Page 50 of Aurelia

Grab her and kiss her and take her! Frustration yelled.

Be thankful she ended this, Sober Restraint counseled.

Yes, it was a damned good thing that she, at least, possessed sense, because Roland didn’t seem to have any. Debauching his virginal employee was not something he should be doing now. Or ever.

He forced a calm smile and met her chaotic gaze. “Are you—”

She grabbed his head, yanked it low, and claimed his mouth.

Roland’s moment of good sense dissipated in a blink and he submitted joyously to her clumsy explorations, reveling in the sensation of her body against his. This time, rather than flinch away when she rubbed against his erection, she ground herself against him, the sinuous action the sensual caress of an experienced seductress.

He stroked over her soft curves with his hands, his caresses earning an encouraging moan. Perhaps his initial belief that she was innocent—based on her clumsy kissing—was wrong?

Perhaps she’s only had lovers who do not care for kissing? a third voice—this one called Selfish Delusion—chimed in.

Roland had heard more than one man say he found kissing pointless—or even unpleasant. If that were true, then maybe she wasn’t a virgin?

Emboldened by the thought, he pulled her closer, his hands revisiting the glory of her arse, which he’d probably clutched so hard earlier that there would be bruises.

If there were any marks, Roland wanted to see them. Lick them. Bite them.

Rather than rebuff him, his bold caresses appeared to incite her and she slid her own small hands down his waist to his buttocks, fingers squeezing lightly, then harder, the tips digging into him in a way that made him growl.

Obviously, he had been wrong about her lack of experience. Sorely mistaken…

He stroked back up her sides until he could cup her breasts, and then he grazed his thumbs over the fitted habit, wishing like hell she wasn’t swathed neck to feet in wool. He stroked harder, until he could feel the tightly pebbled tips.

She jolted more violently than she’d done earlier.

Just like a virgin might do…

Blast and damn! What in the hell was he doing? This was his bloody employee—whose skill and artistry he needed far more than a quick fondle and fuck.

Roland cursed beneath his breath and stepped away, breaking all contact with her too-beguiling body.

Chapter 10

Lord Crewe dropped his hands from Aurelia abruptly and stepped away from her.

The sudden rejection was like a slap, bringing Aurelia back to herself. She’d been groping him. Mauling him, really. What had she been thinking?

Aurelia wanted to crawl under a rock and hide, but she forced herself to face him.

His eye, so dark and filled with desire only moments before—was icy blue and distant, making her wish that she had opted for the rock, after all.

And then—shockingly—he dropped his hand to his tight breeches and squeezed the thick ridge hard enough to make the veins and tendons stand out on the back of his hand.

Aurelia’s jaw sagged. “What—what are you doing?”

He barked an unamused laugh. “What is necessary.” When he lowered his hand, his erection had become less prominent, but hadn’t disappeared entirely.

He took her chin in his fingers and tilted her, moving her gaze from his groin to his face. “If you look at my cock that way, I shan’t be able to hang on to my good intentions.”

Her face scalded at the word cock. “Wh-what way was I looking at… it?” As much as she wanted to, she could not make her mouth form the wicked word.

“You know what way.”

Aurelia did know: yearningly, lustfully, desperately. All three were emotions she had known nothing about until meeting Lord Crewe. The powerful feelings were shocking and frightening, but they also made her feel more alive than anything she had ever experienced.