He’d had more than his fair share of liaisons, but none of those women had been as alluring or enticing as Anna was. The sight of her standing in front of him, half-dressed in men’s clothing, so confident and without shame, left him speechless. And God help him, he’d never been so aroused in his life.
He was teetering on the edge of a passion that could hurt her and destroy him. He saw her tremble, but he knew it wasn’t from fear. His Anna would never show fear. She faced it head on and dared the danger to do its worst.
Sebastian’s gaze shifted down to the strips of linen she’d used to bind her breasts until they were pressed flat against her chest. In a sharp movement, he stepped forward and pulled her shirt off her completely, then flung it aside. Deliberately taking his time, his fingers traced a slow path across the curve of her shoulder, then downward to the top edge of the wrappings. Every part of him tightened with an emotion that threatened to take control of his senses as he ran the tip of one finger along the upper layer of the linen strips.
“Remove these.”
The harshness of his command made her eyes widened. But she didn’t object. Instead, she began to remove the strips of material from her chest. Barely able to breathe, Sebastian’s blood pounded its way through his veins like a steam engine racing out of control. It thundered in his ears as he watched Anna slowly reach for the first layer of linen strips. As her fingers touched the top layer of cloth, she hesitated for the briefest of seconds.
The moment she faltered, Sebastian heard a voice in the back of his head tell him there was still time to leave. The voice was wrong. It was impossible to walk away from her now. He’d known that from the moment she’d knocked him off his feet and straddled his waist. Mesmerized by her, Sebastian watched her undo one cloth strip after another until the only one left was the linen that hid her nipples.
Their eyes met, and with a small smile, she stepped forward until there were mere inches between them. With a flick of her wrist, the last strip of linen fell away, and Sebastian drew in a sharp hiss of air. She was even more beautiful than he’d imagined, every night, as he’d pumped his cock until his seed was spent.
“I’ve wanted you since the night Alexander brought you here,” he rasped as his hand cupped her cheek. A fiery heat warmed his palm, and he saw pink color flood her cheeks before she smiled.
“And I’ve wanted you since the morning you found me in the hall and carried me back to my bed.”
Her voice was the sweet call of a siren, and his hands caught her by her shoulders and tugged her forward. She came willingly, a sultry smile on her beautiful mouth. Sebastian’s hand gently drifted across her skin before his fingertips brushed lightly over a stiff nipple. A shudder rippled through her as his thumb rubbed against the hard peak. Slowly, he lowered his head to close his mouth over the rigid nipple and cupped her full breast.
The exotic and tantalizing scent of jasmine filled his nostrils as he swirled his tongue around the stiff peak. As his teeth abraded and nipped at the hard tip of her breast, she uttered a soft cry of surprise. Fast on the heels of that cry was a moan of delight. As he suckled and nipped at first one breast and then the other, her hands pushed his shirt off his shoulders.
Heat spread its way across his skin as her palms explored him from the waist upward. The moment her fingers thrummed one of his nipples, a violent surge of hunger hammered its way through his blood. She was a siren he couldn’t resist, and with each small moan that passed her lips, his need for her grew.
Sweeping her up into his arms, Sebastian carried her to the bed and set her down on the edge of the mattress. In seconds, he’d removed her clothing and stood staring down at her. Brown eyes met his in a steady gaze, and he saw her breasts rise and fall with agitation. The sound of her rapid breaths matched his own ragged breathing.
“You’re far too fond of calling me pompous,” he rasped as he knelt in front of her. “You’ve no idea how erotic my nightly fantasies are where you’re concerned. They’re anything but respectable.”
Her eyes widened and color filled her cheeks at his words. His caresses unhurried, he slid his hands up over her calves. When he reached her knees, he lowered his head to gently bite on the plump inner flesh of her leg. The sharp breath she inhaled sent satisfaction crashing through him. Deliberate and slow, his mouth worked its way upward along her inner thigh. With one gentle nip after another, he punished her flesh, then quickly soothed each spot with his tongue.
Just before he reached the apex of her thighs, he turned his attention to the other leg. With a leisurely precision, he started at her knee and worked his way upward, inflicting the same penalty to her skin as he had on the opposite limb. When he reached the top part of her inner thigh, he lifted his head to meet her gaze. The fiery desire in her eyes made his heart slam into his chest.
Despite his body demanding it satisfy his hunger, an intense need to arouse her to a fevered pitch crashed through him. He wanted her to experience the same torment he’d suffered every night since the moment Alexander had placed her in his arms. A sudden resolve surged through him.
Tonight he would watch her reach the brink of satisfaction, only to snatch it from her. He would make her ache and throb with need, then just as she peaked on the edge of her release, he would deny her the ultimate pleasure until he was ready to satisfy his own need.
She stretched out her hand to touch his cheek, and he immediately wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Slowly, he guided her hand down to the apex of her thighs and smiled with satisfaction as her lips parted in a silent gasp of surprise.
“I want to watch you touch yourself.” He heard his stark need in his voice as he met her gaze.
“But I don’t under—”
“Do it.” At his harsh command, she swallowed hard as her fingers parted her flesh. For a second time, a hint of color tinged her cheeks as she shook her head in a mute protest. “Stroke yourself. Now. I want to see you pleasure yourself in the same way I’ve been forced to pleasure myself in the dead of night.”
“Like this?”
The soft question echoed with uncertainty as she stared at him in wide-eyed surprise, but with a look of dawning realization as to the meaning of his confession. As she slowly began to pleasure herself beneath his gaze, his cock throbbed with a demand for satisfaction. He shoved the harsh summons aside and watched her expression slowly change as the rhythm of her strokes increased and her eyes fluttered closed. Massaging her thighs, he allowed himself to stroke the outside of her slick folds at the same time she played with herself.
Her sudden small tremor sent a pulse throbbing through her and into his hands. A split second later, her mouth parted in a quiet moan of pleasure. Just as she reached the edge of the cliff, he denied her satisfaction by tugging her hand away from her glistening sex.
Surprise and then frustration swept across her lovely face, and he smiled. Raising her hand to his lips, his tongue licked her wet fingers. Bright pink color flooded her cheeks, and her startled look made him smile. Methodically, he slid her finger in and out of his mouth until her eyelids fluttered shut.
Certain her arousal was rising fast, he guided her hand down to the apex of her thighs once more. A hard shudder pulsed through her as his fingers parted her folds, and he forced her finger to rub the small nub of flesh that had become swollen in reaction to stimulation.
“Again,” he whispered hoarsely.
Leaning forward, his teeth abraded the nipple of each breast. Biting down harder than he had before, she jerked against his mouth as his tongue swirled around a stiff, rigid peak. The action tugged a small cry from her as he forced her to pleasure herself.
“Shall I tell you how erotic and decadent my thoughts of you are in the middle of the night as I ache for your body to be clutching my cock?”
She licked her lips as he spoke and began to touch herself at a fast pace in reaction to his words. He allowed her to continue for a few more seconds, and the moment she shuddered, he pulled her hand away to suck on her wet fingers. With a small cry of frustration, her eyes flew open, and she glared at him.
