The Secrets He Keeps: A Peril & Persuasion Novella

by Amy Sandas

  Still facing the mirror and now bared from waist up, she reached behind her back to where a tied ribbon secured the skirts around her narrow waist. The position thrust her breasts higher, making them jiggle delightfully.

  Reluctantly lifting his gaze from her creamy bosom, he noted the small tilt of a satisfied smile curling her mouth. The consummate seductress. Her sexual assurance was intoxicating, leaving him incapable of doing anything but staring with clenched teeth.

  Understanding his predicament entirely, she gave a soft chuckle before pulling the ribbon of her skirts, freeing the red silk to fall in a billowy scarlet cloud to the floor.

  A powerful jolt of need shot through him. But he forced himself to remain unmoving.

  Clad only in an underskirt of transparent black lace that did next to nothing to conceal the lush flare of her hips or the long lines of her shapely legs, she turned to face him. The shadow of pale gold curls at the juncture of her thighs nearly did him in.

  With herculean effort, he swallowed the deep groan of hunger pushing up from his chest and managed to utter three true words. “You slay me.”

  A blonde brow arced. “Isn’t that what dragons do? Surely, you didn’t expect me to spare you my flames.”

  “I’d willingly drown in your fire. But I’d prefer we dance in the flames together.”

  Sparks lit her gaze as she started toward him. Slowly but with undeniable purpose. Her steps languid. The movement of her body sultry. Sensual confidence flowed through her form, holding her shoulders back as her hips swayed.

  Stopping halfway across the room, she lowered her chin and smiled with sinful promise as she beckoned him with a curl of her finger.

  Pushing off from the door, he reached her in long, swift strides. He saw her ribs expand and her full breasts lift with a swift inhale that caught and held. Her kohl-rimmed eyes were narrowed and dark, watching him. Her reddened lips slightly parted to show the edge of white teeth.

  Though his hands burned with the desire to smooth over her pale skin, to cover her breasts and pinch their peaks, he instead reached up to gently caress one of the roses in her hair.

  Petals like the richest velvet. A red so dark it was nearly black. And as he carefully withdrew the first bloom from her golden tresses, he discovered the stem still held its thorns.

  He took care releasing her twisted and curled coiffure, making sure not to tug too hard on the pins or tangle the blooms in his attempt to free them. Within minutes, her hair fell in long gilded waves to her hips, framing her stunning beauty in pale gold light.

  His chest tightened as the fierce fire of possession engulfed him. “Callista.”

  Her given name slipped from his lips on a ragged whisper before he could hold it back. Her eyes flashed, but she said nothing.

  She was a creature beyond fantasy. An ancient and sensual goddess. A woman of myth and magic. And tonight she was his.

  Still holding the last rose he’d slipped from her hair—a full-blown bloom with wicked thorns and a scent of sensual promise so intoxicating it made his head spin—Erik lifted the flower to brush the petals softly across her lips. Though he felt her gaze intent upon his face, he couldn’t keep from watching the path of the rose as he trailed it down the side of her neck, along her collarbone, then down between the heavy globes of her breasts to her navel. Circling the rose over her low belly, he watched her muscles tense with a satisfied smile.

  Drawing the rose up again, he followed the undercurve of one breast. Her nipples tightened and puckered beneath his gaze, anticipating the velvet touch of the rose.

  Tension rode gently across her brow as breath passed swiftly between her lips and her green eyes flashed.

  Had the bewitching seductress finally fallen under his spell?

  Holding her gaze, he circled the peak of first one breast, then the other. Her lashes fluttered as she spoke in a husky whisper. “Beware how much you tease. I’ve some skill in sensual torment, as well.”

  “I fucking hope so,” he replied in a gravelly confession, drawing a soft chuckle from her throat.

  He took that moment to lower his head and take one breast fully in his mouth, drawing the budded peak deep.

  Her gasp was loud and raw as her hands lifted to grasp his head and her spine arched.

  Slipping one arm around her waist, he held her secure to accept the luscious roll of his tongue and the sharp edge of his teeth. Her body fit perfectly within the concave curve of his. Their legs intertwined, her low belly was soft against his aching erection, and her breasts lifted to his mouth. When he turned his head to capture the other breast for equal attention, her fingers curled into his hair, tugging at the scalp while holding him to her.

  She knew her pleasure and how to claim it.

  But he wanted to give her more. More than she’d ever experienced. More than she knew was possible. He was offering all that he was to this woman tonight. Every breath and thunderous beat of his heart.

  Grabbing her buttocks in his hands, he raised his head and lifted her against him. Her legs parted to wrap around his hips.

  “Bed?” The one word was a question and a demand.

  “Through the door behind you,” she gasped before rolling her hips along his length.

  His grip on her lush rear tightened as he turned in place. If he didn’t hurry, they wouldn’t make it to a bed, and he so wanted to have her spread out on the softness of a mattress as he attended to her pleasure.

  The room beyond was dark compared to the outer room, but after only a moment, his eyes began to adjust to the dim, seductive candlelight.

  The bedroom was small, and if the sitting room had been gilded fire, this room was all secret darkness and wicked night. The walls were black and silver brocade and thick black carpeting covered the floor. The four-poster bed was made of wood that gleamed a cherry red in the candlelight and was dressed in velvets the color of a midnight sky. But in the center of the room was a straight chaise bench, long and wide, covered in sleek red leather that no doubt felt like butter to touch.

  The chaise gave him ideas. Sinfully delicious ideas.

  Later.

  He took her first to the bed, but he didn’t lay her down. Instead, he lowered her feet to the floor and pressed her back to the bedpost behind her. Their gazes locked and held, but neither of them spoke. He could feel her expectation, her trust—if only in this—as she appeared content in the moment to await his direction.

  Grasping her wrists in his hands, he lifted them up over her head until she wrapped her elegant fingers around the smooth column of the bedpost. Then he slid her hands higher. Higher. Until she was stretched out, reaching far above her head, elongating her torso, and lifting her plump breasts.

  Erik stepped back to admire the picture she made. Skin pale in the darkness, the swirl of black lace shielding her lower body, her gaze direct and challenging, her lips red and glistening.

  “Gorgeous.”

  His low murmured word sounded like a benediction in the dark silence.

  Utterly fitting as he lowered to his knees before her. She still wore her black heeled slippers. He left them in place as he smoothed his hands up the outsides of her legs, reaching beneath the fall of lace. Taking a deep breath, he drew in the rich, honied scent of her as he explored the silk of her bare skin, the elegant curves of her calves, the softness of her thighs. Shoving the transparent skirts up and up as he went.

  And when she boldly tilted her hips toward him, heat blasted through him.

  Yes. He would give her what she demanded.

  His hands reached the swell of her buttocks and he wrapped them firmly around the backs of her thighs, his fingertips tingling with the barest touch of heat from her core. With his thumbs, he held the black lace above her exposed mound. Gold curls glistened, shielding paradise.

  Her thigh muscles tightened and Erik glanced up the length of her lush body. Her head was thrown back, but her eyes—heavy-lidded and bright—gazed down at him.

  “More teasing?”
she asked. Her tone was sultry and thick. Needful.

  He smiled. “Not teasing. Savoring. I’ve been wanting to taste you, claim you, pleasure you with my mouth for an eternity. Now that I’ve got you where I want you, do not expect me to rush the experience.”

  She made a short sound as her hips undulated in his hands. “Your patience is unbelievably frustrating.”

  Erik chuckled thickly and turned his head to press a kiss to her inner thigh. “You’ll be grateful for it by the end of the night.”

  “But it’s already nearly dawn. The night is almost over.”

  “Not here. Not in our world,” he murmured as he pressed another kiss to her trembling thigh, slightly higher. “The night has just begun.”

  The sound she made was an otherworldly growl. “If you don’t put your tongue to me right n—”

  Her voice caught harshly in her throat before sliding into a moan as Erik covered her clitoris with his open mouth in a hot, suckling kiss. Her hips gave an involuntary jerk but he lifted one of her legs to rest over his shoulder, opening her body for the full attention of his mouth.

  Holy hell. The first long glide of his tongue along her honied cleft made his head spin with the musky taste of her arousal. Liquid gold. Fire and sin.

  With one hand still gripping her thigh, he brought his other hand between them to gently part her folds, exposing her further to his gaze and the full thrust of his tongue. He wanted to get as deeply inside her as he could go while burying his nose in her soft, sweet-scented curls. When she rocked against him, he softened his tongue and lapped along the full length of her swollen folds before circling her clitoris with skillful, urging intent. He suckled the bud before nipping at her sensitive inner lips then thrust again into her honied center.

  The taste of her pleasure wet his lips and soon dripped down his chin.

  He couldn’t get enough. His body responded to every little sound she made, every tilt and twist of her pelvis, ever delicate flutter and pulse of her flesh. He’d become hard as stone from head to toe, but still he couldn’t stop attending to her. Not until she offered that first precious orgasm to his mouth.

  And when she finally did, it was glorious.

  Her thighs tightened around his head, locking him in place. One of her hands fell to the back of his head and her body tensed with the rushing climax that claimed her.

  Erik didn’t stop thrusting and licking and sucking even as her hips bucked wildly and her fingernails dug into his scalp.

  It was everything he wanted. Complete abandon. Violent pleasure. Passionate surrender.

  Once the wave swept through her, it left her shaking and trembling in his hands.

  Rising to his feet, he swept her up and laid her on the silk-covered mattress before swiftly divesting of his own clothing. By the time he stepped back to the bed, she’d rolled to her stomach and lifted herself to rest on her elbows.

  The glitter of her green gaze greedily soaked up the sight of his naked body.

  Erik had always taken good care of himself, enjoying the strength and ability he experienced when he maintained a well-honed physique. It was a welcome by-product that his trim, muscled form pleased his lovers. One he’d never been so grateful for as he was when her hot, desirous gaze settled on his standing cock and she issued a sultry moan of pleasure before murmuring, “Your turn.”

  Chapter Ten

  The man was a goddamned masterpiece. Not to mention a genius with his tongue.

  But of course he was. She’d seen the knowledge in his eyes at their first meeting. A man only came by that kind of self-assurance through honest means. And thank God for it!

  Her body still trembled with receding pleasure. But if Maxwell was a genius, she was a savant because she knew they’d only exposed the tip of what was to come tonight.

  At the moment, however, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. His body was honed with muscle. Solid and strong, yet trim and devoid of any unnecessary bulk. Most importantly, so was his cock. Long and thick without being of an obscene size, it curved proudly up toward his belly with a slight tilt to the right. The imperfection made her mouth water.

  He stepped toward her at the same time she reached out for him, wrapping her fingers tightly around the base. Hot, hard, satiny flesh throbbed in her hand. She breathed deeply and evenly through her nose, reveling in the pure male scent of him. Clean, earthy, grounding. Then she flicked her gaze upward. Past his taut, rippled stomach. Over his defined chest covered in a sprinkling of iron-gray hair. To the tense line of his jaw, the firm press of his fabulous lips, and finally, to the sharp spear-like focus of his gaze.

  Only then did she lean forward to lash her tongue over the head of his cock.

  He tensed but said nothing. His eyes held hers with manacle strength and his hands fisted at his sides.

  She extended her tongue again. This time executing a more intricate dance around the crown, teasing the slit and the sensitive ridge with quick flicks. He pulsed in her grip, growing even larger. Harder. In reward, she ran her tongue up his full length from base to tip. Then did it again, adjusting the pressure of her tongue, adding a few swirls and delicate little kisses along the way.

  Yet still, her teasing did not break his calm or his patience.

  Hmm.

  Shifting position, she brought her knees up beneath her, resting her buttocks back on her heels. This allowed her a bit more leverage and freed her other hand, which she immediately put to use, cupping his balls as she directed his head between her lips. When her lips slipped past the glans to the veined shaft, he finally issued a deep-throated groan of pleasure.

  Sliding her mouth back to the tip, she looked up at him again.

  His eyes had closed and his head had dropped back. But only for a moment. Bringing his attention back to her, he slid a hand into her hair to grasp her head with wide-spread fingers.

  Yes. This was what she wanted. This show of command. This display of base, primitive need. Her belly swirled with desire and wet heat pooled in her cunny.

  For just a second, she resisted his subtle urging, holding her mouth an inch distance from his pulsing tip.

  His stomach muscles released and contracted on a harsh and ragged breath as he waited.

  But he waited.

  Power surged through her. Power and pleasure and something else.

  Despite the sexual hunger of his body, the obvious need coursing through him to culminate in the member grasped tightly in her hand, he waited. With his gaze glinting and sharp. His lips pulled back just enough to show the edge of teeth and his breath unsteady. He waited.

  And Callista teased.

  A quick flick of her tongue to the underside of his pulsing head. A gentle squeeze of his balls. A look of challenge.

  To her surprise and delight, he smiled down at her. “Wicked woman,” he accused in a gravelly murmur.

  She smiled back, but not for long as she was already bringing him back to her mouth. This time, when she took him as deep as she could then slid her mouth back to the crown, she didn’t stop. Continuing the rhythm of deep, sucking strokes, she reveled in the tightening of his hand in her hair, the low groans rolling through his chest, and the trembling she began to feel in his hard thighs.

  Though she enjoyed this act more than some women, she’d never particularly loved the culmination. But this time, with him, she found herself craving that moment when he’d reach climax and release his pleasure into the heat of her mouth. So much that the thought of him pulsing between her lips had her moaning softly as more heat flooded her sex.

  While she lowered her head to tickle one of his testicles with her tongue, he reached over her, sliding his hand down the arch of her spine. He first squeezed one buttock before gently slapping the other. Then he slid his finger down the cleft between, until he reached the flesh that ached so sweetly.

  Her moan was full and sultry around his cock as he spread her moisture along her folds before taking her clitoris in a spine-tingling pinch.

  Her b
reath caught and held at the burst of sensations he caused. Her belly clenched with a harsh, hollow feeling. And as she sucked hard on his length in an instinctive urge to fill that void, he eased two fingers deep into her body.

  Her exhale was another moan. Involuntary and raw.

  He withdrew his fingers then thrust them into her again.

  She arched, tipping her hips higher, spreading her thighs, giving more. Demanding more.

  He set a rhythm to match the one she executed with her mouth and hands on his cock.

  But soon it got to be too much for both of them. In unspoken accord, they shifted position. Erik climbed onto the bed, kneeling as Callista rose up to her hands and knees, turning her back to him.

  There was a brief pause as he grasped her hips in his hands.

  His erection bumped against her heated flesh, but he did not thrust forward. She glanced over her shoulder as he slid his hands up along her rib cage to her shoulders. There he gathered the full mass of her hair in one fist, twining its length around his wrist.

  Then very gently he pulled her up to her knees until her back was flush to his chest. She tipped her chin up and turned her head to the side. He met her there with an open-mouthed kiss that made her bones melt. Their tongues tangled and their teeth nipped.

  Wrapping his other arm snug around her waist, he held her against him as he scooped his hips and entered her in a smooth upward thrust. The sharp angle had him hitting all the right spots inside her, making her gasp and shudder. Another short, rolling thrust nudged his head along that sensitive inner flesh that made her thighs tighten and her low back bow.

  Again and again, he thrust like that, while his mouth fell to her shoulder. He sealed his lips over the muscle there, sucking hard on her flesh, giving her the edge of his teeth and a hard pinch on her nipple as she gasped and strained and shook in his hold.

  A fucking genius. No denying it.

  And when he shifted his hold to grasp her breast, her body convulsed, on the verge of another climax. This one promising to be more intense than the last.