Despite Larkin’s night blindness, her other senses came alive. She heard the give-and-take of their breath, growing in urgency. Felt her heart kicking up in tempo, knowing it beat in unison with Rafe’s. Powerful hands swept over her and she caught the agitated rustle of clothing that punctuated the tide of desire rising within her. And all the while, the flare of energy centered in her palm spread heat deep into blood and bone, heart and soul.
“Are you sure this isn’t breaking your promise to Primo?” she whispered.
His hand slipped around behind her and found the hooks to her bra. One quick twist and the scrap of lace loosened. He released a husky laugh. “I’d say we were teetering on a thin line.”
She pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her blouse and the straps of her bra and wrapped them around his neck. “A very thin line. Maybe a kiss tonight before you leave?”
Even as the words escaped, his mouth found the joining of her neck and shoulder. Her muscles locked and her spine bowed in reaction. She’d never realized that particular juncture of her body was so sensitive. She released a frantic gasp, a small cry that held the distinct sound of a plea. How was it possible that such a simple touch could have such an overpowering effect? She couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around it.
He cupped her breasts and drew his thumbs across the sensitive tips. Tracing, then circling, over and over until she thought she’d go crazy. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, and already she was insane with a need she couldn’t seem to find the words to express.
“Rafe, please.”
She couldn’t admit what she wanted. It was all twisted into a confused, seething jumble of conflicting urges. The urge for more. Far more. The need to stop before she lost total control. Or was it already too late for that? The sheer, unadulterated want to wallow in the heat and desire of his touch. This was wrong—not that she dared admit as much to Rafe. But she knew. And the knowledge ate at her. She shifted restlessly beneath him and he stilled her with a soothing touch.
Cupping her face, he took her mouth, obliterating the wrong beneath a kiss of absolute rightness. It was sheer perfection. Where their earlier kisses were filled with heat and demand, this one was far different. It soothed. Gentled. Offered a balm to the senses. The desperation eased, grew more languid, and she found herself relaxing into the embrace.
“You know I want to take this further,” he murmured against her lips.
“You also know we can’t. I couldn’t look your grandparents in the face if—” She broke off with a shiver.
“Then we won’t.” She could hear the smile in his voice and feel it in the kisses he feathered across her mouth. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t come close.”
She squeezed her eyes closed. “That’s torture. You realize that, don’t you?”
“Oh, yeah. But I can take it if you can.” A warm laugh teased the darkness. “I think.”
“We’re playing a dangerous game.”
“Do you really want me to stop?”
She considered for an entire five seconds. What had happened to her willpower? She’d never found it difficult to hold a man at arm’s length. Until now. But with Rafe… For some reason he affected her in ways she’d never expected or experienced before. Everything about him attracted her. His looks. His intelligence. His sense of humor. His strength. His compassion. Even his family ties—especially his family ties. They all appealed. And then there was her physical response to him. She’d come here wanting something specific from Rafe. What she’d gotten in its stead had been totally unexpected.
She slid her arms downward, surprised to discover that at some point his shirt had disappeared. “What if this isn’t real? What if The Inferno is causing us to feel this way?”
She sensed his surprise at the question. “Is that what you think? That your response is caused by a myth?”
Larkin attempted to control her hands, but they had a mind of their own, sweeping over the sculpted muscles of his chest. They were so hard and distinctly masculine, so deliciously different from her own body. “I…I’ve never felt like this before. I’m just trying to understand—”