Her shoulders sank in embarrassed defeat. “Please, that is the best I can do.”
The sniggers stopped, and he smiled gently. “I know. ’Tis because you’ve been missing out. You’ve proven my point.”
“Fine. Then I take the dare.” She crossed her arms, grinding her teeth. How dare he laugh at her. She was playing his lewd game as best she could. She refused to acknowledge her hope of what dare he’d issue, given his response to her truth.
His eyes flared with satisfaction. “You didn’t even wait for the option. I like it. Quite, ahem, daring of you. I dare you to invite me to show you what you’ve been missing.”
Flames flared again low in her belly, her body heating as though it was an oil lamp turned up high. Her breasts swelled against her décolletage with her indrawn breath, and her thighs inched apart in anticipation. This was exactly why she had come in here, despite all her waffling. Somewhere deep down, she’d wanted him to push her, mayhap even to show her, without her business venture being at risk.
Chapter Six
Evan watched Althea’s reaction to his dare. Fear, surprise, confusion all chased each other across her face before resolution settled in. That creamy skin surrounded by sable waves showed every expression. He dared a glance downward to her oversized bosom in the demure gown, seeing it rise and fall with nervous breaths.
She had outnegotiated him, getting her win from his proposed wager without risking even a truth. The cynical half of him wondered if it had all been an elaborate setup. No, she hadn’t known what game he’d choose, and if she was going to invest time and effort in wresting something out of him, it would have been money, like most before her. Either way, he wasn’t sure he cared. This was a liaison, a brief interlude in the country away from reality.
His blood heated at her determined expression. He had not been outnegotiated. He was about to get exactly what he wanted.
She sucked in a breath, and then sighed her exhale. “Evan, please show me what I’ve been missing.”
She clamped her mouth shut and stared at him with wide eyes. The fear was back.
“Good girl,” he purred. “Finish your sherry.” He certainly needed to finish his whisky so he wouldn’t ruin this opportunity with eagerness. “Now sit back and relax.”
He rounded the table and knelt in front of her, nudging it back. “I am going to do what I talked about earlier.” Moving slowly, he sat on his heels and lowered his hands to her bare ankles. They were so slender his fingers and thumb overlapped, but he kept them loose, gentle. His hands slid upward an inch at a time, catching her dress and petticoats on his wrists. When he reached her knees, he grabbed the clothing and flipped it up out of his way, the white of her undergarments stark against the dark green of her gown.
She gasped, her hands clenched by her sides on the cushions.
His blood pounded in his chest, his temples, his cock.
I haven’t even kissed her yet. ’Tis like I am an untried youth, not knowing how to please a girl, much less seduce a woman. My reputation would be in shreds. Chastising himself, he laid his hands on her stockinged knees and urged them outward. He was rewarded with her thighs falling open a few degrees.
He leaned in, letting her see his intent. Tilting his head, he brushed his mouth over hers in the lightest of kisses. Feathering her lips with his breath, his lips, then his breath again, he wooed her. Her mouth opened, and his tongue dipped inside, stroking hers before retreating. He gave her time to assimilate each new sensation before adding a new caress.
Trailing kisses toward her ear, he whisper-rasped, “You may put your hands on me if you’d like. Anywhere.”Please.
Ah, how his usual set would laugh to know he was begging, even silently.
She raised her arms slowly to his shoulders, then inched her hands into his hair, running her fingers through the silken strands before fisting handfuls.
He shivered once. But this was for her pleasure, not his. He refocused.
Setting his teeth to her earlobe without a real bite, he swept his thumbs around her knees once, knowing her attention would again center on the motion. His hands slid upward, inch by inch.
She tugged on the chunks of hair she clutched.
And then, success!
Her spine curled, her hips shifting upward as though reaching for his hands. He grinned and let go of her ear to kiss her greedily again, grasping her hips and pulling them toward the edge of the divan. Still clutching him, she allowed her legs to fall farther open around him and arched into his kiss, seemingly oblivious to her dress up around her arse, his hands inside touching bare skin.
Exultant with his victory thus far, he needed to keep that smart mind occupied so she did not consider the impropriety.
His lips slid down her neck. Having noticed how much she enjoyed his smutty talk during the game, he tried it again. “I need to see your nipples. Are they the same rose as your lips? Oh, but your lips are quite red now from my kisses.”
He released her bottom to cup her breast in the empire-waisted dress with one hand. The other, he slid upward to tug her sleeve off her shoulder.
Scooping inside the loosened neckline, he ignored the protection of her chemise and proceeded directly to skin, pulling her breast over the edge of fabric. His fingers trembled with eagerness. “Ahh, lovely. All this peaches and cream. Let me see if I can ripen this fruit to match your lips.”
Glancing up to ensure she was still with him, he found her head thrown back and her eyes closed. He closed his lips on a tip, swiping his tongue across it within the wet heat of his mouth, watching for her response.
