied. Perhaps he hadn’t quite cried into his wine, but the depth of pain and fear that had caught at him all those miles from her had been as much a shock as falling so desperately in love in the first place. He had needed to return.
‘I know that, Vivi. That is why I need you with me. I need you to remind me that you care for me almost as much as I care for you.’
She smiled his favourite smile—full of joy and promise and trust. ‘Dear me, Kit. Are we competing again? I’ll win, you know.’
‘I’m afraid I outshine you there, sweetheart.’
She nudged him onto his back, tucking her bare leg between his, slipping her hand over his abdomen and under his waistband.
‘We shall see. I do so love a challenge… Especially a hard one.’
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Lara Temple, Regency Secrets
