“Hold still, Amalie. I prefer to know the faces of the women I bed.”
Stunned, she froze and stared into his sightless eyes. Dear God, he knew who she was.
“I…how…?”
“You might try to hide that bewitching lilt in your voice, but the sound is seared into my memory after this afternoon. It’s the voice of a siren I doubt even Circe could match.”
The way he described her voice sent a wild excitement coursing through her. He thought her voice enthralling. Amalie immediately gritted her teeth. She didn’t need to hear what he thought about her voice. When she remained silent, a satisfied smile touched his firm lips as his fingers resumed the exploration of her face.
The intimacy of his efforts to memorize her features made her mouth go dry. Would he be this gentle if he were touching her elsewhere? Shocked by the direction of her thoughts, she stiffened. A hard thumb rubbed over her lower lip, and regaining her senses, she snapped her teeth together. Almost as if the man could read her mind, she bit down on nothing but air. The dark chuckle rumbling in his chest sounded like distant thunder as his mouth brushed against her ear.
“Careful, my sweet. Surely you know enough about my reputation to know I am not a gentleman. I won’t hesitate to punish you for biting me.”
He emphasized his threat by gently sinking his teeth into her ear lobe. It was more like a sharp pinch than a bite. Any pain she experienced vanished as his tongue swept across the bruised spot. Suddenly wobbly, she tried to free herself.
“Let me go. Now, my lord.”
Valeran released her and took a few steps back. Discombobulated, she swayed on her feet. Arms folded across his well-toned, sculpted chest, he faced her as if they were fully clothed and in the downstairs salon. Amalie tried to move, but she couldn’t do anything but stare at him, his raw power and beauty assaulting her senses. Wicked laughter parted his lips. It echoed in the room with the strength of a strong wind blowing across the moor.
“Do you like what you see, Amalie?”
Sweet heavens, how did the man know she was staring at him? Outraged by his cocky self-assurance, Amalie clenched her jaw. She didn’t know whether she was infuriated by his vain belief she was entranced by him or that he was right. Unwilling to admit how devastating he was to her senses, she snorted with derision.
“I cannae answer that unless I look at your teeth.” Her reply made him jerk slightly as bewilderment flashed across his face. Valeran’s eyes narrowed, before a small smile tipped the corners of his mouth.
“And why exactly do you need to look at my teeth?”
“Because if ye are expecting tae be awarded a blue ribbon, it requires me tae take a better look at ye,” she said with a delighted smile as his bewilderment evolved into disbelief. “Ye must have good teeth. I will also need tae examine your hindquarters and legs tae ensure your weight is evenly distributed. Then I will need to measure ye.”
“Measure me?” He choked out the words as if struggling to hold back laughter or unleashing holy hell on her head. Amalie didn’t care which. She was simply enjoying the sight of the Earl of Sommerville at a loss for words.
“Aye, ye cannae expect tae be put out tae stud if ye cannae perform.”
Fury hardened his face into an icy, marble façade. Biting down on her lower lip, Amalie’s mouth went dry as fear became a layer of ice sliding over her skin. Instead of choosing flight when he’d released her, she’d elected to gawk at him, then insult him to hide her fascination with him. Intent on rectifying the mistake, Amalie spun around on her toes and leapt toward the door. Escape was stolen from her as strong hands caught her in mid-stride, then pulled her back into a hard chest.
“Leaving so soon, Amalie?”
Dark and fierce, Valeran’s whisper vibrated against her skin as his mouth nipped at her neck. God, twice now she’d tried to match wits with this man, only to regret doing so. Clearly, she was incapable of making intelligent decisions when she was near him. His mouth trailed fire along the top of her shoulder. Heaven help her. Every barbed word she’d flung at him today had led toward this fiery moment, and dear God, she wanted to be burned by it. Her heart skipped a beat at the dangerous thought.
“I told ye I dinnae ken this was your room. Now, let me go.” She tried to make her demand strident, but all she heard was a breathless plea. A low growl of anger singed her ear as his teeth gently bit down on her flesh.
“Didn’t you just say you needed to measure my ability to perform?”
The seductive note in his voice brushed over her skin like velvet. Alarmed, Amalie tried to twist free of his hold. He easily thwarted her by wrapping a steel-corded arm around her waist. With a rough tug Valeran pulled her even tighter against his lean, muscular form, and she gasped at the heat of his hard muscles against her back.
“Surely you won’t deny me the pleasure of hearing that siren voice of yours crying out my name as I show you just how well I can perform?”
Amalie swallowed hard, fighting to control the emotions she knew would only lead to her surrender. The battle was lost as Valeran’s arousal pressed into her plump bottom, and his free hand wrapped around from behind her to cup her breast. She barely managed to suppress her sob of pleasure at his touch, while her breathing grew labored.
The instant his large hand cradled her breast, her nipples hardened. They ached with an intensity that had her on the edge of begging for something she didn’t understand. It was a primal sensation that strengthened and unfurled inside her as his thumb rubbed the silk of her nightgown over the tip of her breast.
With a mind of its own, her body responded to his touch as if she were an instrument bending to the skill of a master musician. Not even when her erotic dreams of him forced her to alleviate her body’s wanton cries of fulfillment had she ever felt this needy. His finger tweaked the hard tip of her breast. Hot bliss skimmed over each of her nerve endings at the wicked touch.
Oh God, she knew she shouldn’t be enjoying this, but she was. Never had she felt so alive and aware of every small breath or tingling sensation as her body cried out its demand for more. The hard body pressed into her back shuddered violently, and a small thrill streaked through her.
Was it possible she’d aroused sensations in him similar to her own? Silent shouts of joy drowned out the ones crying out a multitude of warnings. Roughly, he turned her to face him, and the desire on his handsome features sent her heart racing out of control. Every inch of her was on fire as the space between them vanished.
Mindlessly, she pressed her body deep into a solid male chest as strong arms pulled her so close it was as if they were a single form of soft flesh and sinewy muscles. A dark sound whispered out of him as his mouth captured hers in a hard kiss. Startled by the dominating, bruising caress, she stiffened against him.
In the blink of an eye, Valeran’s mouth softened on hers, changing from domination to seduction. The heat of his tongue slid along the seam of her mouth as it gently force her lips apart. Liquid fire rushed through her limbs at the wicked thrill his tongue swirling around hers stirred inside her.
She’d been kissed on two or three occasions, but they’d been far from memorable. Valeran’s kiss plunged her body into an inferno of sensation. The renewed caress of his thumb brushing over her nipple made her want to sob with joy. With every electrifying touch, her senses reacted with an exultation that pulsed its way downward to her sex.
It ignited a need for him to touch her there. Unable to suppress the quiet mewl parting her lips, her hips pressed into his, and his hard, stiff erection settled deep between her thighs.
A moment later, she did the one thing he’d promised he could make her do. She whimpered. It became a softly whispered plea for more of the sensations he was arousing inside her. Sanity fled her completely. All she wanted was to be consumed by the firestorm. She didn’t want him to stop.
Firm lips nibbled at her neck, and she barely noticed her nightgown sliding off her shoulders. The silk whispered its way downward, only to halt where their bodies were pressed tightly together. God, she wanted it to slide to the floor until they were skin to skin. She wanted him to tease her, tempt her, and do wicked things to her body.
The instant his teeth abraded one of her nipples, a quiet moan escaped her. Arms encircling his neck, she arched away from him to give him complete access to both breasts.
“Please, I…I need…”
It was an almost incoherent plea for him to ease her suffering as she trembled wildly in his arms. A dangerously wicked sound rumbled in his chest as his teeth scraped over the stiff peak of her breast once more. In the next instant, he jerked away from her.
The sudden deprivation of his touch made her utter a wordless cry of protest as she swayed on her feet.
