He leaned forward, dropping the cloth from his fingers, and slipped his hand beneath her hair. “Come here,†he whispered, using little
of his strength to bring her mouth closer to his and the skill of an experienced lover to tilt her head to just the right angle to receive him
fully.
His lips touched hers like a caress, stilling her breath. He did not ravish her with the hunger that tightened his loins, but with
excruciating leisure and infinite control, he teased and tasted and nibbled her mouth. The tip of his tongue glided along the seam of her lips, dragging a languid sigh from the back of her throat.
The sound hardened Gareth’s muscles. He shifted his body and engulfed her within the sleek steel of his embrace. With her mouth fully surrendered, he slid his tongue between the delicate barricade of her lips and entered her mouth with a rasping moan of his own.
Tanon went weak in his arms while his tongue flicked over hers in a dance set to the rhythm of her heart, making her ache for something more. He flooded her senses with the wild scent of desire, the taste of danger and excitement. She felt his heart beating hard against her breast, his strong hands splaying over her back.
He tangled his hand in her curls, drawing her head back. Breaking their kiss, he grazed his lips over her chin and down the elegant column of her neck. When he pulled away his breath came hard between his parted lips. His dusky gaze smoldered with dark intentions that made Tanon’s pulse race.
“Don’t fear me.†His command was spoken with such alluring thickness, Tanon thought obeying it would be impossible.
He curled his finger around one of the laces tying the heavy bodice of her gown and gave it a gentle tug. Her gown loosened. He smoothed the
shift underneath over her shoulders with his palms, exposing only her modest cleavage. His eyes soaked her in as if she stood naked before him. Tanon inhaled sharply, not from fear, but from the decadently wicked sensation of being desired. She felt stunned and shameful for delighting in such a depraved pleasure. But when she looked into his fevered gaze, discovering that his breath halted along with hers, she stopped thinking altogether.