Lisa Plumley by The Honor-Bound Gambler Page B

stop feeling ashamed of that.
    “—so perfect,” Cade said at last. Seeming truly to mean it, he blessed her with a smile. “So perfect in every way.”
    “You’re joking,” she burst out. “You must be—”
    “Give me more,” he urged. “I’ll try to be gentler.”
    Warily, Violet raised her eyebrow.
    Sensing her skepticism—and feeling inexpressibly saddened by it—Cade stroked her cheek again. “I promise I won’t hurt you,” he said.
    Markedly unsure of that, all at once, Violet exhaled. She shook her head. “You can’t promise me that.”
    “I just did.” A very gentle kiss. “Believe me, Violet.”
    But it was too late. She’d already been reminded of the way her infrequent suitors usually reacted to her. She couldn’t help wondering: Exactly what, if anything, made Cade different?
    Astutely, the gambler gazed at her. “How many?”
    Violet blinked, surprised. “How many what?”
    “How many men have hurt you? How many have disappointed you? How many have made you believe in them, then let you down?”
    Shakily, Violet scoffed. “None,” she lied, subtracting every single man who’d courted her briefly, then revealed that he didn’t want to marry her, had found someone else, or had only wanted to meet Adeline. Irked that he could read her feelings and her past so well, she raised her chin. “None at all.”
    His gaze met hers. “Someday you’ll tell me the truth.”
    “How do you know I haven’t already?”
    “Because your whole body tells me you haven’t.” Tenderly, Cade ran his fingers down her arm. He stroked his thumb over her wrist. “I can feel you leaning toward me, wanting more—”
    She felt herself flush. Compared with him, she was so inexperienced. So gullible. So defenseless to protect her heart.
    “But a part of you always stays behind.” Cade’s coaxing hand swept along her arm. He watched its progress, seeming transfixed by the sight of his masculine hand against her lace-trimmed gown. “Give me more. I won’t disappoint you, I swear.”
    Violet tried to laugh. She tried to appear worldly and sure. Maybe if Cade believed she was sophisticated and carefree, he wouldn’t recognize the disappointment and worry she tried so hard to keep hidden. But it was too late. He already had.
    “Give over, Violet,” he urged. “Do it. It’s the only way to feel alive.”
    That was a reckless philosophy. Violet opened her mouth to tell him so, but Cade met her with another kiss. She lifted her chin to muster up a more assertive, more convincing stance, but Cade took advantage of her position to kiss her neck. Shocked to feel his mouth there above the lacy collar of her dress, Violet stiffened. Ardently, Cade kissed her there again. This time, a tiny, barely perceptible squeal of enjoyment escaped her.
    “See there?” Cade grinned. “ Now you feel alive.”
    She did. Her plan to fly to new heights was working, Violet thought in a daze. Never had she felt anything so wondrous as Cade’s warm mouth, his faint, raspy beard stubble, his hands and his breath and his body—so much bigger and stronger than hers—holding her close against him. His kisses moved onward, sliding from her neck to her jaw, and all the while he kept on speaking.
    “All I want is for you to feel wonderful,” Cade said in a low voice. “I want your heart to race...just like it’s doing right now.” Proving he’d noticed it, he laid her hand, covered with his, atop her heart. The gesture felt almost impossibly intimate. “I want your breath to pant and your knees to weaken.”
    Obligingly, her body complied. Violet didn’t understand. If she didn’t yet trust him, how could she be so responsive to him?
    “I want you to touch me, too, Violet.” Cade delivered another kiss, potent and sweet, just at the junction of her neck and jaw. “I want to feel your hands on me...just like this. Mmm.”
    At his soft moan, Violet opened her eyes. When had she closed them? Swoonily, she saw that Cade