Tempt the Devil Read online

  “Then do nothing.”

  Chapter 7

  Do nothing? What breed of man was this?

  Feeling at a complete loss, Olivia let Lord Erith draw her shift over her head. His hands were cool and sure as they brushed her skin. And pleasantly dry. She hated men with wet hands.

  Lord Erith kissed the side of her neck. His hands curled around her body to cup her breasts, kneading gently. Slowly, luxuriously, he pressed her into his body. She felt as much as heard his sigh of pleasure when her naked back made contact with the wool and cambric that covered his broad chest.

  He radiated heat. It was like leaning against a sun-warmed brick wall on a summer afternoon. She closed her eyes and drifted away as he played with her breasts.

  He tugged gently on her distended nipples and rolled them between finger and thumb. She sensed the voluptuous enjoyment he took in her. Oddly, that gave enjoyment in return. Not the familiar enjoyment of knowing she’d mastered yet another lover. Instead, it was a new, gentler satisfaction.

  “Aren’t you undressing, my lord?” She was surprised she didn’t have to pretend the throatiness of the question.

  He gave a grunt of breathless laughter as he kissed her nape. The little glances of his mouth felt nice, like butterflies skimming her skin. “My plan involves working you into a frenzy of lust.”

  “And you staying uninvolved?”

  “A shred of clear-headedness is my best hope. Clothes help.”

  He pressed his hot erection into her bare buttocks. Groaning softly into her ear, he rubbed against her and bit her shoulder. She gave a start although he didn’t hurt her. Like the rest of him, his teeth were big and strong. There was something strikingly intimate about him using them on her. It made her think of a stallion mating with a mare. The breathtaking combination of power and sensitivity.

  She turned in his arms to see his face. His eyes glittered silver, and hectic color marked his prominent cheekbones. Yet his hands didn’t clutch at her and he allowed her to establish a small space between them. A space redolent of heat and the musk of excited male.

  She took a deep breath before she spoke, and the spice of his arousal entered her lungs like rich tobacco. He smelled good. She’d noticed that the first time he touched her. Clean, masculine, without the cloying scents so many men used. She breathed in again, just for pure pleasure.

  It felt odd to stand here naked while he remained dressed for society. Briefly she wondered at his life away from her. Probably the same as every other buck of the ton’s. Drinking and gambling and chasing women. Although the same instinct that told her he wasn’t the cad he acted told her he hadn’t taken a woman tonight. Or yesterday either.

  “This won’t work. There’s some…some lack in me.” Obscurely it hurt her that he devoted this trouble to her when nothing but bitter failure awaited. She paused and licked her lips. She’d never had to explain her handicap to a lover. “You’re a decent man.”

  He made a derisive sound in his throat. “That’s more than most people think.” He ran his hands down her arms and took her hands.

  Because she mistrusted the fragile empathy building between them, she spoke harshly. “Far better to push me on my back and have your way. I know you’re in pain.”

  “The pain will make the pleasure sweeter.”

  He brought her right hand to his groin. Under her fingers he was hard like steel. Alive. No doubting his desire. As she stroked him through his trousers, the huge member thickened. Erith closed his eyes and leaned in so his tumescent flesh pushed into her hand.

  “God, Olivia,” he groaned. “You’d try a saint.”

  “I suspect you’re no saint.” She increased the pressure, testing the shape and weight of him. She imagined taking him in her mouth again. Last night, having this virile male in her power had offered a special pleasure. She wanted to feel that pleasure again. It was the closest she’d ever come to enjoying the sexual act.

  Past time she took charge of this encounter, cut the threads of tender intimacy he slowly twined around them. Tender intimacy wasn’t for women like her.

  “Lie back, my lord,” she murmured in the voice she’d used with so many men.

  She heard how he struggled to draw breath. “I’m not a dumb beast.”

  She raked her nails across his chest so his nipples tightened under his shirt. “You’re putty in my hands.”

  His hips surged forward. “Putty isn’t the word I’d use.”

  “You’re big and hard. I’ve never felt a man bigger.”

  “Stop it,” he growled even as he let her navigate him toward the bed.

  “It’s true.” She laid her palms flat on his chest. One small shove and he fell against the mattress. “You’re magnificent. When I took you in my mouth last night, you filled me completely. Do you remember?”

  “I remember,” he said hoarsely.

  “I can do that again.” She licked her lips and looked down at the man sprawled on the sheets. The front of his trousers tented and his face was stark with overwhelming hunger.

  “I know you can.” He frowned; more in regret than anger, she thought. “But what will it prove?”

  She shrugged. “Why must it prove anything? Pleasure is its own reward.”

  “How would you know?”

  She stiffened. He wasn’t supposed to fight back. She shifted her focus from his superb body to his eyes. She already knew she wouldn’t find what she sought—the blank sheen of unthinking desire.

  He wanted her, all right. But he hadn’t given in by a long shot.

  As she’d expected, the gray eyes between the thick black lashes were steady. She hadn’t won this particular battle yet. Perhaps she just needed to try harder. “That wasn’t fair.”

  “You’re playing pretty dirty yourself, Olivia.”

  “Just watch me.”

  “I can’t do anything else. You’re the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met.” He didn’t sound entirely pleased.

  She placed one stocking-covered knee on the mattress beside his thighs and swung her other leg so she straddled him. “Shall I do what I did last night?”

  “No.”

  “No?” She raised skeptical eyebrows and looked down into his face. How strong his features were. Her gaze dwelled on the high, straight brow, the arrogant prow of his nose, and the hard angles of his jaw. But his mouth was fuller than usual and his tanned skin was tight and flushed. “Didn’t you like it?”

  His lips twisted in a bitter line. “That’s a fatuous question. Damn you, you flung me to heaven and back and you know it.”

  “Don’t you want to take the ride again?”

  “No.”

  Strangely, his resistance pleased her. She gave a mocking huff of laughter. “You’ve paid a fortune to refuse my attentions, Lord Erith. Such a waste. Like owning a Rubens and hiding it in the cellar.”

  He didn’t smile. “You know what I want.”

  “And you know what I’ll give you.”

  “To hell with this!”

  His sudden anger startled her. As did his explosion into movement. The room reeled as he jackknifed up and grabbed her, tumbling her over onto her back. Automatically, she clutched his shoulders. He loomed above her, caught between her spread thighs.

  “My lord!” she said breathlessly, more excited than angered. She stared up into those fierce silver eyes and silently willed him to surrender. Willed him to prove himself the same as the rest of his vile sex.

  His trousers created a sensual friction against her legs. Just to torment him, she bent her knees and rubbed her thighs against his. His breath hitched and his grip on her ribs tightened.

  “Siren. Witch. Circe,” he groaned.

  He began to move in the familiar rhythm of lovemaking. Except even hot as steel from the forge, he made no attempt to free himself from his clothing. The weight of his body on hers made something twist low in her belly. The odd sensation was like hearing the sound of distant thunder on a sunny day.

  She arched u
p, wordlessly offering herself. “Calling me names won’t make me stop.”

  He gave a ragged laugh and buried his face briefly in her bare shoulder. Strangely, the moist warmth of his breath and the uncertain movement of his shoulders as he laughed and fought for breath at the same time touched her. She strove to play the cold courtesan but he made it impossible. Her hands relaxed, shifted. Not the practiced touch of a whore inciting a lover to passion he’d paid for.

  She caressed him as if she wanted to.

  Dear heaven, what was happening to her?

  He must have felt her sudden tension because he lifted his head and stared at her. “Am I too heavy?”

  “No.” He felt just right pressing her into the mattress. Although he’d feel even better if he removed his clothes.

  He propped himself on his elbows. “Something’s wrong.”

  She looked up into his face. His eyes glittered. His black hair was untidy and a wayward lock fell across his forehead. Nobody would ever mistake him for an untried youth, but he looked younger than usual. Her heart performed a strange flip.

  Olivia, be careful.

  The warning was sharp as a jab from a knife.

  “I will prevail,” she almost growled. The hands that had been almost tender tore at his clothes. She ripped off his neckcloth and threw it aside. His shirt sagged open and she rained feverish kisses across the broad plain of his chest.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  “No.” Her usually adept fingers fumbled with his trousers.

  “Pity. You need to be kissed.”

  “I need to be fucked.” A word she rarely used. Some strictures of her upbringing lingered, however low she’d fallen in the world.

  “When you get no pleasure from the act?” Curse him, she’d wanted to shock him. But he sounded imperturbable as ever. “I don’t think so.”

  “What about your pleasure?” At last his trousers fell open and she forced her shaking hand inside.

  “I can wait.” The answer tangled in his throat. Betrayed how he fought himself as well as her.

  “Why should you?” She traced his length. He groaned and thrust his hips forward. Teasing him, she touched the head of his member, oh, so lightly. He jerked again. She brushed the sensitive tip again, feeling the moist evidence of need.

  “You’re driving me mad, damn you.”

  He lurched up, tore his coat off then tugged his shirt carelessly over his head. His chest was as magnificent as she remembered, with its heavy arcs of muscle and thick pelt of black hair. She had a second to admire him while he shed his trousers. Then he lowered himself on top of her. Every tumescent inch of him pressed into the soft flesh of her stomach.

  He resumed the rhythmic rubbing motion. It was strangely disturbing. Not unpleasant. She tried to angle up so he thrust into her. But he held her hard against the mattress.

  “Surrender to me,” she gasped.

  “Never. Surrender to me.”

  “Never.” She gave a breathless laugh. The duel thrilled her mind although her body remained as dead to sensation as ever.

  He’d been aroused since he arrived. Surely that iron control must shatter. He was very close. But he’d confounded her before. He was the only man she’d ever met with a will to match her own.

  “Do you feel anything?” he asked hoarsely, raising his head to see her face. He shook and his skin was damp with sweat. His chest heaved as he fought for air.

  “You’re heavy.”

  “You know what I mean. Do you want me?”

  “Yes.”

  Roughly, he thrust his hand down between her legs. She was as dry as she’d been last night. Nothing he did could transform her into a real woman. What terrified was that for the first time, she wished she was a real woman.

  For him, dear Lord help her.

  Each moment she spent with Erith, she sank further into quicksand. And she didn’t know how to save herself.

  He clasped her chin so she met his eyes. Beneath the glaze of arousal, anger stirred. “You’ve lied to every other man you’ve slept with. Don’t lie to me.”

  “What makes you special?” she said breathlessly.

  “Yield and I’ll show you.” His lips stretched in a confident smile that sent that strange pang to her belly again.

  “I can’t be more available than I am right now,” she said with asperity.

  “You’d love Spain,” he said in a dreamy voice. The rhythm of his strokes against her changed, became slower, more languid. “The cold fresh air on the ridges of the Pyrenees. The passionate Gypsy dances. The sound of guitars. When you walk beside the Mediterranean, you smell spice on the wind that blows from Africa.”

  More than his words, the tone of his deep voice as he crooned the evocative descriptions made her shiver with longing. She’d revealed too much last night. He was clever enough to see what nobody else ever had and ruthless enough to use his newfound knowledge against her. “Stop it.”

  “Would you like to come to Spain with me, Olivia? They appreciate a beautiful woman. I can see you in Spain, free and laughing.”

  “My lord…”

  “I see you in the bright sunlight. All the colors in your hair shining. You’d dance to the wild music and drink rioja and eat fish caught from the sea at your doorstep. The sea where you’d swim, naked and beautiful. And you’d be mine.”

  His words hurt her. If she didn’t stop him, he’d destroy her. “I’m not yours. I’ll never be yours.”

  Unless she was careful, he’d break the heart she’d never thought in danger. She curved up and placed her mouth on his nipple, sucking hard.

  He groaned and she felt him shudder.

  Yes!

  He gripped her arms and wrenched away.

  He reared back and she spread her legs wider, preparing for invasion. He was such a large man, she wondered how she’d encompass him. She held her breath. He flung his head back and she caught the tormented expression that twisted his face.

  She closed her eyes.

  Oh, yes. She’d won.

  Every muscle in her body tensed as he plunged down.

  Then abruptly he rolled to the side.

  “Christ,” he gritted out, spending himself in mighty spasms upon the sheets.

  Chapter 8

  Lord Erith sprawled at Olivia’s side without speaking, his head buried in the pillow. She couldn’t see his face but his black hair was limp with perspiration and the bare skin of his back glistened. His huge spread-eagled body vibrated tension.

  Their ragged breathing was the only sound in the room. The atmosphere sparked with violent emotion. The air was sharp with sex and sweat.

  A leaden weight settled in her belly. She’d never felt like this before. Edgy. Uncomfortable. Distressed. Regretful. Angry but without any target for her anger. Brimful of warring reactions that jostled to find outlet. Dissatisfied. Which was ridiculous, as satisfaction with a lover had never been a possibility.

  She was tired and sad and absurdly heartsick. With no good reason. She should be rejoicing in her ascendancy over the arrogant Lord Erith.

  Except she hadn’t really won. He’d resisted all her sensual arts. At the last minute he’d wrenched back control. He hadn’t taken her.

  Just when she believed he couldn’t withstand her, he stole a pyrrhic victory that left both of them lost in this cruel darkness. He found no relief in what had happened. She read no joy, no gloating, no triumph in the trembling, prone body next to hers.

  She closed her eyes, but that just made her memory of the incendiary, devastating moment more vivid. His face had been tortured, and his harsh curse as he’d flung away had made her heart contract with despair. Something about the cheap, bitter encounter left her feeling used and alone in a way she hadn’t experienced since her first keeper.

  She heard the bedclothes rustle as he turned to observe her. “Is this what you wanted?” The grim question chimed exactly with the sour tenor of her thoughts.

  “No.” She opened her eyes and stared a
t the ceiling, willing the few acrid tears to evaporate. She needed her armor back in place before she met that probing gray gaze.

  Another fraught silence. A log disintegrated in the grate, the sound as startling as a bullet fired from a gun. She drew a shuddering breath, raised herself against the pillows and at last looked at him.

  “Why? Why, Erith?” The familiar name slipped out before she could stop it.

  Even after what they’d been through tonight, he was too acute to miss it. “You’ve never called me that before.”

  “I shouldn’t call you that now.”

  “My God, woman, you’re lying naked beside me. Call me Erith. Call me Julian, if you like. I’d certainly like it. I don’t expect my mistress to pull her forelock and curtsy before she services me.”

  “You don’t expect your mistress to service you at all,” she said acidly. “Or not this one. For pity’s sake, why not just use me as you will? This noble act is insane.”

  His jaw set in a stubborn expression. “There can be more between us.”

  “No, there can’t. I am the woman you pay to share your bed. You are the man I accepted as a client.”

  “Last night, you hung on every word I spoke.”

  Something that felt perilously like yearning pierced her. For a short space she’d forgotten she was cold, remote Olivia Raines with her available body and her clever hands and her willing mouth. For a short space she’d felt like he spread the whole world at her feet for her delectation.

  Dangerous, dangerous illusion.

  She wanted to snap at him that last night hadn’t meant anything. But as she studied him, she noticed he looked weary, almost defeated. For once, he looked like a man approaching early middle age. Deep lines marked his eyes and dragged at the corners of his mouth. The crackling energy she’d believed unquenchable was absent.

  Before she thought, she raised a hand and touched his stubbled cheek. The involuntary gesture conveyed more tenderness than anything else between them in this long, harrowing night.

  “I’m sorry I’m not what you want,” she said softly and with a genuine sorrow that would have surprised her two days ago.