Prologue #2
This time, however, she’d done it for a good cause.
Her cousin needed to seduce the Duke of Ross.
Her reasoning was complicated, but understandable.
Besides, wasn’t there a heavy price for every worthwhile act?
She hoped she’d just paid the heavy price, and from here, the task would get easier.
Once the deed was done, she could disappear from society and focus on her millinery business.
She didn’t want this scandalous life any longer.
It was time to return to her roots. It was the only true answer to where she belonged.
“You did wonderfully,” a deep voice rumbled from across the room, interrupting her reverie.
Phoebe jumped and put her hand to her chest as she stared at the one man who invoked the type of passion she’d just pretended to feel.
His tall, lean frame lounged against her desk with his arms and ankles crossed in a casual display of power.
His attire wasn’t as expensive as Ross’s, but his buff breaches, and waist coat with his navy jacket fit him just as well, perhaps better.
His dark eyes drew her in, but it was his mouth that always seemed to capture her imagination.
She’d dreamed of what he could do with those lips, but ever since she’d read the books he’d acquired for her, his tongue had played a larger role.
Lord, forgive her, but this man made her thoughts turn utterly lustful.
He held a glass of brandy in one hand that was half full.
He turned and picked up a second glass from her desk, and held it out to her.
She smiled and walked towards him, conscious of the sway of her hips and the way he devoured her progress with one chestnut lock falling across his forehead.
His gaze slowly traveled down the length of her as if he were savoring every step she took, and her body instantly heated.
“I thought I was going to be sick all over the ballroom floor,” she confessed.
“Has that happened before?”
“Not in front of anyone, but when the night winds down and I’m able to escape…” She shrugged. “It seems I was not born for the stage.”
“And yet you’ve put on that show countless times. I’d wager tonight, however, was your best performance. Are you going to be sick now?”
She cocked her head and realized the urge to cast up her accounts was gone.
It had been replaced with a much more enticing nervous energy.
“No. Surprisingly, I’m not.” She accepted the glass he proffered and took a sip of the amber liquid, savoring the taste before swallowing. “I think he fell for it.”
“He did. I watched him head towards the garden before I came here.” Forrester emptied his glass in one gulp and set it down behind him on the desk before taking her glass and placing it next to his.
Then he took her hand and held it in his own as he turned it over, leisurely studying it as if it were a museum piece at which to marvel.
Slowly, he undid the buttons at her elbow one by one, the movement casual, yet tantalizing with every delicate touch.
Who knew such strong and powerful hands could be so gentle. He proceeded to push the glove down and her breath hitched as his bare hand ran a path down her forearm. Never before had the act of removing her gloves been erotic, yet with Joshua’s touch it was so much more.
He looked up into her eyes, trapping her in a web of seduction she didn’t want to escape as he pulled her glove off one finger at a time.
His gaze never leaving hers as he dropped the ivory satin glove on the desktop and brought her hand to his lips.
She became fascinated by the tantalizing caress of his warm breath on each of her fingers, a precursor to the true temptation of desire that assaulted her as he bestowed each with a reverent kiss.
“What are you doing?” she finally asked as he reached for her other hand and removed her second glove in the same seductive manner.
“I made you a promise I plan to keep.” He brought her second hand up to his lips and repeated the intimate caresses once more.
Phoebe found it difficult to breathe. Her chest rose and fell in a pace that was unseemly. She was losing her composure rather quickly. “I don’t remember you making any promises.”
It was a lie. She knew exactly what promise he had made to her.
How did this man wield such power over her restraint?
He exposed a part of her she wasn’t certain she wanted to acknowledge.
Admitting to the thrill his dominance elicited went against everything she had become in the last decade.
It was like succumbing to a husband, something she swore she would never do.
This side of Joshua inflamed and scared her just the same.
It was humbling to realize she wanted to take a leap of faith and give in to his allure.
“You know exactly what promise I made,” he said, and he began kissing along her hand to her wrist where he focused on the erratic thump of her pulse. Then he gently sucked on her flesh as he looked up into her eyes. “Unparalleled bliss.”
“I believe that was the Earl of Astley’s promise,” she whispered.
“He said the book would give a gentleman unparalleled bliss. I promised to give it to you.”
Oh, how she wanted the bliss he promised. Her nipples hardened and she felt warm heat between her legs as her body prepared for him to make good on his vow. Yet something inside her wanted to flee. She forced the next statement from her lips. “I’m not certain that’s a good idea.”
Even as she said it, she found herself stepping into his arms and putting her bare hands to the front of his cold coat. Despite the layers of clothing that separated their flesh, strong, hard muscle met her touch.
“You’re freezing. We should move closer to the fire.” She began to pull away, but his hands immediately locked on her lower back and held her in place.
“I’m burning up for you.”
He pulled her against his strong masculine form, and suddenly she felt the heat he was talking about pushing into her stomach, long and hard. She nearly moaned at the idea of him being so aroused.
She’d always found his scent intoxicating.
A mixture of something fresh and earthy, sandalwood and the essence of Joshua.
Spicy and male, this evening it fused with the aroma of the best brandy she owned, adding up to something irresistible that was reserved just for him.
Her breath caught, and her gaze slipped to the mouth she’d admired for too many years.
It was all the invitation Joshua needed as he slowly bent down and pressed his lips to hers for the first time. It was like nothing she had ever experienced.
She forgot about the party that was going on in her ballroom, even the plight of her cousin was lost to his kiss.
The heat between them was instant. Combustible.
It was the promise she’d whispered in the ears of so many men without ever delivering.
Not once had she ever experienced a kiss like Joshua’s.
Suddenly he was spinning her around as graceful as a waltz on the dance floor and her backside was against her desk as she got lost in their all-consuming passion. He tasted of brandy and something so erotic she couldn’t put a name to it, but it was all man, all Joshua.