Everything and the Moon (The Lyndon Sisters #1)(8)

“I know, I know!” Victoria finally laughed, trying to stop him from pulling out all of her hairpins.

He shrugged. “Well, I do.”

But her father's words still echoed in her head. He will use you. “Do you truly?” she asked, staring intently into his eyes. “Do you truly love me?”

He grasped her chin with uncharacteristic force. “How can you even ask that?”

“I don't know,” Victoria whispered, reaching up to touch his hand, which immediately gentled its hold. “I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I know you love me. And I love you.”

“Show me,” he said, his voice barely audible.

Victoria licked her lips nervously, then moved her face across the inch that separated them.

The moment her lips touched his, Robert was on fire. He sank his hands in her hair, locking her against him. “God, Torie,” he rasped. “I love the feel of you, the smell of you…”

She responded by kissing him with renewed fervor, tracing his full lips with her tongue as he had taught her to do.

Robert shuddered, feeling white-hot need rock through him. He wanted to sink himself into her, wrap her legs around his waist, and never let go. His fingers found the buttons on her dress, and he began to undo them.

“Robert?” Victoria pulled away, startled by this new intimacy.

“Shhh, darling,” he said, passion making his voice rough. “I just want to touch you. I have been dreaming of nothing else for weeks.” He cupped her breast through the thin fabric of her summer dress and squeezed.

Victoria moaned with pleasure and relaxed, allowing him to complete his task.

Robert's fingers were shaking with anticipation, but somehow he managed to open enough buttons to let her bodice fall open. Victoria's hands immediately flew up to cover her nakedness, but he gently pushed them away. “No,” he whispered. “They're perfect. You're perfect.”

And then, as if to illustrate his point, he brought his hand forward and grazed the tip of her breast with his palm. Round and round he went, moving his hand in tiny circles, sucking in his breath as her nipple tightened into a hard bud. “Are you cold?” he whispered.

She nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again, saying, “I don't know.”

“I'll warm you.” He cupped his hand and wrapped it around her breast, branding her with the heat of his skin. “I want to kiss you,” he said hoarsely. “Will you let me kiss you?”

Victoria tried to moisten her throat, which had gone quite dry. He had kissed her a hundred times before. A thousand, possibly. Why was he suddenly asking her permission?

When his tongue drew a lazy circle around her nipple, she found out. “Oh, my God!” she burst out, barely able to believe what he was doing. “Oh, Robert!”

“I need you, Torie.” He buried his face between her breasts. “You don't understand how I need you.”

“I-I think we must stop,” she said. “I can't do this…My reputation…” She had no idea how to put her thoughts into words. Her father's warning rang ceaselessly in her ears. He will use you and discard you.

She saw Robert's head at her breast. “Robert, no!”

Robert inhaled raggedly and pulled her gaping bodice together. He tried to redo the buttons, but his hands were trembling.

“I'll do it,” Victoria said quickly, turning so that he would not see the red shame on her face. Her fingers were shaking, too, but they proved more nimble than his, and eventually she managed to right her appearance.

But he saw her pink cheeks, and it nearly killed him to think that she was ashamed of her behavior. “Torie,” he said softly. When she didn't turn around he used two fingers to gently prod her chin until she faced him.

Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

“Oh, Torie,” he said, wanting desperately to haul her into his arms, but settling for touching her cheek. “Please don't berate yourself.”

“I shouldn't have let you.”

He smiled gently. “No, you probably shouldn't have. And I probably shouldn't have tried. But I'm in love. It's no excuse, but I couldn't help myself.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But I shouldn't have enjoyed it so much.”

At that Robert let out a bark of laughter so loud that Victoria was sure Ellie would come crashing through the woods to investigate. “Oh, Torie,” he said, gasping for air. “Don't ever apologize for enjoying my touch. Please.”

Victoria tried to shoot him an admonishing glance, but her eyes were far too warm. She allowed her good humor to rise back to the surface. “Just so long as you don't apologize for enjoying mine.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him in the breadth of an instant. He smiled seductively, looking rather like the rake Victoria had once accused him of being. “That, my darling, has never been a danger.”

She laughed softly, feeling her earlier tension slip from her body. She shifted position, settling her back against his chest. He was absently toying with her hair, and it felt like sheer heaven.

“We'll be married soon,” he whispered, his words coming with an urgency she hadn't expected. “We'll be married soon, and then I will show you everything. I'll show you how much I love you.”