Tightrope (Burning Cove #3)(42)

“The woman who decided she didn’t want to marry you after she found out that you would not be joining the family firm?”

“Yes.”

She smiled. “You have a very complicated life, Matthias.”

Matthias’s mouth kicked up a little at the corner in a wry smile. “Everyone’s life is complicated. My life just has a few unusual twists.”

“Did you love her?”

“Margaret? I wanted to love her. She was beautiful, smart, charming. Her parents were friends of my parents. My family thought she was perfect for me. Everyone thought we were an ideal couple. For a time I told myself that I was in love with her. But in the end I couldn’t take the final step.”

“What is the final step?”

“I couldn’t trust her.”

“Ah.”

“Things like love and friendship involve trust,” Matthias said. “I have a hard time with trust.”

“Because sooner or later, everybody lies.”

“Sooner or later.”

“Including you?”

“I am a very, very good liar, Amalie. It’s a side effect of my talent.” He waited a beat, never taking his eyes off her. “Now you know the full truth about me.”

“Talk about complicated.”

“Don’t you care?”

“I used to fly for a living,” Amalie said. “I know how to take calculated risks.”

He watched her sip her brandy.

“I don’t usually tell people about my talent,” he said. “And until tonight, I’ve never told any woman that I’m an excellent liar.”

“A wise policy.” Amalie finished her brandy and set the glass aside. “It would probably make a lot of people nervous.”

“But not you?”

“Not me. Not tonight.”

“How do you feel about taking the calculated risk of kissing a man who has just told you that he is an accomplished liar?”

She stopped breathing for a few seconds. The entire conservatory seemed to go still. She was standing on an invisible platform, waiting to catch the bar. Waiting to fly. She probably should have been frightened but she wasn’t. Not tonight.

“Funny you should bring up the subject of kissing,” she said. She touched her fingertips to the side of his face. “I’ve been curious about what it would be like to kiss you.”

Matthias leaned over her and into her, giving her plenty of time to change her mind. When she did not retreat, his mouth came down on hers.

The kiss started out slowly, deliberately. She could feel him holding back, wielding control over his own response while he sought to seduce her.

But the compelling heat in the atmosphere called to all of her senses, summoning her with the power of a sorcerer’s spell. An exhilarating rush of energy swept through her. She did not want him to hold back. She wanted to grab the bar and fly.

She put her arms around him and launched herself into the unknown.





Chapter 25


Amalie’s response struck his senses with the force of an oncoming thunderstorm. He could have sworn that lightning flashed in the conservatory. So much for a cautious, exploratory kiss. They were standing too close to the edge of the cliff tonight. The fierce winds of desire caught them both by surprise and swept them straight over the edge.

He hauled her across his thighs, wrapped one arm around her, and deepened the kiss. He was hungry, ravenous; desperate. A hot, thrilling exultation rolled through him. He had told her the truth about himself and his talent, and she did not care. She was in his arms, returning his kisses with a fervor that matched his own.

He covered one apple-shaped breast with the palm of his hand. Through the thin fabric of her dress and the delicate bra she wore underneath, he could feel the tight ridge of a nipple. She took a sharp breath and tightened her arms around his neck.

“Matthias,” she said.

His name was a husky whisper. There was urgency, passion, and a dazed excitement in her voice. He realized he was not the only one who had been unprepared for the heat they were generating together.

When she twisted against him, trying to get closer, he thought the soft weight of her thigh against his erection would steal what little was left of his control. He gathered her to him and moved his mouth to her warm, silky throat. Her head fell back against his shoulder. Her scent intoxicated him.

He slid his palm under the skirt of her dress and up the inside of her sleek, stocking-clad leg. When he encountered the fastening of her dainty garter belt, he heard a distant warning bell. The conservatory was hardly a private location. Willa was somewhere upstairs. Vincent Hyde and his chauffeur could walk through the front door at any moment.

He should stop now, while that was still possible, Matthias thought. But he undid the fastening instead. The stocking glided downward. He moved his hand higher and discovered the flirty hem of her panties.

Amalie speared her fingers through his hair and opened her mouth for him. The crotch of her panties dampened at his touch.

He was not sure what would have happened if the rumble of a car engine in the drive hadn’t jolted him back to reality. Amalie stiffened in his arms. Her eyes snapped open.

“My guests,” she said.

She levitated up out of his grasp, gaining her feet and her balance in a fluid motion. She paused long enough to bend over and raise the hem of her skirt. He watched, riveted, as she deftly refastened her stocking. The searing intimacy of the action nearly undid him.