Laurie Brown (23 page)

He ran a finger from her ear down her shoulder and under her puffed sleeve.“I think the first step in this new dance is to
be rid of some excess clothing.”

“Out here in the open?” she squeaked out, looking up at the bank of windows above them.

“This is a very private garden. Only visible from my suite.”

She counted the windows but could not remember how many she’d observed in his rooms.

She would have to trust him. Easier said than done.

She looked deep into his eyes.And reached behind her back to untie the sash of her dress, letting the loose silk hang free.
She had specifically chosen the style for its generous cut.

When she flipped the ribbon away, his eyes widened and appeared to darken to a slate gray.

Emboldened by his appreciative gaze, she slowly raised the skirt of her gown, finally pulling it over her head and throwing
it over her shoulder with a flourish. His charcoal gaze never left hers.

She lifted her knee to untie a garter but decided against balancing on one leg like a flamingo. She turned toward the bench.Dev
ripped off his coat and spread it over the marble. “It’s about time you took something off,” she said as she sat. She crossed
her legs and leaned back on her hands.“Please continue.”

He tore off his vest and clawed at his elaborately knotted cravat, cursing Carson under his breath.

“Come here.” She sat up and patted the bench next to her.“Let me help you.”

She worked at the series of knots, hampered by him kissing her wrist, her arm, her shoulder, her neck. Finally she took his
chin and pointed it over her head. “Unless you want to wear this all night, you’ll sit still.”

“You are asking the impossible.”

“Only for a moment.” She freed the linen and started undoing his shirt, fumbling with the fancy studs.

“I’ve got that,” he said. He stood and ripped the soft lawn fabric apart, golden studs popping apart and flying in all directions.
After discarding his shirt, he knelt beside the bench. Slowly he slid the hem of her chemise up her thigh, revealing the tops
of her silk stockings tied with red ribbon garters. “Ah, yes,” he said, pulling the bow undone.“Merry Christmas.”

She leaned back on her hands again and straightened one leg. Holding her ankle up with one hand, he used the other hand and
his teeth to untie the ribbon. He rolled down the silk, kissing each inch of her skin as it was bared. Although she liked
watching him, the strain on her neck proved too much and she let her head fall back. Somehow that intensified the sensations,
and she closed her eyes. By the time he repeated the slow process on her other leg, her breathing was shallow.When he did
not release her foot, she struggled to a sitting position.

“No one has ever kissed my feet before,” she panted.

He grinned up at her.“One of the wonders of a woman’s body is that every part can be responsive to stimulation if treated
properly.” He massaged her foot while kissing her toes, and she groaned in pleasure.

“Is a man so different?”

“We are simple creatures. Easily aroused.”

She pulled her foot free and slid to her knees in front of him.“Show me how to please you.”

“Everything about you pleases me.”

The sincerity in his voice gave her a warm glow.

She ran her hands up his arms, feeling the muscles quiver under her touch. “Then tell me what gives you pleasure.”

“Pleasing you gives me pleasure.”

She blew out a breath and sat back on her heels.

“Lovely sentiment but not very helpful. I’m looking for some direction here.”

“You want me to tell you what to do?”

“Why not? To sort of get the ball rolling.”

“I rather thought we were rolling along quite nicely.”

“Oh, I’m not criticizing, believe me. But I’d like to participate, not just lie back passively enjoying your attention. Although
that was very nice.”

“What if I enjoy lavishing attention on you?”

“Come on. This is a getting-to-know-you phase. It’ll be fun.You ask me to do something to you, and then I’ll ask you to do
something to me.

You’re not into anything kinky, are you?”

“Kinky?”

“You know, whips and chains, that sort of thing.”

He shook his head.“I am not
into
inflicting pain if that is what you mean.” He chuckled.“I do have a few toys we both may find pleasurable.”

“Hmmm. Maybe later. Let’s keep it simple for now.” She laid her hands on her knees.“Okay, you go first.What do you want me
to do?”

“If you are determined to play this game...Very well, I want you to take off your chemise.”

She rose up on her knees and pulled the sliplike undergarment over her head. She wore nothing else.

Dev sucked in his breath. He clenched his fists on his knees, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes. “I don’t think I
can do this.”

“Oh, no you don’t.You can’t quit when it’s my turn.” She debated with herself for a moment. Her nipples had puckered in the
cool night air, begging for his attention. But it was hours until dawn, and she wanted to draw this out as long as possible.
“I want...to see you naked.”

After a moment, he stood.He watched her watching him as he kicked off his dancing shoes, undid the knee buckles of his breeches,
and peeled off his stockings. He hesitated with his hands on the waist ties, his erection bulging the flap of his trousers.

“I have never done this before,” he said.“I mean not like this. As if I were on a stage and you the audience. It’s a bit disconcerting.”
He took a deep breath, undid the ties, dropped his pants, and kicked them aside.When he dared look at her, her smile of appreciation
appeased his anxiety. She was not appalled by his size.

“You are like the statue of a Greek god...only bigger.” And right in front of her face. She licked her suddenly dry lips.
Size might not matter but...ohmigod.

Dampness pooled between her thighs. She reached out but stopped herself.“Your turn.”

“Touch me. Please.”

Josie ran her fingers along the length of his penis from base to tip and back, reveling in the feel of silk over steel, but
more so enjoying his reaction to her touch. She wrapped both hands around his shaft and an idea occurred to her. She kept
her hands moving while she turned it over in her mind.

She’d given only one blow job before, and it had been a disaster involving lots of gagging and spitting. But as she fondled
him so close to her face, she truly wanted to take him into her mouth.When she kissed and licked the tip, he moaned and called
her name. When she took it in her mouth, his thighs quivered and he locked his knees to remain standing. He ran his fingers
through her hair but thankfully didn’t push on her head or shove himself in deeper. She found the small opening on his penis
with her tongue and tasted his salty essence.

He started to back away and she grabbed his balls to hold him in place.

305

“You must stop, Josie-love, or I will lose myself.”

She paused her ministrations long enough to mutter,“Go ahead.” She both increased and varied the pressure and speed of her
hand up and down his shaft, tickled his balls, and swirled her tongue over and around the tip.When she sucked him hard to
draw him in, he suddenly reached down and pulled her up into his arms.

He buried his face in her neck and muttered her name over and over as his entire body shook with his release. His penis throbbed
between them, and her stomach was quickly bathed in spurts of warm liquid.

She held him tight and felt, surprisingly, powerful.

Dev released her only to cup her face in his hands.“What can I say other than thank you?”

She grinned up at him. “The word
wow
comes to mind.”

“Wow!” he shouted to the sky. Then he kissed her, long and slow, his lips gentle. “Your turn,” he whispered against her lips.

She opened her eyes and drew her head back.

“No.Yours. If you recall, I’m the one who told you to go ahead. So it’s your turn again.”

“Hmmm.”

“I told you this would be fun. What do you want me to do?”

“Something you said earlier gave me an idea.”

“Not the whips and chains?”

“No. I would never want to hurt you or mar your beautiful skin. I’m thinking more along the lines of Greek statues.”

He picked her up and she squealed in surprise.

He kicked his coat out of the way and stood her on the marble bench.“You are now a stone goddess and must hold the pose as
long as you can, no matter what I do.”

Josie did not feel really comfortable as he watched her try out several poses.“Don’t I need an urn or something?”

“You are perfect as you are.”

She crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip.

“Can I be of assistance?”

“Where
does
a goddess put her hands?”

With gentle pressure he posed her, left hand palm out at the small of her back and her right hand reaching over her head to
the back of her neck. He stepped back to admire his work and then returned to tip her head down a bit and lift her left knee
a few inches so she balanced that foot on her toes.“Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah, sure. Not exactly natural. Who stands like this? Give me a long-handled brush and a bar of soap and I could be titled
Goddess Washes Her Back.”

He snapped his fingers and moved out of her sight. She heard splashing in the corner fountain.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

She sighed. Her right arm was already feeling the strain. “Please hurry.”

He returned with his shirt, now soaking wet, held against his chest. “I’m afraid this will be quite cool despite me trying
to warm it up.” He used the material to wash off her stomach, causing her muscles to clench and her nipples to pucker. He
pitched the sodden shirt into the bushes. “Now you are perfect.”

He circled the bench to view her from all angles. She really was perfect, and his hands itched to touch her. He started at
her left elbow, where she could see his hands and not be startled. From there he molded his hands down her back to her knees
and back to the other arm.“If I were a sculptor, I would make you just as you are.”

“Didn’t Pygmalion come to a bad end?”

“No. Aphrodite took pity on him and brought the ivory statue to life as Galatea.They married and had a son.”

He moved around to face her and cupped her breasts. He rubbed his thumbs over the distended nipples, and it took all her willpower
to ignore the electricity tingling to her toes.

She swallowed. “I heard of a guy who practiced his technique on the breasts of a statue so much that when he touched a real
woman he was horrified by the squishiness.” She wasn’t sixteen anymore and hoped her breasts had not succumbed too much to
the effects of gravity. Without the corset, she no longer had cleavage.

“Your breasts are lovely,” he said as he fondled them. “See how they fit my hands perfectly.” He leaned forward and ran the
tip of his tongue around one nipple and then the other. “And so responsive.”

She could not hold back a little mewl of enjoyment. Her entire body shivered with her effort to stay still.

Stepping to one side, he wrapped one arm around her back, resting his hand on her hip. He took one breast into his mouth and
at the same time ran his free hand down her stomach; he combed through the curls between her legs, his finger finding her
clit.

She cried out at the intense bolt of pleasure. As much as she didn’t want him to stop, her legs would no longer support her.
He did not let her fall, using his body to brace her stance, but neither did he stop the manipulations of his hand.

Slowly and gently he lowered her until she lay on the bench. The cool marble against her back was a stark contrast to the
heat between her legs.

He knelt beside her.

Tracing her aureole with his tongue, he asked, “Do you like this?” his breath against her wet nipple yet another pleasurable
sensation.

“Yes.You know I do.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and braced herself with her other hand on the edge of the bench.

He chuckled and slid a finger inside her, leaving his thumb to circle her clit. She raised her knees higher and shifted her
hips in response.

“And does this give you pleasure?” he asked.

“Yes,” she panted out, near to losing all rational thought. She closed her eyes. Her hips followed the rhythm of his hand.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted, unable to find any other words to encourage him, to demand more.

He trailed a line of kisses down her stomach, circled her belly button with his tongue, and then drifted lower and lower.

She was barely aware of him shifting position until his head moved out of reach of her hand. He paused in his ministrations
long enough to slide her bottom down to the end of the bench and raise her legs up over his shoulders. She made an extreme
effort and curled up on her elbows to look at him.

“I want you inside me.”

“Not yet, Josie-love. My turn. And I want to send you to the stars.”

“Dev, I...”

“My turn,” he reminded her as he lowered his head.

His hands and his lips and his oh-so-talented tongue sent her soaring. She cried out his name as she left the earth.

When she came back to herself, she sat cuddled in his lap. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him.“Thank you,” she
whispered.

“I was hoping for a wow.”

“I believe you got that when I screamed your name.”

“Is that what that was?” he asked, looking pleased with himself.“Are you recovered?”

“I feel fantastic.”

“Good. Because it’s your turn.”

“Hmmm. I want to see your bed. I heard it’s monstrous.”

Seventeen

D
EV STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOON
garden, holding Josie in his arms. When he’d started thinking about the process needed to get her to his bedroom, other thoughts
intruded despite the naked woman in his arms.The key to the secret door was in the pocket of his coat, the one he’d kicked
aside earlier and had no idea where it landed. Plus they would have to use the rose arbor walkway, usually private, but he’d
left the entrance from the gallery unlocked for Josie to use.

He’d hate to meet a stray guest. Not that he had any concern for himself,but Josie would be mortified.

“Um, my dear, as much as I would like to carry you off to my lair...”

“I’m quite heavy, I...”

“You are light as a feather. However, before we leave the garden, perhaps clothing would be a wise precaution.” He slid her
to her feet. “Much to my dismay.”

“Last one dressed is a rotten egg.”

“First one gets an extra turn.”

Like giggling children at an Easter egg hunt, they scrambled around gathering the bits of their ensembles that had been flung
hither and yon.The process was complicated by their competitive natures, which meant if one grabbed a piece belonging to the
other, it got tossed even farther away.

She found and slipped on her chemise. She picked up his cravat, now simply a long length of linen. “You’re not putting this
thing back on.Too hard to undo.” She wrapped it around herself like a shawl.

She found her dress and her gloves, which were now wadded-up balls. She found one shoe under the fragrant climbing rosebush
and the other near the fountain. Her red ribbon garters were both next to the bench, somewhat trampled, but still usable.
One stocking, however, was missing.

When she turned to Dev he had donned most of his clothes. Shoes without stockings. His white satin breeches were stark against
his bare legs. His vest covered his flat stomach but, of course, he wore no shirt because it was soaking wet. His waistcoat
was rumpled, and he had tied one of her stockings around his neck as a cravat.

“That’s cheating,” she said.

“Isn’t that a bit of the pot chiding the kettle,” he said with a significant glance at his cravat draped over her arms.

“I had the best intentions. I didn’t want to...”

“Not relevant.”

Frustrated by her lack of a retort, and because she hated to lose, she threw her balled-up gloves at him.

He easily caught the gloves and pocketed them.

“I declare myself winner by default.”

“Fine. After I get to see your bed, you have two turns.”

He bowed formally and offered his arm.

Instead she handed him her sash and presented her back. “I can’t tie it myself.”

He wrapped it around her, taking the opportunity to bestow kisses along her shoulder and the back of her neck.

“What is taking so long?”

“I have had more practice at undressing a woman than I have had acting the lady’s maid. I would not want to create a knot
that is impossible to undo. Ah, finished.”

She turned and he again offered his arm.

They left the garden at a regal pace totally at odds with their ragtag appearance.

“If I had won,” she said as she climbed the winding stairway, “I would have chosen a long hot shower as my turn.”

“I will take that suggestion under consideration; however, the operative word
hot
depends on whether Carson banked the coals properly before leaving.”

She stopped and leaned over the curved railing to look down at him.“You gave him the night off?

Quite sure of yourself,weren’t you? What if I’d not kept the bargain?”

“Then I would have spent a lonely vigil in a beautiful garden.”

“Ha!” She continued climbing. “You would have been back on the dance floor within twenty minutes.”

“You wound me. I would have waited at least an hour for you.”

“Sure.” She reached the landing and paused at the locked door to his suite.

“Of course, knowing what I know now,” he said as he caught up with her. He gathered her in his arms for a heady kiss.“I would
have waited all night.”

He pushed the door open and escorted her through the opulent receiving room to the long hall. “The bedroom is straight ahead.
I’ll check on the hot water.”

She continued down the hall. Visible through the opening was a fireplace flanked by two comfortable-looking chairs. The table
between them had been set with a platter of assorted fruit and cheeses, and another of fancy sweets. A crystal decanter and
two glasses sat ready.

The blue of the receiving room was echoed but softened several shades and used as an accent against a soothing slate and white
color scheme.

Where gold had been overused in the other room, in the bedroom judicious touches of silver added shimmer and reflected both
the firelight and the low-flame night lamps.

As she stepped into the room the bulk of the area to her left came into her line of sight. The huge bed dominated the large
space. Massive posters anchored the corners of a mattress that had to be fifteen feet across and ten feet long.

Steps provided access to the surface a full four feet off the floor. Dozens of pillows softened the elaborately carved headboard.
Slate and silver damask bed curtains hung ready to make the bed a private sanctuary or block out the light coming from the
wall of windows that had surprisingly been left bare of the usual complicated window dressings of the time.

She wandered to the windows and saw that this room also had a view of the moon garden.

“I like to wake to the morning light,” he said.

She turned to face him.This was the same handsome man she’d played with in the garden, but in this setting she recognized
the wide gulf between them. He lived every day on a scale she could only imagine. What was plain old Josie Drummond doing
in a place like this? She swallowed. “I think it’s lovely.”

Sensing her unease, he leaned against the doorjamb,

giving her plenty of space and time to adjust.

“A glass of wine?”

“Ah, sure.”

He took his time pouring and crossing the room to hand her the glass. “What shall we drink to?”

When she didn’t respond, he added, “I think the traditional
long life
is a bit prosaic for the situation, don’t you? Shall we instead drink to a long night?”

His inadvertent reminder of why she had come in the first place was the kick in the pants she needed. If she was going to
keep him past his dawn appointment, she couldn’t just stand there like a ninny. She touched her glass to his and took a healthy
gulp of wine. “I do believe it’s your turn.”

“Ah, yes, the game.You have seen my bed.”

“Hard to miss. Sort of like the five-hundred-pound gorilla in the middle of the room.”

“It was built at the same time the room was constructed. I would have to cut it into pieces or take down walls to move it
out. Do you think it monstrous?”

“I can honestly say I’ve never seen one that big.

Where do you get sheets for it?”

He chuckled.“I would have to ask Mrs. Osman to be sure.” Josie relaxed visibly as they chatted, so he kept talking.“I care
little for the chore of going over the household accounts, but Mother occasionally insists on the formality. Usually when
she is in a high temper over one or another of my misdeeds. Upshot, I seem to recall a bill from Ireland for specially made
linens of an appropriate size, so that would be my best guess.”

She drained her glass and set it on the win-dowsill.“ Have you decided?”

He raised an eyebrow.“After consideration of the many possibilities, and making sure there is plenty of hot water, I choose
your suggestion of a shower first.”

With a curt nod she headed for the bathing chamber. He drained his own glass and slowly followed, more confused than before.Why
did he feel as if she were checking off items on her agenda?

Josie was already in the shower when he entered the steamy bathing chamber, water sluicing down her smooth skin. Venus protected
by the copper arms of the shower apparatus. Protected? Or a goddess temporarily caged?

She wiped her face and smiled provocatively.

“Aren’t you going to join me?”

He steeled his willpower. “Of course.” He stripped and mounted the dais, pausing at the opening, blocking her escape.

“Are you a gambler?” he asked.

“No.What does...”

“The most important part of being a successful gambler, which I am by the way, is the ability to read the other players, to
know when they are bluffing or holding back.You, Josie-love, are holding aces and betting low to draw me in. What I want for
my bonus turn is the truth.Why are you doing this?”

“I told you. I’m in the pursuit of pleasure. And although the water is nice, I’m sure we can think of other...”

“My definition includes the whole truth.” He crossed his arms and waited, not an easy task when the sight of her was so intoxicating.
He might not be able to hide his physical response, but he was not an untested youth. He could choose not to act.

Josie let the water rain over her head, hoping it would wash some sense into her brain. How was she supposed to think clearly
when he was so close? And frowning. Was there anything more disconcerting than a scowling naked man? As if she could tell
him the whole truth.Would he be put off with less?

“Fine.” She slicked her hair back.“Naked truth.”

Dev sucked in a breath. Did she have to use that word? He was having a difficult enough time main taining his stance without
the blatant reminder of their circumstances.

“When I heard you challenged Hargrave to a duel for the insult to me, I had a very strong premonition you would be killed.
A shot to the heart even though he aimed...elsewhere. I could not let you die for some overblown, outdated, ridiculous sense
of responsibility. I figured if I could keep you occupied past dawn, then you wouldn’t...”

“There is no duel.”

“...die and I could return...what?”

“No duel.”

“But Estelle said...”

“There was a challenge, which I do not regret and would willingly meet. However, when Sher-mont, my second, went to the village
inn earlier to make the arrangements with Hargrave’s second, the coward had skipped town. Headed for India, I hear. So, no
duel.You have sacrificed yourself on the altar of...”

With two running steps she launched herself into his arms and he caught her by reflex. She wrapped her arms around his neck
and her legs around his waist.

“That’s wonderful,” she said, raining kisses all over his face.

“That was not...” He forgot what he was going to say.With his arms full of naked Josie, her skin slick and slippery, all the
blood in his brain rushed to where his penis was knocking at Heaven’s gate.

She leaned back in his arms. “Don’t you see?

Without a duel to worry about, I can truly be here because...because I truly want to be here. Come on.” She smiled. “I’ll
wash your back.”

“Maybe later,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

He raised her hips and was rewarded by her widening eyes as he slowly entered the tight sheath of her body. He paused, supporting
her weight with his hands under her derriere, and waited for her vagina to accommodate him before entering her fully. He stepped
to the left to brace himself against the shower apparatus.Warm water bathed his back and the few places their bodies did not
touch.

Josie eyed the bars on either side of his head and shoulders.“Will these hold my weight?” she asked, grabbing one and giving
it a shake. The one-and-a-half- to two-inch bar, though necessarily hollow, seemed strong enough.

“Made of the finest steel, coated with copper inside and out.” He leaned his head back. “I can’t believe we are discussing
metallurgy.”

“A simple yes would have sufficed. Give me a sec.” She grabbed the bar over his head with both hands and braced her feet on
either side of his hips.

She smiled.“Now you can move.”

He tentatively released her and let her hold herself with her arms. She flexed her knees a bit, resulting in movement up and
down his shaft. She was as slick inside as out.

“And so can I.” She lowered herself further, taking more of him inside.“Ohmigod, that feels good.”

Now that his hands were free, he cupped her breasts, manipulating the nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She moaned
and pumped with her legs. Her movements goaded him, urging to match her downward strokes with thrusts of his hips slamming
their bodies together with a wet
slap, slap, slap
.

He found her mouth with his lips and drove his tongue into her moist softness at the same time he shoved forward with his
hips, seating himself inside her as deep as he could. Again and again, the tip of his penis banged against her womb.

He noted a change in her breathing as the muscles of her vagina rippled, stroking him, milking him.The sounds she made in
the back of her throat were sweet music to his ears.

Josie was so close, so fast.The intensity built like a raging inferno.

“I’m sorry, Josie-love. I can’t...hold back...any longer.”

She threw her head back and screamed his name, along with garbled animal noises that sounded something like,“Yes, go, yes.”

Her vagina clenched him so tightly he could not move, as if they were fused into one. She felt it. He felt it.

His howl of release joined hers.

He slumped back against the cage, her feet slid to the floor, and her body draped limply on top of his. He wrapped his arms
around her.

“Let go of the pipe now, Josie-love.”

“I don’t think I can.”

He helped her loosen her fingers, and with an arm around her shoulders he guided her under the overhead flow of warm water,
which was not quite as warm as earlier. He grabbed a soapy sponge and washed both bodies down with efficient swipes.

She gave a snort of laughter.“I’m supposed to be the one energized and you’re supposed to be ready to collapse.”

He picked her up and carried her out of the shower, setting her on an armless chair near the fireplace. He rubbed her dry
with a large soft towel. “I don’t know about your reactions, but I have about fifteen minutes before that exhaustion sets
in.”