Maybe she wasn’t the only one who had been left wanting more. Perhaps she had failed to live up to his expectations, too inexperienced to excite his interest or approbation.
Deflated, she shifted uneasily on the couch, gathering herself to do as he suggested, and bid him a dignified good night. She was about to stand when she saw a muscle clench in his cheek, a tightening of his jaw that denoted tension and strain.
She’d thought he was relaxed, even bored, but now she wondered. Was he concealing something? Had he felt more than he let on? She knew she was right when he flexed the fingers of one hand into a fist for a brief but significant time.
Was it possible? Had he been holding out on her during their kiss? Was he restraining himself even now?
The idea circled in her mind, growing stronger with each revolution.
“I don’t think your debt is paid,” she stated with renewed boldness. “That kiss had about as much passion in it as one you might give a sister—or even your aunt.”
He stared. “Believe me, that was passionate compared to the cheek pecks I give my aunt.” A wry light flared in his gaze. “Besides, you asked for a kiss and I gave you one. You didn’t stipulate what kind.”
“Well, I am stipulating now. I think we should try again, and this time I want you to put some real effort into the exercise.”
“Real effort?” He gave a humorless laugh. “Be careful what you wish for, Emma. You’re playing with fire when you don’t even know how to light a match. I am trying to behave like a gentleman. You ought to be thanking me instead of pushing the issue.”
Despite his narrow-eyed glare, she refused to look away. “Maybe I don’t want you to behave like a gentleman tonight,” she murmured. “Maybe I’d rather you kiss me again and satisfy my curiosity.”
The gleam in his eyes deepened, simmering with an odd half-light. “Curiosity can be a dangerous thing.” Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms. “Don’t say you weren’t warned.”
In the next second, his mouth came down on hers.
She’d wanted passion, but she hadn’t been prepared for the force of his embrace or the raw hunger her prodding had unleashed.
He claimed her. There was no other word for it. His lips moved against hers with a heady power that left her reeling, turning her weak and instantly dizzy. Heat burst in wild ripples over her skin, alternating with a shivering chill that made her whole body quake. He tasted of brandy and spice, his clean male scent far more intoxicating than any of the liquor she’d drunk that night.
Angling his head, he drew her deeper inside his embrace, ravishing her mouth with a thoroughness that left her stunned. He was right to have warned of the dangers, his every move bringing a fresh new temptation and unexpected new joy.
No wonder he’d held back before. One small taste and she never wanted him to stop. His kiss was like some magical elixir of which she knew she would never get enough.
Helpless to resist, she settled more completely into his arms, her fingers curling into the fine, soft wool of his coat. She clung to the broad strength of his shoulders before tentatively beginning to kiss him back. She didn’t know what she was doing precisely, since he was the first man she had ever kissed. Closing her eyes, she let instinct be her guide.
Need crashed over her with an overwhelming force that left her scarcely able to breathe. Her thoughts scattered, every fiber of her being centered on Nick and the splendor of his touch.
Slowly, his kiss changed, growing deeper, gentler, yet every bit as intense as before.
“Part your lips,” he murmured, pressing against her mouth with a firm but tender insistence.
On a little gasp, she did as he told her.
She gasped again as his tongue slid inside and stroked the sensitive inner lining of her cheeks, his touch blazingly warm and sleek as velvet. Shuddering, she dug her fingernails harder into his coat and let him have his way.
Drowning in a surfeit of pleasure, she gave herself over to his expert tutelage, following his unspoken instructions as he led her along the path of temptation, showing her one delicious kind of devilment after the next.
She was quivering by the time he let her come up for air. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he brushed his lips over her temple and chin and along the sensitive line of her throat. He paused at the base, burying his face against her pulse where it beat in quick, violent strokes.
Lifting his head, he released her and leaned away.
She couldn’t speak, her body throbbing in places she hadn’t realized could throb—intimate, personal places that were suddenly begging to be soothed. Worse, she was vividly aware of her nipples beaded into hard points beneath her bodice, aching too.