Especially in the particular manner she intended to seduce him. The manner that first occurred to her after seeing the lewd and laugh-inducing cuckoo clock, the manner that beckoned even more after today’s Mistress Lessons…
“I recognize I may pay for my unmitigated impertinence, taking control as I am. But alas, whether I am taken to task tomorrow or not, tonight you may not tell me ‘Nay’. Not until morning light.”
Fat drops of rain spattered onto the windowpane, and for the first time, she took note of the lit candles around the room, of the huge, ornate bed worthy of a king, the velvet bed hangings in a rich navy hue, the thick coverlet turned down to reveal smooth and inviting sheets. Why, the chamber appeared almost as though his servants had expected, or hoped, she’d stay the night—everything tidied and readied for seduction. Little did they know ’twas to be his!
Their surroundings bolstered her as she stepped from her stays and readied herself to remove her shift—all that remained. Hands on the bottom edge, Thea stopped to offer an apologetic look at the naked man staring at her with shining amber eyes. “One of these days—I mean nights—I do so hope to wear the extravagant night rail you gave me.”
“Nnnn—” He closed his eyes as though in great pain and she didn’t have the heart to chastise him, seriously or in jest. After a slow exhalation, he looked at her again. She nodded, a tiny movement meant to give encouragement or permission—or forgiveness. Mayhap all three. Whatever he needed. “Not…n-necessary.”
She smiled brilliantly. “Something to anticipate, then?” He nodded and she bravely whipped off her shift. “There! Now ’tis to bed with both of us.”
“Nay.”
Hands to her bare hips, she frowned. “Did I not just give you orders to the contrary of expressing that particular sentiment?”
He stood, unashamed and glorious in his nakedness. Branding her with his open hand at the base of her spine, he steered her to his dresser. Upon which sat two matching boxes, each tied with a bright green ribbon. The boxes were long and slim, and when he flipped them over, she saw folded notes tucked within the ribbons.
Smiling, she reached for the one labeled For You. He cuffed her wrist and nudged the other box in front.
Sensation traveled up her arm. “But this one says For Me, which I assumed meant you.” When he stroked her skin, a blaze of heat landed somewhere south of her belly. “Judging by how you’re grinning, would I be correct to hazard it’s for both of us?”
Open, he mouthed.
She unfolded the For Me note and read aloud. “Seeing as how the other necklace is for you to wear in public—long overdue, I might add. I cannot believe I haven’t sent you jewels sooner— Really, Lord Tremayne—how you’ve spoiled me already! And we’ve only known each other, what? A week?” Thea counted backward, more surprised with every day she didn’t encounter. “Five days. Gracious, but it seems longer, does it not?”
In answer, he pointed to where she’d left off.
“Very well,” she huffed. “But I expect a full accounting of your life until this moment after you’ve rested.” He made such a face that she laughed till her cheeks hurt. “Not exactly a prattlerate?” She nuzzled her lips to the tempting muscles on his upper chest. “I can be very persuasive, you know. Entice you to sing for me, I daresay, if the reward is sufficient.”
“Read!” he barked, but his eyes were smiling. “And please, call me D-D-Daniel.”
Though she saw his shoulders tense, he didn’t frown at the stumble.
“I’d be honored,” she answered simply, not wanting to make anything of it. If he’d just continue to open up more, he could take as long as he wanted with every word he thought to utter. “All right. Where was I?”
She scanned the page, shoring up both her spine and her voice. “All right. Here. Sent you jewels sooner but I hope the other makes up for the recent lack. Now this one, my dear Thea— I love it when you call me that. This one reminds me of your beautiful n-nipples— Ack! Now you have me doing it too!” She stared at him aghast. “I cannot believe you wrote that—”
“Thea.” It was a rasp that heated her blood. “You wrote…my head…” His voice scratched softer and harsher over each syllable. “…Your lap.”
“Oh. So I did. Now truly, you must rest your neck. It sounds as though you’ve been in a screaming contest and have drained yourself to a frazzle.”
He pointed.
She read, despite the heat flushing her face with every boldly inked word slashed across the page. “Your beautiful nipples, so bright and cherry-tipped…”
Daniel was hard-pressed not to rip the note from her hand, bend her over his dresser, and plumb her depths until she screamed his name. Until she went hoarse.
Primitive instincts aside, it was an easy thing to tame that urge of his. Because, by God, she was in his room, and for once, despite their nude state, despite what she was reading and the perfume of her arousal, for once she wasn’t trembling.
Nay, she was giving voice to his words with the most dulcet of tones and it was sheer opera to his ears.
“Cherry-tipped and so tasty I cannot wait to sup on each one”—the rain pounded against the window in earnest and she strengthened her volume—“with this little bauble swinging between. Wear it for me, and only me, the next time I see you. I remain, until our next night together, Yours. Daniel.”
With endearing sentiment, she sighed and pressed his note to her chest. Right where he wanted the ruby to nestle. So he deftly slid the ribbon aside and opened the hinged box.
Overriding her gasped “Little bauble?” he spun her around to fasten the linked chain behind her neck.
As he turned her back to face him, he saw he’d judged the length perfectly. The teardrop stone landed exactly between her beaded nipples.
In
