His fingertips dug into her waist as he crushed her tighter to him, and plunged deeper into her mouth, stealing dozens of incredibly sweet and wet tastes of her. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. She tasted pure. And he desperately wanted to make love to her.
Undone by her wildness, he grappled with her hands and lifted them above her head, pinning her against the back wall. This surprised her, and she gasped. He caught the sound and kissed her harder. Wetter. Longer.
His body exploded in chaos as she responded in kind, pulling her arms free and rubbing her hands up his biceps, through his hair, making soft purring sounds against his mouth.
She felt incredible. Incredible.
He had never wanted anything or anyone more in his life. Molly. His tiny, sweet little gypsy. He wanted to hear her come undone for him, to lose control like she made him lose his.
But did she really want this? Did she have any idea how serious he was about this, about her?
“Molly,” he murmured tenderly, then he dived down her neck and twirled a wet path to her delicate collarbone.
“Don’t stop yet,” she mewed in a little helpless plea, her fingertips sliding back into his hair. “Please let me pretend for a little bit.”
His insides twisted with foreboding. “Don’t you dare—” he came back up and shoved his tongue into her mouth, taking all of her taste, taking all that she could give “—pretend that I’m my brother.”
But that tormenting thought now held him back like an iron chain, and he had to rest his forehead against hers with a groan, his breaths jerking in and out as he fought to get a grip. Suddenly, the reminder that Molly was making out with him to make his brother jealous gnawed a hole the size of Texas into his gut.
But her slim arms still clung to him. Her face was still tilted up to his in offering. And he could hardly think straight while she looked up at him as if she adored him.
“You look thoroughly kissed, Molly,” he rasped. He cradled her beautiful face with his big hands, drinking up the dewy desire that softened her features.
She licked her lips, her pupils dilating as her gaze darted from his eyes to his mouth, up and down, up and down. He could barely speak, his voice roughened with painful, dizzying arousal.
“Should we just go out there so my brother gets to see what I’ve been doing to you? He’ll probably think I’ve had my hands all over you this evening.”
She made a little choking sound and dropped her face. “Jules, stop. Please don’t tease.”
Julian’s thighs trembled as he fought for control, fought to keep from doing more, doing everything to her. With her. “I’d just like to know if this kiss was just for Garrett—or because you want me, Molly?”
She kept her head bent, intoxicating him with the smell of raspberry shampoo that wafted to his nostrils. “Everybody wants you, Julian. Everybody. I just can’t believe this. What did we do? This was so insane, so stupid!”
“Shh.” He pinned her against him when she squirmed, his hands firmly curled around her shoulders as he kissed the top of her head and tried to ease her. “If you can’t do this sort of stupid thing with your best friend, then I don’t know who the hell you can do it with.”
She shook her head but nonetheless buried her nose in the crook of his neck. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. All this is your fault! For being such an expert seducer—please don’t let go yet. I just want you to hold me. Jules, you smell so good….”
One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve…
Not enough. He could count to a million and it was not. Enough. Not enough of her. Not enough time. To hold her. Be with her. Drown in her.
A groan of pent-up desire rumbled up from deep within his throat as his fingers clenched around her waist. “I wasn’t seducing you, Molly—but you shouldn’t have tempted me to kiss you.” Unable to stop himself, he recklessly slid his hands upward to engulf her breasts as he heatedly nibbled on her earlobe. “Now I want to kiss you until you’re weak and pliant in my arms. Until you tell me what it is that you really want, because I don’t think you even know what you’re asking for—”
“So! Are you two finished in here—or do we have to call the fire department?”
* * *
The baritone voice that cut through Julian’s delicious, seductive words yanked Molly to full wakefulness. She jerked in Julian’s arms as if she’d just been dumped into the frigid waters off Alaska and straightened to see Garrett—the man she wanted to marry—standing just outside the open door. Landon stood next to him, and while Landon’s expression verged on amusement, Garrett did not look pleased.
And now he’ll think I’m a whore.
The sudden thought popped into her mind and she almost wanted to groan in self-pity.
Her cheeks glowed hot as Julian pushed her behind him in a stance that reeked of protectiveness, and she was grateful for that. Taking advantage, she hid against his back and frantically struggled to rearrange her dress and hair.
“We’ll be done as soon as you two dopes leave us alone.”
How Julian could sound so calm and collected, she didn’t know, because panic had gripped Molly by the throat and she could hardly even breathe now.
She’d wanted Garrett to imagine she and Julian had shared a little romp this evening. But she had never, ever expected to be caught while doing it.
What had she been thinking? She had clearly been undone by the strange, tantalizing complexity of Julian’s male scent, the desperate desires his mouth evoked, his kisses always somehow bringing the heartbreaking reminder of her night with Garrett at the masquerade. Every time she kissed Julian, her chest began to ache, and not in a good way.
“We apologize, but Mother sent us,” she heard Landon explain to Jules almost apologetically. “Not a task I was looking forward to.”
“I’m surprised she didn’t summon the whole party to come stop us,” Julian grumbled, and with one of his powerful arms, he slammed the door back shut.
Cursing low in his throat once they were alone, he extended an arm to keep the door closed and glanced past his shoulder.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” she said as she arranged herself frantically, wanting the small room to develop an appetite and suddenly swallow her whole. She couldn’t believe Julian had touched her breasts just now.