Chapter Three #4
“I’m only sweet through immense strength of will,” he told her hoarsely.
Her incredible blue eyes widened, and he knew he had guessed right about her innocence.
“I’m thirty-five years old, Lily,” he said, “and when I’m with you, I feel like I’m eighteen again. And I act like it.”
Hell, he didn’t want to frighten her, but his body was reacting as though it had a will of its own tonight.
“Is that so bad?” she asked softly.
Definitely innocent or she wouldn’t ask me that.
“It makes not grabbing you and dragging you off to my bed difficult indeed, hence the necessary strength of will.”
“Oh.” She glanced away. “I’m sorry.”
He tilted her chin back up and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Don’t be sorry, sweetheart. You’re . . . refreshing.”
“I hope that was a compliment.”
“It was. You’re unlike any woman I’ve ever met.”
He held her so close he could feel her breath against his neck. Her scent aroused an almost painful need in him. Holding back was becoming exquisite torture.
“Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “I promised you time, but I want you. I can’t help it.”
Startled, she fixed those enormous blue eyes on his face, and he drew her closer, lowered his lips to claim the last kiss he would allow himself tonight. Any move ahead now had to be her decision. He would keep his end of their bargain, even if he died of the sensual torture.
~ ~ ~ ~
Rhett muttered something under his breath that Lily couldn’t quite hear as he wrapped her tighter in his arms. Her breasts pressed hard against his chest and sent a shiver down her spine she hoped he couldn’t feel.
She could feel his lips smiling as he pressed them against hers. He had felt the shiver.
When the tip of his tongue teased her lips apart, she forgot all about being embarrassed as she willingly opened to him and the hungry kiss left her lightheaded.
The touch of his sexy mouth ignited every nerve ending as he peppered her with light kisses on her cheeks, her neck, even her hair.
One large hand swept down her back while the other cupped her hip and gently pulled her against him.
She gasped as she felt his arousal against her belly.
His muscular body surrounded her while his roving hands spread butterfly sensations along every nerve until Lily felt as though she would fly apart in all directions.
She knuckled her fingers in the curls at his nape to crush his lips against hers, wanting the kiss to go on forever, wanting to be something more than just refreshing, and wanting to show him how she felt. What he did to her.
Her sensual efforts were not lost on Rhett, and with a growl low in his throat, he deepened his kiss into rhythmic assaults and pulled her harder against him until her feet left the ground.
The weightless sensation only fevered her wild emotions, and she tugged at him, trying to get closer still and all the while knowing she played with fire.
He dipped an arm behind her knees and swept her into his arms. The movement startled a vestige of sense into her wild and out-of-control emotions.
Realizing he had taken a step toward her room, she broke their kiss. “Wait!”
Her arms clutched around his neck, and she prayed her heart would slow down enough she could think.
He actually trembled as he struggled to slow his breathing, and in that tender moment, she almost gave in.
Glancing out over their enormous suite—almost as large as her cottage at the nursery—she suffered a tight wave of panic.
This suite wasn’t real.
Rhett wasn’t real.
This was one big fairy tale.
Lily was only supposed to get one night.
Her Prince Charming operated under preconceived notions of how their relationship would proceed, but Lily wasn’t who he believed her to be.
Somehow, she knew if she slept with Rhett now, her deception would hurt him badly.
Her instincts screamed at her to slow down.
Oh, why hadn’t she told him about her nursery this week?
If she gave in and slept with him tonight, her deception would become even more cruel, would hurt him worse.
He had to know who she really was before she took that next step with Rhett, no matter how ready she felt.
But what if her deception made him so angry he walked away?
Where would she be then if she slept with him tonight?
If he moved on to the next datable socialite or supermodel, it wouldn’t just break her heart.
Rhett walking away after making love to her would shred her heart into a million irreparable pieces.
If she just disappeared like the real Cinderella, she could enjoy the memories of her brief time with him and nurse her heart back to health.
His eyes looked almost black, and they pinned her with a steely gaze. “You’re thinking about this way too hard and way too long, Lily,” he said, his voice husky with desire.
She laid her palm against his cheek and held it there for a long moment. As he’d done repeatedly since they met, Rhett read her mind.
“Don’t say it,” he said. “Don’t say it’s too soon. That implies the event to be far into the future.” He turned his faced and kissed her palm. “Just say not yet.”
“Thank you for understanding, Rhett,” she whispered.
“I’m not sure I do, but I’m trying.” He touched his forehead to hers. “Can I at least carry you into your room? You feel too good in my arms to put you down just yet.”
She nodded, and he carried her into her bedroom.
She tucked her head against his neck and relished the feel of his strong arms supporting her.
He hesitated at the edge of the bed, and she raised her head to peer in his eyes.
Strangely, he looked bewildered. This jet-setting bachelor extraordinaire looked unsure, and in a flash, the look was gone.
The sudden intensity of his gaze made her heart rate kick into overdrive. Lily held her breath.
Would he try to change her mind? If he did, could she hold out? She had to. She had to wait until he knew the whole truth about her.
Rhett sat on the edge of the bed and cradled her in his lap.
Her heart continued its erratic beat as she settled against him, fully aware of his aroused state.
She sighed as his hand caressed her cheek and swept down her throat, his touch so gentle and sensuous she felt a scorched path in its wake.
He slanted his lips across hers to tease her lips apart.
Lily lost herself in his taste, in his scent, melting into him and wanting everything he offered and knowing she couldn’t have it.
Yet. His tongue began a soft erotic rhythm with hers, and she felt her eyes roll back in her head at the sensual torment, knowing she had to stop this and wanting the kiss to go on forever.
Her hands threaded back into the curls at his nape, trying to pull him even closer.
Abruptly, Rhett tore his mouth free and pressed his forehead to hers.
“Perhaps this was a mistake to tuck you in,” he said hoarsely, his voice unsteady.
“I thought I would have more control.” He gave a gruff-sounding laugh and stared into her eyes, his pupils almost black.
“I always have more control. But not with you. I look at you, and I have to touch you, to kiss you, to hold you. You make me crazy, Lily.”
He brushed one last swift kiss across her lips and set her beside him. “I better go.” He strode for the door, shutting it quietly behind him without looking back.