Christmas At Thorncliff Towers Read Online Free PDF Page B

tongue to slip forward, her heart thrummed wildly.
    “My God,” he said gruffly. “You smell like summer rain.”
    Their bodies stayed molded together by pure lust. The feel of his muscles and his intoxicating scent reminded Karina that she’d never want any man but him. Would Constantin make her his tonight?
    “Come with me,” he said against her mouth.
    As he lifted her off the ground, Karina nuzzled close—and as he brought her to the rear of the stable house and laid her in the hay of an empty stall, she wondered again about Lydia Brentwood. She was tempted to ask him if he had feelings for the haughty governess, but she didn’t want to spoil the moment.
    His breath catching, Constantin laid next to her. With a firm hand, he reached over and cupped her face. After he gave her an admiring smile, he kissed her again—this time more deeply. Karina heaved forward and moaned against the softness of his moustache. Her limbs tangled with his. And when he grasped her tightly, hungrily, she pitched against him.
    “Karina—” he said in a guttural tone. No longer reserved, he veered his touch from her face to her breast and started fondling it through her dress. She clasped his hand to amplify the caress. Constantin countered by pulling down the trim of her neckline, exposing a breast.
    “Lord,” he murmured before he took her nipple in his mouth. He sucked it fiercely. She groaned and raked her fingers through his unkempt hair. His scalp was damp with perspiration and his body was glistening with sweat, but she didn’t care. To her, he was untamed and feral. Just the way she liked him.
    “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this,” he whispered against her bosom.
    “Tell me how long,” she rasped.
    “Since the day you jumped from the tree. It took a lot of bloody courage to do that.”
    He gave her a broad smile before he resumed working his magic on her breast. Joy rumbled through her. As he edged her thighs apart with his knee, a wave of lust warmed her soul. She gave a soft squeak when he reached a hand under her skirt and plucked her petticoat layers aside. And her cries of delight grew louder while he stroked his way inside her bloomers.
    But when his arousal pressed against her injured leg, she winced.
    “I’m sorry.” He met her stare for a moment.
    “It’s fine,” she replied.
    After he released her hair from her careful chignon, Constantin tilted her head back so that he could skim her throat with his tongue. As he lay next to her, he reclined, his weight on one hip. When their eyes met again, she studied him. He was a brick house of defined muscles and shimmering skin. Looking like a God under wisps of moonlight filtering into the stable house, he set Karina into an anxious pant.
    She ran a hand over his flat nipples. Closing her eyes, she urged him to kiss her again. He did. Her hand drifted over his muscled arm. Then it stopped when she encountered a puckered scar. What on earth? Since his face was so close to hers, she couldn’t take a look at it.
    Brows creased, she traced the scar with her fingertips. It seemed to have been caused by a deep scratch. An animal’s paw?
    A wolf’s handiwork ?
    The discovery sparked Karina back to reality. I want to know about the scar. Will it fuel Constantin’s transformation into a werewolf?
    Constantin was about to shimmy her dress lower when Lydia Brentwood barged in. Constantin and Karina jerked upright.
    “Look what I found in this woman’s room!” she fumed to Constantin. “I told you not to trust her!” Whipping her hand forward, she held up the tiny bottle that contained the elixir.
    Constantin scrambled to his feet. Meanwhile, Karina covered up and stood beside him, completely mortified.
    “Holy hell! What’s that?” he asked.
    “Why don’t you tell us, Sabrina Petri?”
    “It’s nothing,” Karina fibbed as her cheeks flamed. “An antidote for a werewolf bite. A little insurance against Lord Draven.”
    “You’re