Forever My Love (Berkeley-Faulkner #2)(24)

“You are shameless!” she snapped, struggling against him and attempting to box his ears. “How dare you sham Abram when I was… You mop-squeezing pimp, you prigging muckworm…”

As she made wounding observations about his character and ancestry, a gold medallion on a finely wrought chain hung down from around his neck and rested against her chest. It was warm from his skin, lying in the hollow of her uplifted br**sts and burning into her like a brand. Mira paid it no attention, too occupied with her efforts to twist her wrists out of his confining grasp. She glared into his eyes, which were gleamingwith deviltry. It had been a long time since anyone had teased her like this, a long time since someone had encouraged her to play. Suddenly a choked laugh sscaped from her, a fact which he pounced on immediately.

“There. You just laughed—”

“I did not!” Mira protested hotly, trying to scowl and ruining the effort with another chuckle. She gave up trying to maintain her anger as her shoulders trembled with laughter. “I thought you were on your deathbed! I had no idea you were such a talented actor.”

“All the Falkners are good at feigning illness—it was the only way we could get out of our lessons.”

“You must have been a terrible little boy.”

“Very likely.” Alec grinned at her. “But I was my mother’s favorite.”

She laughed breathlessly, shaking her head at him. “You’re impossible.” She looked up at him, unable to keep her expression from softening with concern. “But… you’re not really hurt, are you? What happened today? Your clothes are sooty, and you smell like gunpowder—”

“Sanborn’s powder flask exploded and I happened to be nearby. I’m told that the boy is fine, a little singed around the edges, but he’s being taken care of.”

“Perhaps I should see if I can do something to help him,” she said, trying to wriggle off the bed, but Alec pinned her down more securely, his coal-black hair falling down over his,forehead. Mira frowned, becoming aware of how easy it was for him to hold her still—she could struggle with all her might to escape and it would make no impression on him.

“I need you more than he does.”

“All you need is some rest… and a lengthy reacquaintance with soap and water,” she said, pullingat her wrists with growing agitation. “It’s safe for you to let me go now. I won’t hit you again.”

“How can I be certain of that?” he purred, and her wrists remained imprisoned. Uneasily she shifted beneath him, realizing for the first time that she was helplessly splayed out under his body.

“Lord Falkner—”

“Alec,” he corrected, staring down at her with darkening gray eyes, his face becoming utterly serious.

“I can’t call you that.”

“I won’t let you go until you do.”

“Do you always use physical force to get your own way?”

“With you it always seems to be the most convenient thing to do.”

“Alec,” she said obediently, trying to pull away… but still he held her pinned to the bed. Their bodies were entwined far too intimately, his chest pressing against her br**sts, one of his tautly muscled thighs impacted between hers. He smelled of sweat, horses, and smoke, a primitive scent that caused a quiver inside her midriff. “Alec, please…” she said, turning her face away from him. Her wrists were transferred into one of his hands, while the other grasped her chin and turned her face back. She shivered, closing her eyes in denial even while her heart pounded in anticipation and her skin prickled with heat. “Don’t,” she protested faintly.

“Do you know why I can’t let you go, Mira?” His voice was husky and deep, tickling her ear. Her breath caught in her throat as he kissed the soft spot behind her earlobe… she felt the sensation of his mouth all through her body. “You were meant for me,” Alec murmured, brushing his lips over her temples and her fragile eyelids. “You belong to me more than you’ll ever belong to Sackville… I want you more than he ever could. There’s something about you that pulls at me, something I can’t resist. I don’t know what it is, Idon’t know why you do this to me… but you feel it too. You know as well as I do that we’re going to end up together, no matter how you try to resist it.”

His thumb brushed over her lower lip with the lightness of thistledown, stroking in a slow, erotic movement. Moisture began to collect in her mouth and she swallowed, her lips tingling under the touch of his thumb. Alec’s glinting silver gaze missed nothing, his mouth tilting slightly at the corners. Slowly his fingers wandered over her chin and down to her neck, caressing her skin with that same soft stroke. He traced a circle across her throat with his fingertips, watching her eyes dilate, staring down at her intently until her breath quickened and her br**sts lifted involuntarily against his bare chest.

“I’m a novelty to you,” she said, astonished at the throatiness of her voice. “That’s why… that’s the reason you want me.”

“I thought so too, at first.”

“This is all because I’m your friend’s mistress,” she said, deliberately trying to provoke his anger. “It excites you, doesn’t it, the prospect of having something forbidden to you.”

His mouth brushed leisurely against hers, gentle and questing. Mira was completely still beneath him, rigid with confusion and a peculiar panic. Her lips were soft but unresponsive. Unhurriedly Alec tasted her top lip, then the bottom, as patiently as if he planned to spend eternity holding her in his arms, and as his mouth played over hers with coaxing warmth, fire blossomed within her. She moaned and tried to move away from him, but his weight pressed her into the mattress, holding her down. Impossible… it was impossible to fight him when she wanted him this much. Gasping, she surrendered to the hot, languid kiss, allowing his lips to urge hers apart.