Page 99 of The Seduction of an English Scoundrel

She stood and removed her dressing robe, utterly naked except for his diamond pendant as the garment slithered to her feet in a sibilant whisper of silk. “The dress offended you. I took it off. Is this better?”

Grayson paused, not quite certain he could believe his eyes. His dark Jane had made another dramatic appearance.

He tossed the brush onto the dressing table, his gaze moving slowly down her body, her rouged nipples, her rounded belly and the triangle of fluff beneath. His heart pounded against his chest. Another step ahead of him, was she? Well, he was a good sport and a man who liked to gamble. If the lady desired him, no matter her motives, who was he to deny her? In fact, he could not refuse.

“The matter of your behavior tonight is not closed.” He began to untie his cravat, his eyes darkening with desire. “A discussion can, however, wait until later.”

She slid her hands up around his neck. “Undressing you is my job as a mistress. Let me.”

“As you like, but—heavens above, Jane, slow down a moment. You’re ripping my shirt.”

Her lips formed a pout. “Can I help it if I’m eager to worship my wonderful protector?”

He looked down at the floor in mild astonishment. “That was a button. You tore a button off my shirt.”

“Do you mind?”

“Not personally, but my tailor might.”

She clasped his face in her hands and kissed him for all she was worth, her tongue thrusting against his until his arms went around her waist and crushed her to him. At that point Grayson took the initiative and walked her backward to the bed. She fell against him, her nude body trapped securely between his thighs.

He lay back, still a little puzzled but receptive to what she was doing as she balanced on her knees to undress him. “Not that I’m objecting, but I am curious,” he murmured. “What is this about?”

She threw his shirt over her shoulder and went to work unbuttoning his breeches. “Seduction.”

“What did you and Chloe do today?”

“Let’s not bring your sister into the boudoir, Grayson.”

“Did you say boudoir?”

“It’s more of a mistress word than bedchamber, don’t you think? Do you mind if I tie you to the bed?”

With his sensual mouth curling into a grin, his muscular body bare to the hips, he looked like sin incarnate. “What brought this on?”

“Just something I saw in a book.”

“Ah. A book.” He ran his hands up her rib cage to her breasts, cupping their weight in his palms. “Not a book from the circulating library, I take it?”

She gave him a taunting smile, reaching over him to the nightstand. “No.”

“Then—” He stopped, narrowing his eyes as she took his hands, her stockings in her mouth, and deftly bound his wrists to the bedposts. “Interesting reversal of fortune,” he murmured. “Tying me up in a pretty package, eh?”

“Those are not mere bows, Grayson. Those are the Belshire Knots of Annihilation. My sisters and I perfected them on Simon during our childhood. They work particularly well on the male who prides himself on subjugating others.”

He strained experimentally, shoulders and biceps flexing to test the bonds. “Very nice. Please continue.”

To her surprise Jane found she enjoyed the sense of power over him. She could feel all the pulse points of her body quickening as she remembered Audrey’s instructions. With a decadent smile she slowly removed his breeches and ran her fingers up the insides of his thighs to the dense triangle of hair that cradled his thick male organ.

“Now don’t move a muscle.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he muttered, his hips coming off the bed as her fingers closed around the base of his engorged penis.

“Darling, do hold still,” she murmured wickedly.

Somewhere in the swelter of sensations that assailed him, he realized there was more to her aggressive sensuality than met the eye. As always she surprised him, challenged him to plan several moves ahead, but for this . . . well, whatever she was up to, there really was no strategy but to submit. He didn’t give a damn what she had planned as long as she did not stop.

Her fingertips stroked his pulsing shaft, in light, tantalizing flutters. “Don’t try to get away. Those knots are very secure. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”