Page 73 of Tempted
“Did ye say depraved, my sweet?”
“No—that’s you, Douglas!”
He was around the table in a flash, lifting her into his lap, unable to keep his hands from her one moment longer “Ye always call me Douglas, never Ram,” he complained
“I care not for the name; I’ll not say it.”
“You shall!” he vowed, lifting the silken waterfall of her hair to kiss the nape of her neck.
“Douglas, we still have dessert!”
“I know,” he said wickedly, slanting a black brow at her
“But only look,” she said lifting a silver cover “He has made us a gâteau d’amour” It was a work of art. The almond-flavored cake was designed in the shape of a shield, its crimson heart was crushed raspberries and its sauce was incomparable burnt caramel crème fraîche. She dipped in her finger and held it to his lips He licked it and murmured, “It is tae die for.” She picked up two spoons and presented one to him He took it, and together they tasted the heavenly creation. It was so rich that two or three tastes satisfied them, and Ram soon forgot the food as another hunger needed satisfying.
Suddenly there were no words to spoil the magic of this moment they shared. His lips had found her face and begun their slow seduction. He kissed her temple and brushed his lips along her eyebrow, then when she lowered her lashes, he very gently kissed her eyelid.
His lips burned her skin as they drifted across her cheekbone, then nibbled at her ear, biting the pink lobe with his sharp white teeth. The tip of his tongue came out, and she drew in her breath as he traced the outline of her lips with it.
His hands lifted her hair, and she thought he would again kiss her nape. He did—but not before his deft fingers unfastened and removed the pink and silver ruff. His midnight black eyes stared at her mouth a long time before he kissed it, and Tina was almost undone. He made love to her with his eyes as skillfully as he did with his lips. When the kiss finally came, it centered upon her full underlip that had tantalized him and almost driven him crazy whenever he had gazed at it. He took it between his lips to taste and suck and lick as if it were a ripe and succulent cherry.
His experienced fingers soon opened her gown to allow his strong hand to roam at will. Ram was wise enough not to go directly for her sensitive nipple. Instead, he curved his warm fingers about the delicious swell of her breast and cupped it in his palm. Tenderly, he allowed his thumb to stroke the velvet skin, evoking sensations she had never known before.
Slowly, like the rising sun at dawn, she realized what was happening to her. Curled in his lap before the fire with his hand inside her gown and his lips stealing kisses, she was becoming aroused. He took such deep pleasure from doing these things to her that she felt the power of her own femininity. Ada was right—it was possible to enjoy sensuality for its own sake. It was not lessened by the fact that you hated the man who aroused you; perhaps it was even heightened!
He was a bold and dominant man who would learn all the secrets of her body, but he could never learn the secrets of her mind. With firm yet tender hands, he pushed the gown from her shoulders, then shifted her slightly in his lap to pull it from her entirely.
She was quite breathless, and her breasts rose and fell temptingly from the delicate pink shift As his insistent hands removed the shift, she was aware of his sex, hard and throbbing against her bottom cheek. His hands did not stop until she sat nude upon his knee, save for her pink stockings and garters.
Ram stopped himself from thinking of the bed. He put an iron control upon the lust that demanded the drive and force of the dance of death. His urges were deeply sexual He wanted no handkerchief to tuck into his doublet, he wanted everything. He wanted her body and soul. He knew how to stoke the fires of desire by whispering wanton words into her ear as his hand stroked down across her hip and belly, seeking the scented, secret place that shielded her woman’s center.
She made a murmur of protest and closed her legs, denying him.
“Hush love, ‘tis easier tae get used tae my hand first.” Gently, he coaxed her legs apart long enough for him to slip his hand between “Are yer curls as fiery down here?” he whispered, and suddenly she knew that between his legs would be blacker than soot “Have ye any idea how often I’ve pictured it nestled beneath yer fancy laces?”
She hid her face against the hollow of his throat and knew her continual blushes secretly amused him. He slipped a finger inside her, and she gasped at the intrusion.
She hesitated, thinking such a thing was shameless, then gave way, knowing Black Ram Douglas would always take exactly what he wanted. The damnable part of it was he made her want it too! He stroked and circled, feather-light, until her core was afire. “You must stop,” she whispered.
“Nay, if I stopped it would leave ye yearning and unsatisfied. Your body as well as mine has needs. This is just a little foreplay tae heighten our desire for each other. If we play out the game of love tae its natural conclusion, ye’ll experience fulfillment. Give yerself up tae me, and I’ll guide ye along the path tae paradise.”
She lifted her face from his throat and looked deeply into his eyes. She saw herself there and thought, I am already a part of him. He needs me now and forever. I must become like a narcotic to him so that when I withdraw, he will die of it.
As their eyes locked together, an innate knowledge came to her. She would not give in too soon or too easily, but when she did she would hold back nothing. She would not met him halfway, she would go all the way. It would be unconditional surrender; it would be cataclysmic!
He lifted her against his heart and carried her to the bed. He laid her upon the golden lynx fur and stood at the foot of the bed gazing enraptured at the velvety texture of her skin against the fur. She lifted her feet playfully and rested them against the great slabs of hard muscle on his wide chest.
With teasing hands he peeled one stocking and garter from her leg, then in no hurry at all to remove the other, erotically threaded his fingers through her fiery red triangle until she arched into his hand. Naked, beneath his hot gaze, she was provocative. She could not help herself! She slid over onto her stomach and rubbed her tingling mons into the soft fur. Her uninhibited behavior was making him wild. Her hair spilled across the golden lynx in a shimmering torrent, and he tore at his clothes to rid himself of the impediment.
He ached with the need to cover her naked body with his, to feel the soft silken curves along the whole, hard length of him. He straddled her, his iron-hard thighs, enfolding her softness. He lifted her hair and trailed kisses all the way down her spine. His hands slipped beneath her to cup her breasts. “Turn to face me,” he demanded.
“No,” she teased, and rubbed her cheek into the luxurious fur. “Your pelt is not so soft.”
“By God, it’s not soft ye want!” he said hoarsely.
She moved her bum evocatively against his groin and experienced a thrill of pleasure when he moaned. Her power over him was growing. He bent to her ear. “Are ye afraid tae see me?”
She was, a little, but this only heightened her excitement. She decided to admit it. “I think I am afraid. I’m not ready to let you go further.”
