Her Forbidden Gunslinger

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“You seem very much a man, Monsieur Gray.” The thought escaped before she had a chance to hold it back.

She heard his quick, indrawn breath and closed her eyes. Sometimes her recklessness ran away with her.

“Some would say only half a man.” The words quietly filled the silence, reminding her of just one of the reasons she was supposed to keep away from him. He was a half-breed.

The words shocked her and her hand rested on his arm before she could stop herself. “I don’t think that, Gray. I’m sorry if I said anything…” She saw his half-smile then and wondered if he had been testing her. “Sometimes I say outrageous things when I’m nervous.”

The muscles of his forearm flexed under her palm. “Why are you nervous?” His gaze pinned her, making the fluttering in her belly begin in earnest.

Sophie hastily removed her hand back to her lap. “I-I don’t know.” The question held a dangerous undertone and she wasn’t entirely sure she should encourage it.

His gaze touched her face before turning back to the road. When he did, she let out a breath she hadn’t even been aware of holding. Maybe it was best to leave things unspoken.

They turned left and drove the remaining three blocks in silence before pulling to a stop in front of the imposing three-story brick and stone mansion. She tried not to notice the warmth of his hand this time as he helped her down.

He walked slightly behind her as they ascended the front steps. Brand met them on the porch and seemed puzzled but only offered a greeting as he opened the front door for them.

Sophie smiled but kept silent as she walked inside and then up the elegantly curved mahogany staircase. Gray followed. The muffled sound of his boots on the stairs let her know he shadowed her. But it was the prickling of the skin along her back that told her how close he was. Something delicious and wicked flickered to life within her and settled low, just below her stomach.

She’d never felt excitement like it before and it made her hesitate a moment at her bedroom door. Even though Sinclair had entered the room many times at the end of the evening to collect her jewelry, it seemed taboo for Gray to go inside. She felt she should tell him to wait in the hallway, but as soon as she had the thought, she knew she wouldn’t. She took a deep breath and opened the door to see Anne, her maid, jump up in surprise. Whether it was alarm from Sophie’s early arrival or consternation at the tall figure that followed her inside, she didn’t know.

“Thank you, Anne, but I can manage tonight. Go to bed.” Sophie heard the words coming from her mouth but had no idea why she was dismissing the only person who might help her keep a grip on the sanity she felt slipping away. Because she wanted to be alone with Gray, and that was something that should not happen.

The girl seemed hesitant but intimidated enough by Gray’s presence that she merely nodded and left. Sophie opened her mouth to apologize for her maid and explain she was new but realized he would know that. Jean only allowed her to keep a maid for about six months before finding some reason to dismiss her or move her to other duties. Yet another way of keeping Sophie isolated.

Gray didn’t seem to notice, though, as he walked into her room and stood looking around. The intensity of his gaze made her blush. It was silly, but it seemed so intimate to have this rugged man in her private sanctum. The only place that was hers.

When his gaze settled on the blue satin counterpane across the bed, she quickly moved to her dresser. His presence was making her heart pound too fast. She needed him to go. She placed her sapphire earbobs on the polished surface and reached for the clasp of her necklace, but her fingers trembled too badly to get it open.

“Let me help.” Gray’s voice moved over her like rough velvet, causing her intimate muscles to tighten curiously.

Sophie’s wide-eyed gaze met his in the mirror as he came up behind her. A full head and neck taller than her petite frame, his deep stare held hers briefly before he looked down to the clasp. Sophie barely had time to recover from the intensity of that look before his fingertips touched the sensitive flesh of her nape. The contact sent thrills of excitement through her and made her clench her teeth to keep from visibly reacting.

The clasp opened and the long, heavy strand of sapphires and diamonds tugged across her neck and shoulder in a slow caress as it came away in his hands. It landed softly on the dresser and then his hand was on her shoulder. Her shocked gaze came up to find his in the mirror but it wasn’t there. He was watching his hand move slowly down the smooth skin of her arm. She looked, too, and became immediately fascinated by the contrast of his bronzed hand against her pale skin. She watched its leisurely progress until it covered her own hand, leaving her flesh tingling in its wake.

Sophie wasn’t sure who initiated the movement, but suddenly she found her back pressed lightly against the solid strength of his chest. His other arm crossed over in front of her and she realized she was in the loose cage of his embrace, where she wanted to be. She watched his graceful fingers as they efficiently divested her of her bracelet and placed it with the necklace on the dresser.

His body tensed as if to move, and she realized how badly she wanted him to stay. Nothing could happen, but she didn’t want the moment to end.

“My hairpins, too. They’re made of diamonds.”

Her gaze flicked to his in the mirror and she saw something there, something hot and smoldering. She welcomed its implication. Gray inhaled deeply as his hands released her wrist and moved to her hair. Sophie closed her eyes and savored his touch as one by one the pins dropped to the dresser with a click. Her hair fell around her shoulders and he might have stroked it once. The movement was so butterfly soft she couldn’t be sure, but the sensation reverberated within her a hundred times over.

If only things were different.

The sixth and last pin dropped to the dresser and Sophie reluctantly forced herself back to earth. But when she turned to thank him for his help, Gray’s hands rested heavily on the dresser on either side of her and he didn’t step back. She looked up but her gaze never made it past his perfect bow lips. She wanted to kiss them. To just once feel them on hers.

In her room, shielded from the rest of the world by the breadth of his body, it seemed like one kiss was possible. And before she could stop herself, Sophie leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. They were warm and after a moment’s hesitation, she felt them soften and part beneath hers. Then she tried something she had no idea she knew how to do; she touched that perfect bottom lip with the tip of her tongue.

Gray groaned softly. She fairly purred at the sound and her hands moved up his arms to his shoulders. His hands closed on her hips and pulled her against him causing her to gasp at the contact of her front to his. He pressed the advantage and the tip of his tongue gently pushed inside to brush hers. The foreign sensation of him, hot and moist in her mouth made her blood thicken and pool deep in that newly awakened part of her. He must have known, because his hands moved down below the bustle of her dress to cup her bottom where it met her thighs and pull her tight against him. Something hard pressed against her stomach.