She mocked his very thoughts. “Someone is keen to let me play.” One hand slipped inside the opening and touched him. He surged into her palm on a deep groan. Her other hand pushed and pulled his breeches apart. He lifted his hips to help her, all pretense of resisting gone under her arousing fingers.
She smiled saucily and leaned forward until he felt her hot breath on his skin. He reached up and pulled the pins out of her hair, threading his fingers through the silken mass to let her tresses glide over his sensitized skin. His body was on fire. He burned for more.
And she gave it. He came up off the floor as her lips touched the tip of his cock. She ran her tongue down the length of him and took one of his sacs into her mouth, rolling it around and licking it with her tongue. She nibbled back up the hard length of him, and he heard his own breathing grow louder.
“Christ that feels so good. Take all of me—please ...”
She lifted her head and gave him a victorious smile. There was something so erotic about her expression, with her lips glistening and puckered. He wanted to drag her down and kiss her senseless, but he’d rather she kissed another part of him altogether.
“I like the taste of you. Hmmm, all man.” And she licked her lips.
It was too much. Rufus cried out, arching up from the floor. “You’re driving me mad, Rheda. Please put me out of my misery, I’m begging you.”
She hesitated for a split second, and he thought that perhaps she’d meant to only tease him. That she’d not meant to let her supposed seduction go so far.
Then she bent and licked the tiny bead of moisture escaping from the tip of his member, and he was no longer capable of thought at all.
Rheda reveled in the power she held over this strong, virile man. He didn’t appear to notice that she had no idea of what she was doing. She was simply giving in to her desires. The reality of the doing was very different from being a voyeur. It was infinitely more arousing.
She let her mouth move over his skin, trailing kisses over his hip and down his thigh. She ran her tongue up the inside of his leg. He had a small mole near where his thigh joined his groin, and she kissed it tenderly.
He was warm and alive under her mouth and more beautiful than anything she’d seen. Rheda sensed the raw power and strength of the man beneath her, and it thrilled her to her core knowing she was in control. He was at her mercy and loving every minute of it.
The fact he wanted her was more exciting than she could have imagined. She swirled her tongue around the head of him. He was big, and he seemed to grow bigger with each touch of her lips. She had to open wide to take him completely into her mouth.
His groans were intermingled with his rapid pants, and the more she suckled and caressed him, the hotter grew her own desires. She could picture stripping off her gown and pressing her hot skin to his roughness. The urge to make love with him, his hard length powering into her, giving her pleasure while taking his own, was all consuming.
Only now did she fully understand why Daniel enjoyed “fishing” so much. For the first time she understood the command of lust and how it could be between a man and a woman. She was eager to partake in the feast.
All thoughts of keeping him occupied until the shipment landed fled. She was on a knife’s edge, and at any moment she hoped to lose her balance and spiral out of control. All she wanted was him. And she was going to have him.
Bliss. Pure unadulterated bliss. Pleasure like he’d never known before. Rufus was lost.
How he’d ever thought of her as innocent ... Her skills were being clearly demonstrated. Each touch, each lick, each suck, almost unmanned him.
He prayed for control. He felt her breath on his rigid shaft enticing his overheated and sensitized skin. She teased, playing him like an undisputed maestro. He wondered if he’d last much longer.
She continued stroking with her tongue, delicate little licks, like a cat, before her hot, wet, mouth swallowed him whole. Her mouth was strong and purposeful as she suckled him.
He was losing control, and he was normally always in control. He should put a stop to this and tumble her beneath him. Once on top he’d be the one driving her mad.
He gave a loud groan as she took him deeper into her mouth. Involuntarily, Rufus’s hips left the floor. Oh, yes, this is what he needed. He forgot all about dominating. He forgot all about finding her brother. All he focused on was pleasure. Just pleasure, pure and simple.
Rheda knew she was approaching the point of no return. She was on the verge of combusting. The urge to rip her own clothes from her body and join with him was like a dose of poison ivy. The insistent need to scratch was tormenting her, but she’d only itch more once she let herself indulge.
She was supposed to be in control. This craving wasn’t what she’d meant to happen.
Was this how he’d felt as he’d given her pleasure? Wanting her while denying himself more. He’d had the strength to walk away. Would she?
God, he was disciplined. She hoped she carried the same trait.
Please, she prayed, let him finish before she gave in and lifted her gown and straddled his pulsing member.
She knew he was close. His groans were escalating. His jaw was taut, and the pulse at his temple pounded. Rufus’s hips lifted, and he thrust himself deeper into her mouth. She clamped her lips firmly around him and suckled hard.
His hands sunk deep in her hair, pulling tight. She ignored the pain as he gave one loud bellow, while trying to sit up and pull out of her mouth, but Rheda wouldn’t let go. She wanted to taste him. Wanted all of him, and she felt his hot seed pulse deep in the back of her throat—salty and delicious.
Rufus collapsed back onto the throws, his eyes closed and his breath ragged in his throat.
She pushed up off him with trembling hands. She licked her lips and swallowed. She’d won. She’d made him lose control while maintaining her own. If only it was as easy to make him divulge what he’d do to Dark Shadow if he found the mysterious smuggler. Would Rufus understand?
She sat beside him, soaking in the beauty of him as he lay replete. His trousers were hanging open, his chest was covered in a fine sheen, and his stomach muscles contracted with each deep breath. She couldn’t help herself. She reached out and ran her fingers over his damp chest.
As she moved her fingers lower he grabbed her wrist. “Give a man a minute to recover,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Then I’ll make love to you until you faint from the pleasure. I promise you.”
Where would be the harm in that? her mind screamed. He looked like a god—he’d be heaven. The thought of his hands on her skin, his mouth on her breasts, she didn’t want to deny him.
Why should I?
The wild, unconventional Rheda Kerrich answered to no one. She’d taken risks plenty of times, but she shook her head, knowing to give into him would be reckless and dangerous.
She looked into his eyes and recognized the gleam within. She didn’t respond fast enough. He moved like lightning, and before she could blink she ended up flat on her back with a very large aroused male above her.
“Did you think I’d let you leave without a seduction of my own?” He laughed quietly beside her ear. He ground the evidence of his recovery against her stomach. “I’m going to pleasure you until you beg me to let you come. Or, until you confess the identity of Dark Shadow. Then and only then will I let you climax.”
How did such a threat feel like a promise? Rheda almost begged him to do his worst ... which would more likely be his best.
Her feverish brain was on fire. Her lips parted on a sigh, and she couldn’t help herself. Her hips rose to push against the hard length of him, and he chuckled deep in his throat. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
“It’s late. I should be getting back to my guests,” she whispered against his chest.
“I didn’t start this liaison, siren. From the minute I entered the room you were bent on my seduction. Here I am—more than willing.”
He knew he should leave. He had other places to be, other business to attend to. With a muted curse he decided Stephen could handle the baron. He’d use this blatant opportunity to try to break Rheda. They’d have leverage over Daniel if Rheda confessed to her brother’s black market activities.
Worry knifed through him because whatever her scheme, Rufus had to admit, it seemed to be highly effective. He was hard and tempted beyond sin. When he should be continuing his search for the baron his mind was focused on more personal desires.
He wanted her. The dam had burst, and under the torrent of desire his ability to resist had been swept away. He could no longer forgo the pleasure he’d find within her body. The skill she’d shown moments earlier, her mouth hot and tight on his aching shaft, had him wanting more. His body was fit to burst, and he no longer had the strength to deny himself.
For a long moment he met her emerald eyes. Was that fear or desire he saw reflected in their jeweled depths? What was she hiding? Who was she protecting? It would almost be a relief if it was Daniel. The thought of her protecting a lover sent his mind into a dark hole. He didn’t like the idea of her being another man’s lover. That should have sent icy fear down his back. He was getting too close.
Whether from fear or desire, he was mesmerized by her body’s response to him. He leaned down and took her mouth. She opened to him, absorbing the slow, penetrating motion of his tongue.
As the tentative thrust of her tongue met his, Rufus groaned, “I’ve wanted you for so long.”
She moaned and moved restlessly beneath him.
“I know your body craves my touch. Your breasts ache, your belly tightens, and the place between your thighs grows damp.” She was making small sounds of pleasure deep in her throat, and she gasped as his hands freed her breasts and his fingers tweaked her hardened nipples. “I shall ask a question, and for each correct answer you will be rewarded with a stroke from one part of my body.”
To demonstrate, he kissed her again, his tongue stroking deep within her mouth. He tangled his fingers in her silken hair, remembering the feel of it on his bare torso—scorching. He drank from her sweetness, but instead of dimming the fire, it caused the desire to ignite and erupt in a blaze of heat and need.
In the flickering firelight he could feel her hapless gaze search his face. She licked her lips, and his member jerked against her stomach. “We shall see who breaks first. I think you want me more than you’re admitting. I’m sure I can last longer than you.” To prove her point she lifted her hips and rubbed herself intimately against the hard ridge of his erection.
He gave a husky laugh. “I love a challenge.” He drew back. “Fair’s fair, my love. You had a taste of me, now it is my turn.” With those words he slowly swept his hand down her body, feeling every soft curve through the silk of her gown before pausing at the juncture of her thighs. He felt her shiver under his hand.
His eyes held hers for a moment as he raised her skirts to bare her delectable flesh, but she made no protest. Her thighs parted on their own accord as his palm stroked along the warm satiny skin.
Rufus lowered his mouth to her puckered nipple, suckling her as his hand rose higher on her thigh, and he fingered the soft folds at their damp apex.
She was wet silk between her legs, aroused as much as he. Yet, even as his body screamed to take her, he ruthlessly controlled his savage need. He wanted her dripping, begging him to take her, and then he’d demand to know her secrets.
He rose on all fours and swept his gaze over her. She looked beautiful beyond words. Her breasts gleamed milky white in the firelight. Her skirts bunched up at her waist allowed him a perfect sweeping view of her gazelle-like legs and the honey-colored hair that surrounded his prize.
“I know your brother is Dark Shadow. However, he was too young to have set up the ring. Who is he working for?” Rufus was certain the mastermind behind the ring must be the spy he sought. It was the perfect cover. Put a young pup in charge of the operation so if he were caught, everyone would assume all that was transacting was simply smuggling by a young nobleman in need of funds.
She stiffened at his words. “Ring? What ring?” she uttered breathlessly.
He moved slowly, placing kisses down her slightly rounded stomach until at last he could breathe in the heady scent of her desire. As he sat between her thighs he gave a knowing smile. “Are you ready for this, Rheda? Can you imagine what my tongue will feel like upon you?”
She squirmed, lifting her hips in a silent plea.
He bent and set his tongue to her, lapping lightly before drawing back. “A name. Give me a name, and I’ll give you more. You’ll find the bliss even deeper when I’m sheathed deep within you and we are fully joined.”
Her voice so soft he almost didn’t hear her, said, “Pleasure is not a good enough reason to betray a trust. Not even pleasure with you.”
He nodded and ran his finger between her silken folds. “I can offer so much more. My desire for you is not faked. With your skills you’d make me a fine mistress. I can offer you security.” He slipped a finger inside her. “I can offer you your dream—horses. I’d help you establish your stud.”