His thumb brushed over her lower lip with the lightness of thistledown, stroking in a slow, erotic movement. Moisture began to collect in her mouth and she swallowed, her lips tingling under the touch of his thumb. Alec's glinting silver gaze missed nothing, his mouth tilting slightly at the corners. Slowly his fingers wandered over her chin and down to her neck, caressing her skin with that same soft stroke. He traced a circle across her throat with his fingertips, watching her eyes dilate, staring down at her intently until her breath quickened and her breasts lifted involuntarily against his bare chest.
"I'm a novelty to you," she said, astonished at the throatiness of her voice. "That's why… that's the reason you want me."
"I thought so too, at first."
"This is all because I'm your friend's mistress," she said, deliberately trying to provoke his anger. "It excites you, doesn't it, the prospect of having something forbidden to you."
His mouth brushed leisurely against hers, gentle and questing. Mira was completely still beneath him, rigid with confusion and a peculiar panic. Her lips were soft but unresponsive. Unhurriedly Alec tasted her top lip, then the bottom, as patiently as if he planned to spend eternity holding her in his arms, and as his mouth played over hers with coaxing warmth, fire blossomed within her. She moaned and tried to move away from him, but his weight pressed her into the mattress, holding her down. Impossible… it was impossible to fight him when she wanted him this much. Gasping, she surrendered to the hot, languid kiss, allowing his lips to urge hers apart.
He let go of her wrists to pull her closer, slipping a supportive hand underneath her head. Her lips soft-ened and clung to his, seeking the warmth and the taste of him. His tongue feathered against hers, and she shivered, answering him timidly as desire overtook her in a dizzying rush and coursed through her veins in a heavy torrent. She wrapped her arms around his neck, unconsciously pulling his head down closer. She had never imagined that such a powerful craving could exist, more biting, more urgent than hunger or thirst. Lifting his mouth from hers, Alec looked down at her, his drowsy gray eyes filled with smoky promise.
"I've always been able to resist temptation," he whispered, kissing one corner of her mouth and then the other, "before you. Before you…" He muffled her small sigh as he kissed her again, his large hand sliding over her body possessively, cupping over the material that covered her breast, stroking until he felt her nipple contract underneath the soft velvet. Mira groaned, pressing up against that knowing touch, her body on fire. The shadows of the room seemed to collect around her, and she was sinking deeper into their darkness… and it wasn't a cold darkness, it was hot and vibrant with piercing sensations. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the deep golden gleam of his skin, her own slender fingers tangled in his black hair… her head tilted back as his mouth moved to her throat, and the only thought that remained clear in her mind was that she would die if he stopped. "Alec…" she whispered, her hands caressing the breadth of his shoulders, and she felt his muscles flex involuntarily.
"God, what am I doing?" he muttered. Abruptly he tore his mouth away from the fluttering pulse in her throat and took a deep breath, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Not now," he said, seeming to find it difficult to speak. "There's no time… dammit, I won't let the first time be rushed."
Blinking in bewilderment, Mira loosened her arms from around his neck, quivering with a kind of frustra-tion she had never felt before. Slowly she came to her senses, realizing what she had let him do—encouraged him to do. She could hardly believe that she had responded to him so wantonly. What kind of dangerous magic did he possess?
"Not ever," she said, her voice shaking. "Bon Dieu, qu'est-ce que j'ai fait?… How could I have… ah, let me go!" She rolled away from him and jumped off the bed in a fluid movement, her hands going up to her chest to still her violent gasps. Alec turned onto his side to stare at her, propping himself up on one elbow. His long body stretched out in a sprawl, like a black panther sunning himself.
"You look horrified," he observed calmly. Though his mouth was touched with a satisfied smile, his eyes were still warm with a passionate gleam. "Hasn't it ever been this way for you with Sackville?"
"I am not horrified," she said, a pronounced French accent coloring her words heavily. Alec grinned at the sound of it. "I am… I'm disgusted," she continued vehemently, "and I want nothing more than to never have to face you again!" She headed for the door, but the sound of his voice stopped her just as she turned the knob.