The Mech Who Loved Me(95)

Ava shivered. "It was all your fault. You unlaced my corset."

"You were struggling to breathe-"

"And then you put your coat around me, and all I could smell was your cologne...."

He nuzzled against her throat. "You like my cologne. I've noticed you sniffing my shirt when you think I'm not paying attention."

Ava pressed her hands against her hot cheeks. "I do not sniff your shirt. I'm a blue blood. My senses are more acute. It's just... distracting."

Kincaid stole a kiss, and Ava was suddenly overcome-not by embarrassment, but by a heated curl of desire. She moaned into his mouth, kissing him back with ardent, barely restrained desire, until he captured her face and drew back, leaving a scant inch between them. 

"I notice you don't deny you wanted to fuck me."

The words fell into the silence of the carriage. Kincaid slid a hand down her shoulder and cupped her breast in his palm. Ava caught her breath. Yes.

"That would be lying," she whispered in return, aching for him to extend the touch. "And I try not to lie if I can help it."

He'd told her to wear nothing beneath her skirts, and the sudden flush of heat between her thighs was slick.

The smile on his lips was positively decadent. His thumb found her nipple behind the thick fabric, rubbing a little, teasing her. Ava shifted on the carriage seat. "Was that the night it began," he whispered, her nipple hardening beneath his touch, "for you?"

She'd promised not to lie. "Do you remember the day you were helping me set up my laboratory? You were lifting all of the heavier items I had: the box with my microscope, and the brass spectrometer I use to test my CV levels... and it was a warmer day, and you took off your coat."

"I remember." That thumb said, go on. "It was two days before the Garden of Eden. You were wearing white. Layers upon layers of lace and muslin. You didn't realize I could make out the shape of your legs beneath your skirts when you stood in the doorway with the light behind you."

Ava shuddered, biting her lip as he deliberately pinched her nipple. "Oh." She cupped her hand over his, forcing him to caress her entire breast. She wanted to touch herself between her legs, to rub her fingers there, the way she sometimes did when she was alone in bed. Her fingers curled into a fist. That wasn't something a lady admitted.

But he'd always challenged her to accept her sexuality.

He'd love it if she touched herself in front of him. Ava just knew it.

Opening her eyes, she stared into his. "The very moment I first saw you I was taken aback. You were so large." She stroked his shoulder, shifting onto her knees. "Intimidating. I was still a little uncertain of you when you helped me with my laboratory. And yet, that night, when I lay alone in bed...." She shuddered.

"Go on," he whispered.

And Ava slid into his lap, settling one thigh on either side of his hips, trying to manage her skirts, trying to find her balance. Kincaid caught her hips, dragging her closer until she couldn't help feeling the hard-muscled thighs beneath her, and the leather straps around his legs that were part of his leg braces.

"What did you do, Ava?" He stroked her thigh, making no attempt to avoid the areas that made her shiver.

"I touched myself," she whispered. "You'd rolled your sleeves up, and I kept thinking of the muscles in your arms, the blue of your eyes."

"Where?" Of course he wouldn't leave it at that.

Heat flooded her cheeks. "You know where."

"Show me."

"Please tell me you're not going to stop tonight," she whispered.

His thumb rasped along her inner thigh, breaking off just before he reached the very area where her fingers had been. "I'm not going to stop."

A flood of relief-and nervousness-swept through her. "Good. For I should be tempted to commit a crime of my own if you even think about it tonight."

"Someone sounds determined," he teased.

"I want you," she breathed, coaxing her hands over his chest and absorbing the sensation of his coat. "I've always wanted you. And it means a lot to me... to think of making love to you."

Kincaid grasped her hips, hauling her closer to him so her legs straddled his thighs. "Pull up your skirts. And then show me where you touched yourself."



       
         
       
        

"Here?" She glanced toward the window, but nobody could see her.

Kincaid's wicked smile sent a flush of heat through her. "Right here," he said. "I want to see if you obeyed me or not."