Handsome Bastard (4 page)

Finally through oiling him, she reached for the strigil and clasped it tightly to still her shaking hands. She began scraping away oil and sweat from his flesh. Never had she imagined enjoying such a revolting duty, but everything about Cyprian, from his scent to the feel of his skin, excited her beyond her darkest dreams.

When she’d finished, she wiped her hands on a towel and stared as he stood and walked to a low table across the room. He lay on his stomach, his head turned in her direction, and gazed at her, summoning her with a look alone.

At that moment, Leotine realized she had allowed him to control her completely. She had been sent to seduce him but he, with his beautiful demon eyes and sinful body, had been manipulating her instead.

Regaining control of herself, she called upon a lifetime of training and decided to take charge of the situation. She stood and approached using her most seductive walk while keeping an expression of wide-eyed innocence.

“Am I pleasing you, Master?” she asked softly.

“Yes. Apparently Julius Titus trained you well in the art of seduction, for I have never had a slave cleanse me with such
enthusiasm
.”

“Enthusiasm?” Leotine gritted her teeth. Was that comment meant to goad her? Why should it? This was, after all, what she wanted. To pose as his slave.

His eyes flickered in her direction and though he didn’t smile, she sensed his amusement.

“Come. Finish,” he ordered.

Oh she intended to finish and with any luck wipe that smug expression off his handsome face.

Starting at the base of his spine, Leotine massaged every inch of his back, alternating strong kneading motions with feathery strokes. Touching him aroused her so much that by the time she’d finished she was fighting the need to leap on him.

Cyprian’s breathing was frustratingly slow and measured. His eyes had even drifted shut in total relaxation.

She glanced at the sword across the room. If he had fallen asleep, she could possibly kill him now. No. It was too soon and that would be too easy. Once she had gained his trust and that of his slaves, she could attempt to take his life with a greater chance of success. She could steal a blade from the kitchen, perhaps even have access to poison. Though poison only rendered his kind unconscious, it would make killing him that much simpler.

Her hands swept across his broad shoulders then she used her thumbs to caress the back of his neck. The thought of killing this beautiful man, plunging a blade through his chest or burning him alive, suddenly made her sick.

With a grunt of pleasure, he turned onto his back, grasped her hands and tugged her atop him.

Again Leotine straddled him, their gazes locked. This time he deftly removed her tunic and flung it aside. Leotine quivered from head to toe, nearly overwhelmed by the sensation of her bare legs clasping his sides, her clit pressed against his swollen cock.

His gaze followed his hands as they swept over her hips and up her ribs to cup her breasts.

Leotine’s heart thrummed mercilessly. His touch was firm yet gentle and so marvelously warm. He kneaded her breasts and rolled his thumbs over the taut nipples, making them tighten even more. Tiny bumps of pleasure rose on their dark pink areolas.

A low, animal growl rumbled in his chest before he grasped her waist and hauled her up his body. She was forced to brace a hand on either side of his head to keep her balance. The position gave his mouth complete access to her breasts. Capturing one nipple between his lips, he laved it with his tongue.

Leotine gasped with pleasure, little tremors of desire coursing through her. When he sucked hard on the stimulated, berry-shaped nub, she moaned, enflamed by passion.

While he sucked and licked her nipple, his hands caressed her stomach, sides and back. He reached between their bodies and dipped first one, then two fingers inside her, exploring where she was so hot and wet.

“Oh,” she cried. “Oh please, Master, please.”

“Please?” he said between licks and sucks, a teasing edge to his voice that had become husky with desire.

“Please keep touching me.” Leotine gasped and writhed, no longer certain she was simply going along with this charade out of duty. In truth she
wanted
him to make love with her, give her the release her body strove for so desperately.

He withdrew his fingers that were now slick with her essence and began rubbing her clit. Leotine thought she might die from the pleasure. Groaning, she lowered her forearms to the table, allowing him to take as much of her breast as he could fit into his mouth. His hand moved from her clit and he grasped her waist while she pressed her soft mound against his cock and rocked her hips in an attempt to reach the elusive plateau of absolute fulfillment.

Just when she thought she would burst with pleasure, he pushed her back so her buttocks rested on his thighs. She caught herself on her hands to avoid tumbling over backward.

“Stop trying to control our pleasure,” he said, a wild glint in his eyes.

“But—”

“As enthusiastic as you are, I have far more skill in the ways of lust and you will obey me, not only because I am your master but because you want to experience pleasure such as you’ve never known.”

“And you can provide it?”

A slow smile spread across his lips. He eased his legs out from under her and leaned closer, his arms on either side of her thighs and his lips hovering over hers. He spoke in a husky whisper, far more influential than a shout, “I am lust itself, Leotine. You are now the slave of lust. Do you understand?”

She swallowed hard, her emotions twisted into a braid of anger, fear and unsurpassed desire.

“
Do you understand
?” he continued, his tone sinister yet compelling.

“Yes,” she replied. “Yes, Master.” Why did calling him master give her such a thrill, as did the idea of being completely possessed by him?

“Now,” he stretched out on his back again so she was forced to straddle him or leave the table, “you will take my cock in your hand, Leotine, and follow my instructions.”

She nodded, her heart beating out of control. Excitement rolled through her like stormy waves. Sitting back on his thighs, she did as he ordered and curled her hand around his erection.

“Stroke it with long sweeps, using the foreskin to tease the head. Yes. Like that.” He settled back more comfortably, folding his arms behind his head.

Leotine glanced at the well-defined muscles and also the sensual pattern of hair dusting his underarms. Then she again met his gaze.

“That’s right, my beauty, look in my eyes. See what you’re doing to me.”

For several moments she stroked him in that manner, seeing his green eyes darken with passion. He blinked very slowly, as if it had become a struggle to keep his eyes open against the pleasure.

“Now, Leotine, push down the skin and use your mouth on me.”

Not wanting to appear overly eager, Leotine moved slowly and allowed him to savor every touch. His legs spread wider so she could settle between them. Her arms slipped beneath his thighs and her lips hovered over the base of his cock, her breath fanning it gently.

“Explore it with your tongue. Learn my shape, my taste,” he said.

Using the tip of her tongue, she ran it up and down his shaft then followed the pattern with longer strokes. She licked and laved, outlining each vein and every inch of velvety skin. Then she focused her full attention on the head. She ran her lips over it and used the tip of her tongue to caress the eye. Taking it between her lips, she sucked with the same vigor he’d used on her nipple.

All the while he kept remarkable control over himself. She felt his body tense, but he never thrust against her or forced her closer. Probably because he had no need to. Leotine so enjoyed stimulating him in this way that she didn’t hesitate in drawing him so deeply into her mouth that his cock head brushed the back of her throat. She sucked, laved and teased until he finally grasped a handful of her hair and gently tugged her away.

“That’s enough,” he said, slightly breathless.

When she looked into his eyes she was suddenly reminded of his true nature. They had taken on an inhuman gleam, and through his parted lips she saw the glistening tips of his fangs. Though small and scarcely noticeable to the untrained eye, his fangs both frightened and aroused her.

Her fascination with blood-drinkers’ fangs had been a secret she’d kept carefully hidden from We Who Serve Humanity. Admitting such a thing was considered a crime among her people and called for severe punishment.

“You’re looking at my eyes,” he said. “I will explain about them at a later time, but now I want you to mount me. You will place my cock inside you and ride.”

Panting slightly with desire, Leotine obeyed. She straddled him again, grasped his cock and guided it to her slick passage.

“Slowly,” he said. “Very slowly.”

Inch by marvelous inch, she lowered herself onto him. While she let him fill her, Cyprian gently pinched and rolled her nipples, his touch one of pleasure-pain. By the time he was fully buried inside her, Leotine hovered on the brink of climax, her entire body taut and straining.

“Ride,” he stated, “but do not come.”

“I…don’t think I can.”

“It is my command.”

“But—”

“Do it.”

Offering her his hands to clasp as she rocked upon him, he stared at her through half-closed eyes. Leotine fought to hold his gaze, wanting to surrender to the urge to close her eyes tightly.

She moved upon him, trembling from head to toe as she struggled against the need to increase her speed and push to fulfillment.

“Stop,” he commanded.

She did as he said, shaking from head to toe, every muscle straining. Her eyes closed and neck arched back. Gasping, she struggled to maintain control over her lust-driven body.

“Please, Cyprian, please!”

“Come, Leotine. Come to me now.”

With a sob of pleasure, she rode him hard. Her pulse raced and every part of her throbbed, especially her cunt. It clamped hard around his cock, the sensations so intense they bordered on pain. Just before the last waves struck, Leotine felt him come. His hips thrust upward and a passionate cry escaped his throat.

She collapsed against him in a semi-swoon, her lips pressed against the side of his neck, her legs entwined with his.

After several moments, he sat up, lifting her. Leotine slipped her arms around his neck, gazing at him in wonder as he carried her to the bath and stepped in. She’d never imagined being with a man like this. Her life had been one of duty and though she had been trained in the art of seduction, she had never realized that a man might find joy in pleasing a woman, particularly a slave. Cyprian seemed to relish her lust.

Strange that the only man to ever treat her with this kind of tenderness wasn’t a man at all, but a creature she would eventually be forced to kill. All her life she had been taught to use lovemaking as a weapon. Until meeting Cyprian, the word lovemaking itself had been a terrible contradiction, for never had she lain with a man and felt the semblance of love.

He held her gaze then covered her mouth with a kiss that was both possessive and gentle. His lips felt firm yet soft and slightly moist. They moved against hers before he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Hers met it stroke for stroke, savoring his warmth and taste. He explored her completely while allowing her to do the same. Their tongues lapped and traced every soft curve, every smooth surface of tooth. Curious beyond measure, she carefully touched her tongue to the tip of one fang. She gasped at the sharpness. Oddly, she felt no pain, though she tasted a hint of blood.

Cyprian reacted similarly to when she’d sucked his cock. His body tensed and he growled deep in his throat. He held her tighter and his kiss became more aggressive.

Something in the back of her mind told her she should pull back and not tempt a blood-drinker in this way, but she didn’t want to move.

He released her, allowing her to slide down his body until she stood in the warm water, her mouth still locked against his. Leotine entangled her fingers in his short, damp hair and relished its thickness.