Without warning he swooped down and his lips covered hers. Julianna’s mouth flew open in surprise and Mr. Sharp pressed his tongue inside.
For a moment she was immobile with shock, and then her senses were flooded with the taste and textures of his kiss. He tasted even better than he smelled. Like warm, sweet whiskey and comfits. His lips were soft and moist, his breath hot, his tongue smooth and wild as it swirled through her mouth, tasting her as she was tasting him.
He pulled her closer and his hand tightened upon her breast, the pressure creating a pleasure she’d never thought possible. The sound she made was more whimper than moan, a sound of utter surrender to what he was doing, to what he was making her feel. It was madness and she wanted more—more of this, more of him.
She wasn’t sure what he expected her to do, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and finally buried her hands in those sinfully soft curls. It was almost too much; the pleasure and taste of his kiss, the touch of his hands, the feel of his hair, the heat of his skin. She gave in to it, relinquishing herself to her senses. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, suddenly ravenous for him. She wanted him to feel it, too. She wanted him to throw caution and sanity aside for a taste of her.
Mr. Sharp moaned and Julianna felt that thrill of power again, the power that came from being desired. She pressed against him, her breast in his palm, her mons now against his hard length. He dipped and moved slightly and his leg slid between hers, and she had to tear her mouth from his to gasp at the pleasure.
“Juliet, Juliet,” he panted. “I can’t wait. I must have you. Now.”
Yes, yes, was all she could think. Now. She wanted all of him, wanted to feel all of him, touch all of him, now.
Three
With a suddenness that shocked her, he broke their embrace and stepped away. She stumbled and he caught her, but it wasn’t until he grabbed her shirt and yanked the offending garment over her head that she understood what he was doing. Her kerchief came off, too, and some of the pins in her hair came loose. She felt several thick locks of hair fall from their imprisonment, tumbling down to her shoulders. He paused, panting heavily, and stared at her.
Julianna had no desire to hide from him. She knew she was well formed, although no beauty. But here in the dark with him she felt beautiful, and she could tell from the way he stared at her that he thought so, too.
One hand reached tentatively for a lock of hair that curled against her breast. She was still covered by her chemise, but the linen was thin and no barrier to the brush and heat of his fingers as he caressed her hair.
“What color is it?” he asked quietly.
Julianna cocked her head to the side and looked down at his hand against her. She swallowed audibly. “Brown,” she whispered.
“Not just brown,” he told her, pulling slowly on the lock of hair. It straightened until she could feel the pressure at her scalp, until she stepped closer to him to ease the ache. “Is it chestnut brown, or golden brown, or so deep brown it’s almost black?” He sounded as he had earlier, as if he were talking to himself as much as her. “Is it the rich brown of the earth, or the red-brown of cinnamon?”
When she was close enough, he raised the lock of hair to his nose and sniffed deeply. “Lavender.” He sounded bemused. “You smell as fresh as spring.”
“It’s just plain brown,” she answered, mesmerized by him, by his reaction to her. She still whispered, afraid to ruin the magic of the night.
“Who are you?” His question startled her. He had not asked before. Why now? Had she given herself away somehow?
“Juliet,” she said desperately. “I am just Juliet.” She could not fail now, she couldn’t. There was too much at stake.
“No,” he told her with a smile that melted her from the inside out. “No. There is more to you than my moonlit Juliet.”
He untied her chemise slowly, pulling the strings as he’d just pulled her hair. The loose material fell open across her chest, exposing the tops of her breasts, and Julianna was astounded to see how enticing they looked that way, gleaming in the moonlight, lush and inviting. She looked up at Mr. Sharp’s face and saw he was as entranced as she was. She tried not to think too much, focusing instead on what she saw in his expression. There was tenderness there as well as need, as if he, too, felt more than a simple one- night affair should warrant.
When he grasped the bottom of the chemise and gently drew it over her head, letting it drop to the floor, she wrapped her arms around her waist, embarrassed and yet still eager for him to hold her as he had before.
“Juliet.” His whisper raced across her shoulders, leaving chills in its wake. He grabbed her, all hunger and need and desire. She should have been frightened, but she wasn’t. She was relieved at how much he wanted her. It was perfect, really. It would make it all so much easier.
When his mouth came down on hers, she was ready this time. She met him as an equal in the kiss, as desperate to complete their bargain as he was. She yelped in alarm when he suddenly pulled back and swept her up into his arms.
“Bed,” he muttered, spinning around and tossing her into the middle of his huge mattress.
Julianna laughed to cover the nerves that had returned full force as their encounter moved to the bed. “Are you insane?” she cried out in surprise, as he grabbed her left leg and dragged her down to the end of the bed. He yanked off her boot and tossed it over his shoulder.
“You have driven me insane,” he told her with a lascivious grin. “I am desperate to get you naked and fuck you madly.” He yanked and then tossed her other boot over his shoulder. It landed with a loud thump against the wall and then slid down to the floor.
Julianna held her breath to stifle her maidenly protest as he unbuttoned her trousers and pulled them off. She had nothing on underneath. It was the first time she’d ever been naked in front of a man.
Mr. Sharp didn’t waste time looking. He growled his approval at her nakedness as he climbed back on the bed, shoving her legs apart so he could kneel between them.
“You are gorgeous,” he said roughly, leaning down and kissing her stomach. He licked her from her navel to her mons. He hummed in appreciation while Julianna could only lay there, stunned by the things he was doing. “You smell marvelous,” he said, his voice muffled against her.
He put his mouth on her, between her legs, and suckled, and Julianna gasped in a mixture of shock and desire. “Oh!” she cried out as her shoulders curled up off the bed. She clutched the bedcovers tightly in her fists, wanting to grab him instead, to wrap her fists in his hair and either shove him away or hold his mouth on her forever. Her confusion only added to the wild, uncontrollable feelings crashing through her.
He groaned at her response and Julianna shivered violently. This was too much, more than she had expected. She had no idea how to go about this, had never heard of such a thing. She pushed him away as she tried to move out from under him. Suddenly he rose up to kneel between her legs again, breathing heavily.
“I’m sorry, Juliet, but I can’t wait. I’ll make you fly, angel. I promise.” He pushed her up the bed with his hands on her waist, and she scrambled up until her head rested on the pillows. Mr. Sharp fell on top of her. There was no other word for it. His forearms lay on the bed beside her shoulders, bearing the weight of his upper body as he smiled wickedly at her. His hips squirmed from side to side, and Julianna automatically opened her legs more to accommodate him.