“Throat,” she wheezed.
He flung the pin into the open mouth of the man who stood before the bed. The sailor staggered back and gasped before he collapsed, blue-faced.
Ian caught the other bewildered man by the throat. “Don’t say a word. You leave quietly and we’re both safe. You stay, you’ll be on the wrong side of Costa. I took what’s his.” He glanced over at Diana on the bed; she was staring at the ceiling, which he hoped was part of her performance. “If Costa finds you here, you’re as good as dead.”
The sailor paled and glanced at his mate, unconscious on the ground.
“Go now. While you can.” Ian gave him a shove, and the man needed no other urging. He tripped out the door and slammed it closed behind him.
Ian returned to the bed to free Diana’s other hand. “That was brilliant. I hope you’ve more pins to use on the way out.”
When he loosened the last tie and she still didn’t move to follow him off the bed, he saw she was trembling. “Diana?”
She didn’t respond. The need to draw her into her arms was overpowering, but as he leaned closer, she shuddered.
“Forgive me.” He sat back on the bed, afraid to touch her. “I took things too far—”
“No.” She seized the lapels of his coat. “The only thing keeping my fear at bay is your hands on me.”
The desperation in her voice cut into him. He was hard again; his breath sawed in and out in raw gusts that burned his dry throat.
Diana was equally winded. The neckline of her gown had frayed during their performance, and the tops of her breasts spilled out of it as they rose and fell.
“What can I do?” he begged.
She swallowed. “Help me—help me finish. Please.”
He folded her into his arms. Relief washed over him as her curves melded against him. She met his mouth with a searing kiss before letting him take the lead.
His hands, now free to do their will, stroked her breasts and caressed her waist through the silk bodice. “Having you tied up above me aroused me beyond comprehension.”
She gave him one of those unintelligible moans, and he rejoiced silently in the confirmation that her cries of pleasure before had been genuine. “But I prefer you this way, free to hold.”
He stroked his hand down her silk-clad leg and hooked it around his waist to fit her against him, which she approved of, judging by the frenzied way she rocked into him.
“Do I feel as right to you as you do to me?” Ian’s words fell as softly as snow as his hands gentled her. “I cannot wait to touch more of you.”
She responded by kissing him passionately, grazing her teeth against his lip.
With a tight clasp on his hair, she breathlessly demanded, “More.”
He thrust his hips against her and drew the tip of her breast into his mouth. He sucked on her bare nipple and traced it with his teeth until she cried out.
“Now.” She gasped. “Touch me now, Ian, please. Make it fast.”
He growled as he kissed her deeply and rucked up her skirts.
“Yes,” she purred into his mouth when he found her drawers. He plunged his hand through the slippery ribbons and lace and pressed against her mons.
“Please,” she begged again.
Ian caressed her entrance. He gently traced her lips, found them achingly smooth and damp. As he delved one finger inside her, Diana’s hips bucked to meet his movements, and he sensed his own climax stir at the base of his spine.
“How luscious you are, Diana. What I would give right now to taste you here.”
He thrust his finger to demonstrate; she responded with a seductive whimper.
“Is that enough to fill you?” he teased as he burrowed in and out in a taunting rhythm. “Or do you need more?”
