//CLARA//
The kiss was punishing. His teeth caught my lower lip, tugging until I gasped, and he used the opportunity to deepen it. His tongue claiming every inch of me he could reach.
"You're not supposed to be in here," I managed between kisses, my palms flat against his chest. I could feel his heart hammering beneath the wool of his coat.
His lips dragged across my jaw, down the column of my throat as if he wasn't hearing me.
"Casimir please, listen to me—"
"You're wearing my ring." He pulled back just enough to look at me. His thumb brushed over the band on my finger. "And you're standing in a gown meant for another man."
His voice broke on the last word.
He kissed me again before I could respond, softer this time but no less consuming. His hands slid down my sides, feeling the rigid boning of the corset beneath the silk, the curve of my waist that had been compressed to please someone else's eye.
