Lisa Kleypas - Give Me Tonight

"Stop it, Ben! I've had to put up with enough of this for one night! If you don't let me go, I'm going to have you fired first thing tomorrow m-"

"Shut up."

"I will not! You let me go, you stinking bully-"

"I said shut up!" His tone was so vicious that Addie was startled into silence. "Count yourself lucky I'm trying to remember your father right now. It's only out of respect for him that I'm not going to give you what you deserve. Dammit, stop wiggling!'

Her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and she glared at him furiously. "If you're not going to give me what I deserve, then get off me!" His response was to straddle her and dig his lips into hers. Even through her skirts she could feel the hard, protruding shape of him wedged between her thighs. The feel of him there, pressed against her so hard that their bodies seemed meshed together, made her tremble. Warm weakness seeped outward and upward from her loins, irrepressible, relentless.

No. She couldn't feel such a thing, not for Ben Hunter… her enemy… he was deadly… he was forbidden. In a sharp move she brought her knee up, trying to disarm him. Deftly he shifted so her knee struck the inside of this thigh, which was as solid and unyielding as a tree trunk. He pulled up the billows of her skirts and used his knees to spread her pantalet-encased legs wide.

"Is this what you're so anxious to avoid?" he demanded, lowering his hips to hers, and she gasped. He was startlingly turgid and hot as he pressed against her. "Because this, " he continued, grinding his loins harder into hers, sending shock waves through her body, "is the result of all your little smiles and schemes, Addie-"

"I've never tried to arouse you on purpose-"

"You can do it to a man just by looking at him, and you know it. Hell, I don't blame Jeff for wanting you. It's the little game you play, making a man crazy with need for you and then freezing him out. "

"No! I don't!" Addie stared up at him through the darkness, shaking with unfamiliar emotions. She was stunned by his violent anger. What had she done to make him so furious?

Ben's face loomed above her. His eyes gleamed like a eat's as he took note of the labored hiss of her breath and the curving of her fingers into claws. "You'd scratch my eyes out if you could," he muttered.

"Worse than that," she said, aware he was toying with her, hating him for it. "I'm going to make you pay for treating me like-"

His mouth slammed down on hers. It was a kiss of anger, not passion, meant to show her who was master. She groaned and fought him with all her strength. After nearly a minute had passed by, she realized how useless it was and went limp, surrendering. Finally Ben stopped and lifted his head, the harsh puffs of his breath striking her cheek. She knew his lips had to feel as bruised as hers did, but the thought gave her little comfort.

"Are you finished now?" she gasped. "You proved you're a big strong man. I'm sure you're satisfied. You won. There's just one thing I want to make clear. I heard what you said to Jeff a few minutes ago. Don't you ever call me property again. I'm not anyone's property, not my father's, and not yours. So remove your paws and get the hell off me!"

He glared down at her, unimpressed by her fury. "When I'm ready."

"What do you want me to do?" she exploded. "Pretend I enjoy this?"

"Maybe. Yeah, let's try that."

"Go to hell! The only thing I feel for you is disgust. "

He was silent for a few seconds, looking over her and then shaking his head as if to clear his mind. "I guess you do. But tonight I haven't exactly been enchanted by you, either."

He shifted his weight off her, letting go of her wrists and fitting his thigh over her hips to keep her pinned down. Suddenly she could breathe again. Her arms fell by her sides, tingling as the blood began to circulate through them. She lay still, waiting for him to release her, trying to gather her wits.

Ben's eyes flickered over her chest as it rose and fell rapidly. Even bound in stays and tangled up in skirts as Addie was, there was no mistaking the enticing shape of her body. He couldn't help but recall the feel of her breasts crushed against his chest, the soft cradle of her hips. His anger vanished just as quickly as it had been roused, replaced by a purely masculine interest. He should be fired on the spot for what he'd just done to her, for the way he was lying over her right now with his thigh slung over her. Russell would string him up by the balls if he knew.

And yet, somehow he was certain Russell wasn't going to find out. Not if Ben's instincts concerning Addie were right. If she felt anything similar to what he was feeling, she wasn't altogether sorry she was in here alone with him. Of course, she'd never admit it. Ben looked down at her, debating his next move. Let her up and apologize? It would probably be best… but something inside rebelled at the thought of letting her go just yet. As long as he had her at his mercy, why not take advantage of it? She wouldn't hate him any less. And to hell with his scruples. He wanted her so badly he was about to burst into flames.

"You're sure disgust is all you feel, Addie?"

"Yes," she said sullenly.

"Not meaning to contradict you, darlin', but a little while ago I could have sworn you felt something very different from disgust. Just for a few seconds, you-"

"I don't care what you like to imagine, I didn't feel anything!" By now Addie was thoroughly humiliated, longing for the entire episode to be over. To compound her confusion, Ben bent over her and kissed the tip of her nose, as if they'd just had a friendly argument. Addie was utterly bewildered. There was never any way to predict what he might do.

"I'm sorry for calling you property," he murmured. "I didn't mean it."

"You did, or you wouldn't have said it. You're like all the other men around here. I can't abide the attitude you have toward women."

His lips smoothed over her eyebrow, then touched her eyelid in a butterfly caress. "Then help me change."

"I… I don't c-care if you change or not. I just want…" Her heart began to hammer in her chest as he kissed her chin. What was he doing to her?

"You want what?" he prompted, sliding his arm underneath her neck. She tried to push him away. But now that he had her in his grasp, he wasn't about to let her go.

"I want you to l-leave me alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said faintly.

"Think I could change your mind?" His voice was as raspy as a cat's tongue, the sound of it sending shivers down her spine. She blinked, forgetting what he'd asked until he repeated the question.

Shaking her head jerkily, Addie made a move to get up. "You didn't say you were s-sorry for k-kissing me."

"I'm not."

"It hurt."

"That I'm sorry for." He picked up one of her hands and brought it to his jaw, stroking the back of her knuckles against it. The gentle scrape sent an electric shock down to her toes. "Your hand is so small." As she tried to pull it away he held it more firmly and pretended to examine the rest of her. Slowly he smiled. "Why, you're no bigger than a minute, Adeline Warner."

"Big enough to handle you," she snapped, and went scarlet as he chuckled.

"You might be at that."

"Oh, let me go, you crude, overbearing… I'll never forgive you for… No, Ben-"

"No what?"

"Don't do that.'

"Don't do what?"

"Ben-"

Her words were smothered as his mouth possessed hers, insistent and skillful, kissing her as she had never been kissed before. Feebly she tried to turn her face away, but he cradled the side of her cheek in his hand, his thumb tracing over her temple in a delicately drawn circle. He kissed her as thoroughly as he'd wanted to for weeks, exploring the inside of her mouth, savoring the texture of her inner cheeks, the ticklish spot at the roof of her mouth, stroking her tongue with his. She trembled, no longer trying to fight him, and her lips parted as she began to drown in a sea of fire. They kissed frantically, delving, tasting, consuming.