and held out a hand.
When she took it, he spread his thighs and drew her closer, until her legs touched the front edge of his chair. His thumb rubbed circles in her calloused palm as he stared up at her.
He opened his mouth—no doubt to give her one last chance to save herself—but Benna placed the fingers of her free hand over his lips.
“You are my employer—not my father or my conscience.”
“I am your employer. Seducing a servant has n—”
“You aren’t seducing me, my lord. I am seducing you.”
His lips parted, but no words came out.
I taught you well, my girl.
Go away, Geoffrey. You’re not welcome here.
“I have been my own mistress and made my own decisions for years. You pay my wages, my lord, but you do not own me. Nobody does.” Her voice was calm and clear and gave no indication of the storm raging inside her—a furor as wild and uncontrolled as that battering the cottage. “I would only ask you for one thing—” she broke off, suddenly hesitant at how to phrase what she wanted.
He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across her clenched fingers. “Tell me what you would ask of me.”
“I have no expectations, but I would ask that you tell me if—when—you want no more from me—rather than simply ignoring me.”
Benna didn’t want to live through the same thing she had with Geoffrey—as if what they’d done had never happened.
It had hurt enough with a man she didn’t love. It would crush her with Jago.
He nodded. “I would ask the same of you.” He smiled briefly, “I know that is easier said than done, given our differing stations, but if—after tonight—you don’t want me to touch you again, you must tell me so.”
Benna knew that would never happen, but she nodded.
He kissed the tips of her fingers, the intimate touch sending spirals of anticipation through her body. “You are eloquent. And most persuasive.” One corner of his mouth pulled up. “Of course I am most eager to be persuaded—and seduced.” He took her index finger into his mouth.
Benna hissed in a breath at the unspeakably soft, wet heat, closing her eyes as he sucked and tongued and nibbled.
The pounding in her ears drowned out the howling wind that lashed the house and rattled the window.
Enjoy this moment—savor it, she told herself, even though her body ached to be filled by him.
He removed her finger with a damp pop and Benna opened her eyes; his smile was wolfish and his hands slid around her wrists like warm, unbreakable manacles. He stood, keeping her so close that she had to tilt her head slightly to meet his intense stare.
Looking up at a lover was unique and heady and his broad shoulders made her feel feminine and vulnerable.
He had the elegant build of a gentleman, but Benna knew from experience that his body was hard and muscular, honed and strengthened by years of physical activity.
His eyes glinted with lights that were both hungry and challenging as he bent his head to claim her mouth.
His lips teased and played, but Benna leaned into him, wanting more.
He laughed softly. “So impatient.” He flicked the seam of her mouth with his tongue, but didn’t enter her, kissing her as if he had the rest of their lives to explore her, instead of only tonight.
When he released her wrists, Benna thrust her hands into his hair and pulled his head down, holding him immobile for her invasion, which was anything but gentle or patient.
Instead, she slanted her mouth over his and speared into hot, apricot sweetness.
He opened to her, his hand sliding slowly, deliberately, up the knobs of her spine while he pulled her ever closer.
“Mmmmm, I think I like being seduced,” he said when she released him to come up for air. He trailed hot kisses over her mouth, cheek, and stopped beneath her ear. “Benna,” he whispered before lightly nipping the sensitive lobe. “An unusual name for an unusual woman.”
She tilted her head back, exposing her throat to him. His eager mouth took up her invitation, caressing the sensitive skin with soft lips and sharp teeth.
“You taste and feel so good,” he murmured, kissing her fluttering pulse and then taking a mouthful of fragile skin, sucking hard enough to mark her.
Benna shivered with animal pleasure; she would have a bruise to remember this night by.
She carded her fingers through the soft waves of his hair, stroking and petting and tugging on his silky locks