Tessa Dare

Madeline stood before him in a gown of rich, emerald-green silk. The low-cut bodice did miraculous things for her bosom, and the vibrant color made a striking contrast with her pale skin and dark hair. And her lips... something about the green brought out their richness. They looked like two lush slices of a ripened plum.His mouth watered.

A man might engage in flirtation with distinterest, even disdain. But he never teases without affection.

Ransom?_ She struggled to sit up. __hat are you do_?_ He laid his tongue to her core. __h._ She flopped back against the bed. __h._ God, she was sweet. Sweet and pink and musky and Izzy.

I slept well last night. But when I woke this morning, I missed you so intensely. I don't even know how to describe the sensation. I looked at the other pillow, and it just seemed wrong that you weren't there. As though I'd woken up missing my own arm or half of my heart. I felt incomplete. So I rose, and dressed, and I just started walking toward you--because I couldn't move in any there direction.

She'd been mad for him as a girl, but she'd chalked that up to youthful infatuation. She'd tracked the events of his life religiously for a decade, but she'd told herself that was idle curiosity. And now... now she desired him so much she could scarcely stand, but surely that was only lust. Wasn't it?

Why did men have to ruin everything? The answer was simple, she supposed__ecause foolish women gave them the chance

Mr. Sand, do you think it's possible to fall in love in the space of a single day?"He smiled. "I wouldn't know. I only fall in love at night. Never lasts beyond breakfast, though.

Don__. Don__ play that game._ His brow pressed to hers. __hen I heard you cry out ._._. it was like a saber to the gut. I wanted to die.

This was now officially the most inane conversation in which Griff had ever been a participant__nd that included a drunken debate with Del over ostrich racing.__he color isn__ too awful?_ She twisted a fold of the skirt. __he draper called it __ewy petal,_ but your mother said the shade was more of a __rosted berry._ What do you say?_____ a man, Simms. Unless we__e discussing nipples, I don__ see the value in these distinctions.

Perhaps... Perhaps he could make her happy. Not with the Granville money or his social cachet, but just by being the man he was, at his core. Sometimes, when he looked deep into those blue eyes, it felt like anything was possible.

There was a moment of tenderness between them, and for a moment he experienced the most rare, ridiculous emotion- hope.

He had years of experience and training. She'd unraveled them in a week, and he was left at loose ends. This distraction, this madness of desire and yearning- it was everything a man in his position needed to avoid. On second thought, perhaps his senses hadn't been muddled. After all, they had been meticulously attuned to detect the slightest hint of peril.This woman- this beautiful, unbiddable, all-too-perceptive woman- was his personal embodiment of danger. She could ruin him. Destroy everything he'd worked to become.And she would do it all with a smile.

What to make of this man? He was proper. He was passionate. He had the public demeanor of an iceberg, but he kissed her as if she were his oasis in a vast, arid d

Your breasts are alabaster orbs.' "What?" Rufus objected. "That's stupid. I'm not saying that." "Do you have some better suggestion?" "Why can't you just say she's got a fair set of titties?

Because I can only love you entirely. With everything I am, and everything I ever will be. Body, mind, heart, soul._ - Victor Bramwell, Earl of Rycliff.

We have to get out of here, Bram. Before they take our bollocks and use them for pincushions.

He kissed her. Without warning, without permission. Without even deciding to do it, but simply because he couldn't have done anything else. He needed that breath she was holding. It belonged to him, and he wanted it back.

I don't care who he is. He needs to disappear." Ransom turned and called out the window. "For the love of G-d man. I have England's sweetheart bent over the desk and panting for me. Go away and come back tomorrow.