A Scandal By Any Other Name

Rowan could actually feel his blood hot, rushing rapidly to his head. His heart hammered against his ribs with frantic, deafening thuds. His breathing instantly turned harsh and incredibly ragged.

Down below, hidden completely beneath the fine, dark wool of his tailored trousers, his body completely betrayed his polite intentions.

The intense heat of his deep desire flared up instantly. He felt his hard length struggling urgently, pressing tightly against the restrictive fabric of his clothing. He wanted her with a desperate, completely primal hunger that terrified and consumed him all at once.

He tried to speak. He tried to tell her to step back, to warn her that if she continued, he would not be able to stop himself.

"Del..." Rowan managed to say. His deep voice was a rough, broken, gravelly sound. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. He tried again, his hands gripping her waist almost desperately. "Del..."

Delaney smiled. It was a wicked, entirely victorious, beautiful smile. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, and she absolutely loved the massive power she held over him.

She did not step back. She leaned in even closer.

She turned her head slightly. She pressed her face right next to the side of his head. Her soft cheek brushed against his rough, unshaven jawline.

She leaned in and brought her lips right next to his ear.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth. She gently caught the soft, sensitive lobe of his ear between her teeth.

She bit his ear. It was not a hard bite, but a firm, sharp, highly teasing nip.

Rowan inhaled a sharp, ragged breath through his teeth. His large hands flexed tightly on her waist, pulling her even closer, entirely helpless against the sudden, shocking jolt of pure pleasure that shot straight down his spine.

Delaney kept her face pressed against his neck. She whispered softly, her warm breath ghosting directly over his sensitive, wet skin.

"Why are you hesitating, Rowan?" Delaney whispered, her voice low, husky, and incredibly seductive.

She moved her lips slowly, trailing a soft path against his jaw.

"You just said it yourself," Delaney reminded him softly, her words completely destroying the last of his logical defenses. "You just said we have broken society rules more than once already. So... what is wrong in breaking just a few more?"

Rowan squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He was losing the battle. He was a drowning man, and she was the deep, dark water pulling him under.

"We shouldn’t," Rowan groaned weakly, though his hands on her waist absolutely refused to let her go. "Aunt Margery, Ines... the house..."

Delaney smiled against his skin. She had already thought of everything.

"They are all busy with their lives," Delaney whispered, her voice a soft, tempting purr.

She began to list the empty household, completely erasing every single one of his polite excuses.

"Aunt Margery went out for morning tea with the mamas of the ton," Delaney murmured smoothly, her lips brushing his ear again. "Ines is with Edith, taking care of Harry. Duke Carcel rode out to his club an hour ago."

She moved her hands at the back of his neck, her fingers tangling deeply into his blond hair, holding him firmly in place.

"Even Celine is locked safely in her room, quietly reading a book," Delaney finished outlining her perfect plan.

She pulled her face back just a tiny fraction of an inch. She looked directly into his dark, stormy eyes.

"We are completely alone here, Rowan," Delaney promised him. "We have this whole space to ourselves."

To seal her wicked, beautiful argument, Delaney leaned forward one last time.

She opened her mouth and closed her lips completely over the exact spot on his earlobe where she had just bitten him. She sucked the soft skin gently, pulling it into the warm heat of her mouth.

It was a highly deliberate, intensely intimate, entirely devastating motion.

Rowan’s entire body shuddered violently. A loud, low groan ripped directly from the very bottom of his chest. His control did not just break; it completely shattered into a thousand tiny, unrecoverable pieces.

Delaney pulled back from his ear. She looked up at his strained face.

"Let go, Rowan," Delaney said seductively, offering him total, absolute permission.

Rowan let out another harsh, hungry groan. He moved with sudden speed.

He slid his hands around to her back. He bent his knees slightly, wrapped his arms completely around her, and simply carried her. He lifted her entirely off the floor with effortless, massive strength.

Delaney let out a soft, surprised gasp as her feet left the ground. She wrapped her legs tightly around his hips to steady herself, her arms clinging firmly to his broad shoulders.

Rowan did not carry her to the door. He did not carry her down the hall to a bedchamber. He was entirely too desperate. He could not wait another single second.

He took two long, hurried strides across the large study. He reached his desk. He did not care about the important estate papers.

He placed her down directly on the edge of the ldesk.

Delaney sat on the hard wood, her soft skirts pooling around her legs. Before she could even take a single breath, Rowan stepped firmly between her parted knees, completely trapping her against the edge of the desk.

He brought his large hands up. He framed her face, his thumbs resting gently on her cheekbones. He looked down at her with eyes that were entirely dark with consuming desire.

He leaned down and captured her mouth.

Rowan kissed her senseless.

His lips slanted firmly and completely over hers, demanding absolute surrender. Delaney met his passion entirely. She opened her mouth for him, letting out a soft, eager moan that was completely swallowed by his kiss.

Rowan’s tongue swept inside her warm mouth, tasting her, claiming her. He kissed her deeply, exploring every single corner of her mouth with a fierce, possessive rhythm. His hands moved frantically from her face, tangling deeply into her dark, soft hair, holding her exactly where he wanted her.

Delaney clung to him desperately. Her hands moved over his broad shoulders, gripping the fine velvet fabric of his smoking jacket. She pulled him even closer, wanting to feel every single hard inch of his large body pressed firmly against her.

The desk creaked slightly beneath her weight as Rowan pressed heavily into her. The quiet, polite study was instantly transformed into a private world of urgent heat.

He broke the kiss for a single, gasping second, desperately needing air. His chest heaved against hers. He pressed his hot forehead against hers, his breath completely ragged.

"Delaney," Rowan whispered roughly, his voice thick with raw need. "You will be the complete death of my sanity."

Delaney smiled, her lips swollen and red from his intense kiss. She reached up and pulled his face back down to hers.

"Then die with me, Your Grace," Delaney challenged him softly.

Rowan groaned loudly again, completely surrendering to her demand. He crashed his lips back down onto hers, kissing her deeply, thoroughly, and passionately.