Lisa Plumley by The Honor-Bound Gambler Page A

“So?”
    “So...” Vigorously, Violet gestured. “They’ll know what we’re doing in here! I’ll be ruined.” She gave him a quelling look. “You might be leaving Morrow Creek soon, but I’m not.”
    He laughed, then squeezed her hand as though to reassure her. “I left quite prominently after making my contribution to the church coffers. As far as anyone knows, you’re alone here.”
    Well...that might be true. Cade had used the exterior office door very effectively to enter without her noticing. More important... he was still going to kiss her. No matter who was nearby to know it or to happen upon them or even to disapprove.
    Agog at the realization, Violet backed up. Her bustle bumped into her father’s desk, stopping her retreat abruptly.
    She guessed this was what she got for toying with a notorious gambler—for pretending to be more sophisticated than she really was. In a last-ditch effort to retain her virtue, Violet tried some distracting chitchat. She pointed to Cade’s fine leather brogues. “I thought I recognized those shoes.”
    Another smile. “Don’t be afraid, Violet. I’ll be gentle.”
    “You’ll be...” Envisioning the possibilities inherent in that soft promise, Violet sighed. Tellingly. Swallowing hard, she nodded. “You’ll be very, very gentle? And quick?” She cast a hasty glance at the doorway. “Very, very, very quick?”
    “You’re new at scandalous behavior. I can tell.”
    “Try not to seem so amused by that. It’s rude.”
    “I’m sorry. I do admire your enthusiasm for the task at hand though. Not every sinner wants to conduct their sins quite so...efficiently as you.” Contritely and somehow wickedly, Cade took her other hand. “I never mean to be unkind to you, Violet. Please allow me to make up for my rudeness...with pleasure.”
    Oh my. “ Gently ,” Violet specified shakily. “And quickly !”
    “Hmm.” A low, speculative rumble escaped him. “I can’t rightly promise either...seeing as how I’ve been hungering for this every day since I saw you last.” Cade squeezed her hands again, almost longingly. “I want you, Violet. Let me have you.”
    Let me have you . No one had ever spoken to her that way before. So passionately, so stirringly...so commandingly .
    At Cade’s roughly voiced request, Violet could hardly refuse. Willfully, she nodded. Her entire midsection tightened with eagerness, filled with uncertainty about what came next.
    “Yes,” she began primly. “Yes, if you like, you may—”
    Kiss me , she was about to say, but Cade’s mouth came down on hers just as that last puff of breath was about to escape.
    Every bit of what she’d been thinking flew from her head. All that remained were Cade’s lips, surprisingly warm and firm and soft on hers, and Cade’s hands, releasing her hands to pull her whole body tight against his, and Cade’s hips, pressing against her skirts, crowding them against the desk behind her.
    His kiss was not gentle. It was not quick. It was hard and slow and probing and remarkable, and Violet wasn’t quite sure how—given how dizzy she felt with shock and amazement—she remained upright beneath it. Cade’s hands cradled her back; his lips slid over hers, making her mouth come alive with new sensations. A wild burst of...it could only be longing , she knew, rushed to her toes. Avidly, Violet grabbed his lapels and held on, but even that was not enough to steady her. She needed... more .
    “Oh, Violet.” Moaning with enjoyment, Cade pressed his forehead to hers. Intimacy rushed between them, heady and new. He stroked her cheek, pushing back a few errant tendrils of hair. He curled his knuckles against her jaw. “You’re so...”
    Helplessly, she froze, waiting for him to say something thoughtless or unkind. Once, a blacksmith’s apprentice who’d courted her briefly had kissed her, also. I never thought I’d find myself kissing you! he’d tactlessly burst out afterward.
    It had taken her days to