Page 40 of A Season for Smugglers (Deception and Discipline 3)

“My machines?” His eyebrows flew up, and he blinked before chuckling and shaking his head. “Perhaps I should thank them for helping me avoid an awkward conversation.”

Nathan seemed so self-assured, so knowing he felt awkward as well was a relief and a revelation. She would have never guessed he worried over bringing up something like his inventions, though when she thought about it, she could understand why he would.

“I do not want to use a machine on you tonight, Lily.” His dark gaze caught hers, hungry and hypnotic, making her breathless. “I want to pin you down to the bed and torment you. Make you beg. Make you scream for me while I take you as hard as I want, for as long as I want.”

The breathless feeling intensified as though her lungs had seized, her entire body clenching at his words.

“How would you torment me?” she asked in a choked voice, pressing her legs together. Her body was heating, and she was far more aware of the gentle caress of his fingers along her back than she had been a few moments earlier. Beneath her dress, her nipples pebbled into hard points that pressed against the fabric of her chemise, which suddenly felt itchy.

“I would tie you to the bed, so you were completely helpless.” Nathan’s gaze bore into hers, his words painting a depraved picture that roused her desires even more. “I would squeeze and pinch your breasts and nipples, suckle and bite them until you begged for mercy. Maybe use a whip or crop on them. And when I finally relented, I would do the same to your ass and cunt, until you were red and stinging all over. Only then would I fuck you, without one thought of your pleasure, using you as hard and rough as I could for my own satisfaction.”

The cold, callous tone of his voice should have been a bucket of cold water over her body. What he was describing sounded nothing like what they had shared on their wedding night, nothing like what her friends talked of, yet Lily felt her body respond as if he’d whispered sweet, seductive poetry in her ear.

“Then do it,” she whispered.

“You do not know what you are asking for.” His eyes glittered. Hard. Unyielding.

“Then show me.” Before he could speak again, Lily bent her head and kissed him full on the lips. She might be walking to her doom, but she took the path willingly. Eagerly, even. She wanted to know what it would feel like to be the woman in the picture he’d painted with his words, if the reality would make her feel the way his words did.

Nathan’s hands paused as she kissed him, and for a moment, she thought he would push her away, but then his grip tightened. He opened his mouth, taking over the kiss and wrenching the bit of control she’d had away from her.

ChapterNineteen

Nathan

He was at war with himself.

She wants it.

She does not know what she wants, and she certainly does not know what she is asking for.

Then show her. See if she can handle it.

If she cannot?

Then we will both know.

Though Nathan was fond of experiments, he was hesitating. There were more measured, more scalable options for this experiment, rather than rushing into everything headlong.

This is not everything, is it? It is one thing. And she was aroused by my words. Excited, even.

When he wanted to try something, if someone told him he did not know what he wanted, he would never let that stop him. So why should he stop Lily? Especially when it was exactly what he wanted as well.

Pulling her more firmly against him, he shifted her on his lap, feeling her gasp when her legs parted so she was straddling him, which pushed her skirts up, revealing her legs. The gasp was a reminder of why he was hesitant—despite her bold words, her experiences were extremely limited. She did not know how much she could actually handle, and neither did he.

If she wants to test her limits, why not let her?

Why not, indeed.

Resolution set in. It might test his control, but even getting some of what he wanted tonight was better than none, was it not?

Letting himself kiss her the way he wanted, he claimed her lips as he slid his hands down to her bare legs. He gripped the tops of her thighs, his thumbs pressing into the soft flesh near her pussy until she gasped and squirmed, then slid back up again.

Reaching behind her, he undid the buttons of her dress, the laces on her corset, still kissing her. His cock was hard as a rock as he pulled the dress and corset over her head, leaving her half-naked and straddling his lap. Despite the hot blush that suffused her cheeks, she did not try to cover herself. Pulling her chemise off and clad only in her stockings, his wife was now otherwise naked, straddling his lap, with her body completely vulnerable to his hands.

Undoing his cravat, Nathan kissed his way down her neck as he pushed her hands behind her back and wound the short length of fabric around her wrists. He would not tie it tightly since he would change her position soon, but this would give her an idea of what it would be like to be restrained to the bed. The helplessness. The inability to do a thing as he touched and tormented her.

And he meant to torment her.

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