Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(82)

“And you think that I am a large man?”

“Well, you are several inches…taller than most.”

“I will grant you that. And as for any other measurement, I must confess I have not compared.”

She’d heard enough of her brother’s childhood comments to think that at some time he must have, but she would not argue the point. “Then we had better be safe and give it a try. I would hate to discover once we were married that it would not work.”

He laughed, clear and full. “Ahh, I do love you, Angela. That I do.”

She froze.

Could he possibly mean it? Their eyes met, but she was not quite sure what she saw there. Heat. Yes. Emotion. Definitely. Love? What did love look like?

She waited for him to say something, to say anything, but he remained quiet.

Should she say it back? No, that would be giving it weight, would force a confrontation that she was not sure she was ready for.

“Oh,” she replied, not sure what else to say. “Then let us proceed. How exactly does this work?”

He slipped off the bed and stood, clearly grateful for the chance to retreat. “To begin, why don’t I help you off with that dress? It must be awfully uncomfortable at this moment. And if we shake it out and lay it over a chair, I am sure that some of the wrinkles would fall out. You do not want to show up looking as if you’ve been sleeping in your clothes.”

“Yes, I do think that would make sense. Are you sure you are up to playing the lady’s maid?”

“I think I will manage. Now, slide from the bed and stand beside me.”

“Yes, my lord,” she replied in her most demure voice.

“I do see you know how to behave. Perhaps I will not have to punish you.”

Why did her insides spark when he said the word punish? “I do like to make you happy.”

“Then obey.”

She slid from the bed slowly, letting her skirts bunch up to show her long, naked legs. His eyes followed, from calf to thigh to…No, she wasn’t letting her skirt go that high—at least not for a few more seconds.

When her feet reached the floor, she stood and turned her back. His fingers settled about her neck, stroking, encompassing. She bowed her head in surrender.

His lips touched the back of her neck, pressing tender kisses, a soft taste, a few more kisses—and then one swift nip at the side. A definite mark of ownership.

Her toes curled.

His fingers trailed down her upper back to reach her laces. A few pulls and tugs, and she felt her dress loosen and then fall. She caught it just below her breasts, prepared to turn and then let it drop the rest of the way slowly.

“No,” he commanded. “I want to see your back, see your ass.”

That tone of voice sent a burst of heat through her.

“My ass?” She’d thought he’d want to stare at her breasts some more.

He didn’t say anything but stood still and quiet.

Obediently, she let her arms hang by her sides. The dress caught for a moment of its own accord at her hips and then slid down to pool about her on the floor. She shivered. The room was colder than she had realized, despite the heat she knew lay in Colton’s gaze. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as he remained silent.

His bare feet padded on the floor. She couldn’t remember him removing his boots, but he must have, perhaps while she’d been asleep—or even before that, when he joined her in the bed. The thought distracted her, let her imagine that she was not standing there naked waiting for—waiting to have marital relations, to have sex, to be f*cked. She played the last word out in her mind, trying to decide if she liked it.

It did make her feel naughty, almost dirty, but in a most delicious way.

She almost turned but forced herself to remain still, staring at the huge bed and the window beyond.

She was going to do this. She was really going to do this. She was going to give herself to Colton, completely.

It seemed almost odd with all the things they had done that this should remain such an event, but the thought of him actually inside her was still impossible to comprehend.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. She trusted him, she truly did.

“Your ass is like a ripe peach, just as I remembered,” he said. A finger traced a sore spot on her left cheek. “And I can still see where I took the first bite. Now, bend over and place your hands on the bed.”





Chapter 24


Angela trembled slightly as she bent forward. She wasn’t showing him anything he hadn’t seen before. It shouldn’t have felt so awkward, but still she hesitated as she began to lean.

Placing her hands on the bed, she let her head fall forward. She wondered whether to lean slightly so that she could rest it there too.

His voice was low and deep and husky—and so very intimate. “You are so beautiful, so very wet and sweet, my angel. Do you like displaying yourself for me as much as I like looking at you?”

Closing her eyes, she felt the heat rise up her cheeks. At least he could not see her face. “Yes,” she whispered. “Do I please you?”

“Always. Just being near you pleases me.”

And then all was silent except for the slight guttering of the dying candles and the rising whistle of the wind through the trees outside.

His voice interrupted, hoarse and needy. “Move your feet farther apart. A little more. More. Good.”