Page 21 of How To Seduce A Wife

She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide. “It is like something out of a dream.”

“You have dreams like this?”

She blushed. “Sometimes. Doesn’t everyone?”

“Indeed. You’ve dreamed of me, I hope.”

“Of course, my lord.”

“And what exactly do I do to you in these dreams?”

She met his gaze. “Everything.”

His cock jerked at the shy invitation in her eyes. “Trust me. I intend to offer you more than you have ever dreamed of.”

* * *

Louisa caughther breath as Nicholas kissed her again. She wasn’t brave enough to tear at his clothing as many of the other patrons of the pleasure house were doing to their men. She yearned to feel his skin against hers, to see if she could reach the sexual heights he had shown her such an intriguing glimpse of.

“Come on.”

She allowed Nicholas to take her hand and lead her out of the large red and gold salon and into a quieter hallway lined with white painted doors.

“Where are we now?” she whispered as he continued to walk down the long line of closed doors. Each door had a small plaque. She tried to read some of them, but found that only added to her confusion. What on earth didANCIENTROMEorAMEDIEVALFANTASYmean? It was almost as if they were titles of books or paintings.

Nicholas stopped and held her close. “Do you trust me?”

She studied his expression. “Yes, of course.”

His smile was tender. “Good. Then close your eyes, count to five hundred, and then open the door and come in.” He kissed her hard on the mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll find you.”

“But...” He kissed her again and then walked away, leaving her facing one of the doors. The handwritten sign on the door simply readLOUISA. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and began to count. She’d said she trusted him and had agreed to come to this oddly exciting place, so what else could she do but obey his surprising request? Her body was already quivering with a strange mixture of anticipation and arousal.

When she finished counting, she took a deep breath and opened the door. Darkness met her gaze, and she stepped forward onto a wooden-planked floor until she could see the faint outline of a lantern. Around her were several large, stacked barrels, a torn sail, and what looked like a mast and rigging. For some strange reason she could smell the sea, and a small breeze lifted her skirts.

She had almost reached the pool of light surrounding the lantern, when a body crashed into hers and she instinctively yelped. A large hand covered her mouth, and she was pinned to a man’s chest.

“I’ve got her, sir!” Instinctively, Louisa kicked out at the man’s shins and he laughed. “She’s a feisty one, Captain. Be careful she don’t rip your balls off with her teeth!”

Hearty laughter met the man’s ribald remarks, and Louisa fought even harder. Whatever was going on, she had obviously blundered into the wrong room. Where was Nicholas and who on earth was manhandling her? Whoever he was, he smelled like a wet kipper. Two other men appeared with lanterns in their hands, and she gaped at them. They were dressed as sailors, one with an eyepatch, the other with a thick beard and a cutlass clasped in his hand.

She kicked out even harder. “Let me go!”

“Not until the captain gets here, my lady. He doesn’t like stowaways, even pretty ones like you.”

Louisa’s thoughts swirled, slowed, and settled on a most peculiar notion. This scene was almost identical to the one at the beginning of her favorite gothic novel. The very one that had gone missing from her room. She took a deep breath and hoped she was right.

“Unhand me, sirs. You don’t know who you are dealing with. I’m Lady Clarissa Devine, daughter of the Duke of Clifftopville. He will have your heads for this!”

Crude laughter and jeers greeted her retort, and for a moment she wondered if she’d gotten it completely wrong. Then another figure joined the three men, and her throat dried up completely. It was definitely the pirate captain, his billowing white sleeves edged with lace, the neck of his shirt open to display a hint of dark hair and his muscled chest. A long blue sash was tied around his waist, tight black breeches, and top boots completed his attire. Louisa hardly dared look at his face as he swaggered toward her.

“What have we here, Dawkins?”

“A lady, Captain, well she says she’s a lady, but no real lady would be hiding aboard a pirate ship.”

“I was not hiding, sir. I fully intended to confront this, this brigand.”

A rakish smile displaying excellent teeth greeted Louisa’s challenge, and the pirate captain moved even closer. He forced her chin up and stared down at her, his blue eyes stern.

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