Seduced by a Scoundrel - By Barbara Dawson Smith Page 0,121

her arms around his neck, no longer able to contain her unruly desire. “You are mine. Oh, do make love to me.”

Closing his fingers about her shoulders, he held her back. “Not yet.”

Confused by his suddenly domineering manner, she wanted to play their fantasy. “But you’re my slave. You’re supposed to do as I say.”

He smiled, a brief quirk of his lips that showed his dimples. “Patience, my lady. All will be as you wish.” Then an unguarded longing shone in his eyes. Drawing a harsh breath, he went on, “It’s been hell living without you these past weeks. I want you with me for always, you and our child.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I want that, too. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn and unforgiving—”

He gently pressed his finger to her lips. “Let me finish. What I have for you, Alicia … is my heart. I love you.”

I have something that is yours.

Joy poured through her in an extravagant rush of emotion. She wanted to weep and exult all at the same time. Burrowing into his arms, she relished the steady beating of his heart against hers. “Oh, darling, I love you, too. Now will you seduce me?”

This time, his smile took on that erotic tilt. “I am yours to command, O mistress mine.”

Rising, he drew her to her feet and unbuttoned her spencer. He kept his gaze lowered in deference, though there was nothing servile in the way he stared at her bosom. Her breasts had grown heavier, preparing for the time when she would nurse his child. As if by accident, his fingers brushed the ripe swells. She might have been the mistress of a Roman villa, dallying with a handsome slave. “Touch me,” she decreed.

“Your will is my pleasure.”

His hands moved in lazy strokes, tracing the curves of her body. Stepping behind her, he slowly undressed her. He slid the copper silk gown off her shoulders, letting it slither to the floor, leaving her clad in only a lace-trimmed shift and a single petticoat. With a tug on the ties, he sent the petticoat drifting downward. He leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear, sending shivers over her skin. “No corset today,” he said in a rough murmur. “Mistress, you make my duties so … enjoyable.”

Oh, she did like this game! She lifted her arms. “Finish, my slave.”

He complied, disposing of her last garment. Then he cupped her bare breasts in his hands. With a sigh, she leaned into him, relishing the abrasion of his coarse tunic on her soft skin, the radiant heat of his body, the urgency of his iron-hard arousal. “Kiss me,” she whispered. “Oh, Drake, do kiss me or I’ll go mad.”

He brought his mouth down on hers with gentle pressure as if he controlled his passion. But she didn’t want discipline; she wanted wild, uninhibited seduction. Winding her arms around his neck, she parted her lips and enticed him with her tongue. He responded with a hoarse groan, tasting her, caressing her, his hands sliding downward from her breasts to her hips, stopping just short of the place she wanted to be touched.

“To bed, slave,” she said. “Take me to bed now.”

He obeyed, half carrying her across the chamber and pressing her down onto the sea of red petals. The scent of roses wafted around her and mingled with his exciting essence. Stripping off his tunic, he loomed over her, broad and strong, his muscles bronzed by the candlelight. He was all man, her man.

Crouching over her on the bed, he took one nipple into his mouth and suckled her, then did the same to the other. Alicia uttered a breathless cry, her fingers sinking into his thick black hair. All the while, he caressed her in a leisurely fashion, teasing her between her legs until she could no longer bear the torment, and she reached for his heavy shaft, guiding him to her.

Then he joined their bodies, no longer the slave but her master. Seizing control, he moved inside her, and she moaned with the pleasure of it. Each thrust heightened the exquisite agony. When she would have closed her eyes, he caught her cheeks in his hands and his gaze locked with hers. “Look at me,” he ordered. “See the man who loves you.”

She did look. His blue eyes held no secrets now; they burned with the beauty of love. He penetrated deeply, filling her, pressing harder and faster. She strained to meet him, matching his passion with a