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She stopped as she heard the chatter ofthe hallway Exasperated and desperate, she whirled around to find a door that she could slip through, to keep fro her in one arm, Hunt hauled her inside the closest roo the shape of the piano and the clutter of music stands, Annabelle jerked away from Hunt He reached out to steady a flimsy music stand that had nearly been overturned by the brush of her skirts "If you can stand to be Hodgeha as she retreated farther into the music room, "God knows you can stand to be mine You could say that you’re not attracted toTell me your price, Annabelle Any sum you’d care to naet this over with--I’ve had enough of waiting for you"

"How roh "My God Your proposition is so in your assumption that et Lord Kendall to e to hi hell for you He’ll never love you He’ll never even know you"

"I don’t want love," she said, stricken by his words "I just want--" She paused as a sudden pain centered in her chest, in a ball of unendurable coldness Staring up into his unreadable face she tried again "I just want--"

There was a sound at the door The knob began to turn Startled, Annabelle realized that someone was about to enter the roo Kendall would vanish like soinstinctively, she seized Hunt’s ared him with her toward an alcove by the , fra on a brass rod The only thing in the alcove was aseat upholstered in velvet, with a few books stacked carelessly on one side Jerking the curtain shut, Annabelle flung herself on Hunt and clapped her hand over his mouth, just as someone…or sever also me ones…entered the music room She could hear theand clanking that perplexed her until she heard the plucking of out-of-tune violin strings Oh, God The musicians had coan In all likelihood she was just about to be comproh light spilling over the top of the curtain to cast a faint glow over their features-- enough for Annabelle to see the evil smile that had suddenly appeared in Simon Hunt’s eyes One word or sound fro circumstances, and she was done for Her hand pressed harder over his mouth, her eyes only inches froaze that threatened led with the sound of instru held until they joined in har if they would be caught, Annabelle stared blindly at the curtains, willing theainst the edge of her hand and realized that his jaw had gone taut Glancing at him, she saw that the aze, replaced by a look that was farto hammer so heavily that it hurt, and she stared at hiers were still claan to pryat the with the sainst the side of her hand Her head moved in a stiff little shake, and she strained away frohtened around her waist She was utterly trapped…helpless to prevent Sier was pulled away, and Hunt pushed her hand down and gripped the back of her neck Her fingers fluttered against his sleeves, her upper body arching slightly as his grasp on her nape tightened He was not hurting her, but he had le As his head lowered, her lips parted with a silent gasp, and her entle but sure as he coaxed a response fro everywhere, helpless against the onslaught of a desire like nothing she had ever known before Thecoer to her She wanted hihtened her The pressure of his lips floated lightly over hers, straying briefly to her chin, her cheek, leaving trails of soft fire wherever they ventured, before he returned to her mouth with ainst hers, the silken touch so unexpected that she would have recoiled had he not been holding her so tightly

The elegant cacophany of theher of the imminent possibility of discovery She forced herself to relax against Hunt, her body shaking For the next few , just so long as he didn’t betray their presence Hunt tasted her again, searching with subtle strokes of his tongue She was shocked by the intimate exploration, and even h the vulnerable places of her body Delicious weakness overtook her, and she wobbled in his hold, her hands groping for his neck, his hair, the locks thick and silky against her fingers The tentative inquiry of her hands caused him to draw an out-of-rhythm breath, as if her touch had affected him intensely He slid one hand up to the side of her face, cradling her cheek as he pulled back just enough to nibble and tease, catching gently at her upper lip, then the lower one, lavishing her with feathery brushes of warmth Co him back down to her, and when hiskiss, she nearly moaned aloud Before the sound could escape her dilated throat, she tore her ainst his shoulder

She felt the quick rise and fall of his deep-vaulted chest, and the hot rush of his breath against her hair Grasping the mass of pinned-up curls at the back of her head, he pulled her head back to expose her throat The burning path of his lips began at the tiny hollow just beneath her right ear, awakening exquisitely sensitive nerves as he traced the line of a delicate vein with his tongue His fingers slid over the top of her shoulder, his thu the fragile architecture of her body Nuzzling the side of her throat, he found a place that ered there until she felt anotherto break fro at hied to divert hiht herkiss His palm brushed over the silk that covered her breast, once, twice, thrice With each slow pass, the heat of his skin sank through the veil of fabric As her nipple tingled and budded, he stroked it tenderly with the backs of his fingers until it tightened evenpressure of his kiss forced her head back in a position of surrender, opening her to the lazy caress of his tongue, the artful investigation of his hands This wasn’t supposed to happen, her nerves shattering with pleasure, her body consu in those silent, febrile moments--she lost awareness of time, of where they were, and even who she was All she kneas that she needed hihter…his skin, his hard flesh, his ripped at his shirt until it loosened fro handfuls of the starched white linen in desperate need of the warm skin beneath He see this level of desire--his kisses beca tostrokes However, the , the worse it beca frantically beneath his, her body twisting in an anxious rhyth her in a crushing eainst the flushed curve of her neck and shoulder Annabelle was absurdly grateful for the brutality of his grip, his ar heavy bands ofThey stood like that for what seemed an eternity, until Annabelle beca the past few minutes, thehis head, Hunt slowly reached for the edge of a curtain panel andthat the music room was e the tip of his thu hair that had fallen over her ear

"They’re gone," ca whisper

Too stunned to think coherently, Annabelle looked at hiertips traced the hot surface of her cheek, the swollen cushion of her lips With so response of her unappeased body, the renewed vigor of her pulse, the wash of pleasure that slipped over her skin That was the time to pull away from him, or her disappearance would soon be rerily absorbing sensations as Hunt continued to caress her His hand s of his fingers, even as he bent and kissed her er hold back the sounds; the small sobs that broke froht bodice of her goas loosened The cut of the neckline had made it impossible for her to wear a corset with cups-- instead she had worn an under-the-bust style that had left her brsts unconfined beneath her che to kiss her, Hunt drew her doith him to the upholsteredseat He cradled her in his lap, his fingers s bodice doard, and he ainst her mouth as he discovered the fullness of her breasts Suddenly frightened by the realization of what she was allowing, Annabelle pushed weakly at his wrist He lifted her body higher and pressed his mouth to the center of her chest, where her heart thuular rhythm His supportive arms maintained the arch of her back as his lips slid doard to investigate the plump rise of her breast At the touch of his passion-heated breath on her nipple, she stopped straining and went still, her hand balling into fists against his shoulders He took her into his ently until the peak et and tender-hard, and her veins were filled with si honey He whispered reassurances as his hand slaze ofincoherently, she circled her arasped as his ently

A new urgency crept through her, so hten rhyth need--she could feel the violence of his heartbeat and the strain of his lungs as they labored with each breath But he seemed far more able to bridle his passion than she, thecareful and controlled She thrashed in the densely layered silk of her gown, her fingers clawing at the sleeves of his coat and waistcoat--toomad with the need to feel his skin on hers

"Easy, sweetheart," he whispered against her cheek "Relax No, lie still in my arms…" But she couldn’tof her hps and the shivering pleas that came from her kiss-bruised mouth

Hunt continued tohis lips over her face, his fingersthe delicate hollohere her pulse beat frantically She felt hi her as if she were a doll, fastening the back of her gown At one point he even gave a soft, shaky laugh, as if bemused by his own actions Later, she would come to reflect that he had seeht then, in the flush of frustrated longing, she could not unravel her tangled thoughts As the desire ebbed fro residue of sha fro She could sum at hih the paneled curtains, she left the room as quickly as she was able and bolted down the hallway

CHAPTER 17

After Annabelle had fled the music roo to settle his roaring passion, letting the fire in his blood cool He straightened his clothes and raked a hand through his hair,his next move "Annabelle," he muttered, more troubled and confused than he had ever been in his life The fact that he had been brought to this state by a wo He, as known as a crafty and disciplined negotiator, had made the clumsiest possible offer for her, and he had been roundly rejected Deservedly so He should never have tried to force her to name a price before she had even adht be sleeping with Hodgehaeham, of all men, had nearly driven Simon mad with jealousy, and all his usual skills had deserted hi how it had felt to kiss her, to finally caress the war to boil up inside hiht he was fainable But he had just forcibly beenwith Annabelle would be a different ether The experience would involve his e that he could not yet bring himself to exaerous--no less so for hiain some perspective on the situation At thethe htened the knot of his black silk necktie Tension strung through his li him feel predatory and volatile as he walked toward the ballroo His tolerance for extended parties had never been high--he was not a man who enjoyed hours of indolent chatter and idle aone, had it not been for Annabelle’s presence at Stony Cross

Brooding, he went into the ballroolanced speculatively over the crowd He i a chair in the corner with Lord Kendall at her side Kendall was openly infatuated with her, his enraptured gazeno secret of his interest Annabelle looked subdued and flushed, seeaze She spoke very little and sat with her hands tightly knotted in her lap Simon’s eyes narrowed as he watched her Ironically, nohen Annabelle was feeling diminished and uncertain, Kendall’s attraction to her had finally taken root It would be a nasty surprise for Kendall later, if Annabelle did get hi, to find out that his as not the tienue that she seemed She was a woman of spirit and passion, a decidedly ath Kendall would never be able to entleent in the wrong ways Annabelle would never respect him, nor would she take any pleasure in his virtues She would cos she should have admired…and Kendall would shrink from the qualities in Annabelle that Simon would have relished