by Monica Burns
“What happened to your face?” she exclaimed sharply. For a moment, he stiffened as a look of puzzled surprise flashed across his features before he smiled in a way that made her breath hitch.
“I didn’t duck fast enough,” he said with ironic amusement as he looked directly at her.
“You disobeyed my command to take care of yourself.”
“It was unavoidable,” he said with a touch of arrogance. “A woman I know was being assaulted.”
“You went to her rescue.”
“I did what any self-respecting man would do,” he bit out. “A man never hits a woman.”
Defiantly, Tobias glared at her, a black fury darkening his eyes before he shifted his gaze downward. Even with his head bowed she could still see the rage chiseling his strong features into a mask of cold stone. Something beyond moral outrage had driven him to rescue the woman last night. A sudden swell of jealousy sliced through her.
“This woman, she means something to you?” The moment she asked the question she regretted it. She knew the answer, he’d explained last night as she’d tended to the cuts on his face. The harshness of his features softened somewhat as a small smile curved his mouth.
“Would it matter if she did?” His impudent manner made Jane frowned. It would shift the balance of power between them if he realized she’d experienced even the slightest amount of jealousy.
“No, but your display of anger suggests you are motivated by something other than a gallant effort to rescue the damsel in distress.” Her words didn’t provoke a response from him, and Jane caressed the solid muscles in his chest. “Where else are you injured?”
“My ribs are sore, but I’ll live.” His cavalier remark whispered in the air over her head as she bent to examine his side.
“Dear God,” she exclaimed as her fingers brushed over the large dark bruise near his rib cage. The massive discoloration of his side made her stomach lurch with concern. Did the man have a death wish? Jane’s gaze shifted to the recent scar from a knife wound and back to his injured side. Jane took a quick step back.
“Get dressed.” Her sharp command made Tobias’ head jerked up, his expression one of irritation.
“Why?” he demanded in a harsh voice. With a withering look, Jane silently commanded him to drop his gaze. This time he refused to obey her. She sighed with frustration.
“You’re injured. I will not be responsible for inadvertently causing you more pain.”
“You won’t.” The supreme confidence in his voice made her frown with anger.
“No. I’ll not—”
“I know you won’t hurt me, Mystère.”
The softness in his voice made Jane’s heart skip a beat as he dropped his gaze. He wasn’t saying he could endure more pain. He was telling her that he trusted her not to do something that would cause him further injury.
She drew in a quick breath at his gesture of trust. Had she managed to place a small crack in the barricade he’d locked himself behind? Jane stepped into him and ran her hands across his chest.
“Is that a request, Tobias?” The question hung in the air between them for a long moment.
I’ve never run from a challenge.” The self-assurance in his voice angered her.
“Why do you insist on questioning my resolve, Tobias?” she snapped. “Is that why you came back?”
“No,” he replied in a silky voice that made her weak at the knees. “I simply wish to test my ability to please you, my Lady.”
“Which explains the jasmine petals,” she said with a nod toward the bed. The flowers were a favorite of hers, and his gesture had pleased her immensely.
“They remind me of the way you smell. Soft and feminine.” The quiet sincerity of his voice made the compliment all the more seductive. Her skin grew hot, and she swallowed hard.
“It was a thoughtful gesture, and it pleases me very much,” she murmured as she touched his uninjured cheek.
“I can think of other ways to please you as well, if you’ll let me, my Lady.”
The wicked note of seduction in his voice made her mouth go dry. The imagery filling her head sent her heart pounding violently into her chest. Desperately, she fought to control her suddenly erratic breath. Perhaps tonight would be more of a challenge for her than Tobias. With just a few words, he’d stirred a fiery need inside her. Jane sucked in a sharp breath of arousal as he leaned forward and inhaled an audible breath.
“I can smell your desire for me, my Lady,” he rasped. “Give me the honor and privilege of tasting you. Let me please you with my tongue.”
Jane choked back a small cry of need as her body responded to the hypnotic sound of his voice. It was mesmerizing, and she ached to do as he asked. She ran her fingers through his hair and pushed her desire aside. He’d not yet earned the right to touch her.
“You know my requirement for touching me, Tobias.”
“I do,” he said with a smile in his voice. “But the question is which one of us will surrender first.”
The arrogance in his voice made her turn away from him in frustration. Jane clenched her jaw as she considered her next step. Irritated, she moved to a nearby table where a number of items laid. She was familiar with them all and had watched Angélique use them numerous times. Her fingers glided over a pair of leather bindings, several different floggers and crops, a feather duster, and finally a narrow ring of leather with two leather straps attached to it. It was exactly what was called for. Despite the stiffness of the leather ring, the material was smooth, almost soft. But she knew it wasn’t the leather that would make Tobias uncomfortable, it was the effect it would have on his body. She returned to his side and dropped the leather ring onto the floor in front of him.
“I take it you know what this is for,” she said with a bite of steel in her voice.
“Yes, my Lady.” With his head bowed, she couldn’t see his grimace, but she heard it in his voice.
“Put it on.” She smiled with satisfaction at the way her command made him stiffen. “And make sure the laces pull your sacs upward as far as you can without experiencing any true discomfort.”
“Would it not please you to do this for me, my Lady?” he murmured in a sinfully dark voice.
“Do as you’re told, Tobias,” she said quietly, barely managing to keep her breathing steady at the thought of slipping the ring over his stiff erection with her own hands.
With a low growl, Tobias bent over to retrieve the leather ring from the floor. Straightening upright, he stood ramrod straight and slid the circle of leather over his hard, thick length. With a skill that said he was accustomed to the small piece of equipment, he tugged the crisscrossing laces tight until the leather ring closed completely and rested snug around the base of his erection.
Jane ignored the sensation of jealousy skimming through her blood as she realized other women had witnessed him performing this same task. In silence, she watched him wrap the remaining two laces under his sacs then pull the leather strips up to tie them off at the base of his erection. Even if she’d been able to form a coherent sentence, her voice would have been little more than a croak.
Determined not to let him gain the upper hand in their dance of power, Jane circled him to face his back. With a quick movement, she reached up for one of the ropes hanging from a pulley in the ceiling. With a quiet command she ordered him to slip his hand through the soft suede cuff at the end of the rope. Her fingers trembled as she buckled the cuff around his strong wrist.
“Are you all right, my Lady?”
There was just the hint of amusement in his voice as she finished tightening the cuff on his other wrist. She ignored the question and with a smooth pull of the ropes, she drew his arms up over his head until he was forced to stand on the balls of his feet. The uncomfortable position made him grunt. She flinched at the sound.
Despite her effort to take care with him when she’d pulled his arms upward she worried she’d exacerbated his injury and caused him further pain. She hesitated and tip
ped her head to study his profile. His expression was unreadable.
“If I cause you pain, Tobias, you are to tell me,” she ordered sternly.
“I am in no pain, my Lady.” His stoic response made Jane frown.
“You will obey me in this, Tobias, or we will be through for the night.”
“I will be fine, my Lady.” The cocky note in his voice made Jane slide her hands into his hair and roughly tug his head backward so she could look into his eyes.
“Stubborn man,” she snapped. “I’ve told you before that you’re mine, and that I expect you to take care of your body. From the look of your battered face, I can only assume you care little about pleasing me.”
“No,” he bit out between clenched teeth as her fingers tugged a bit harder on his dark, silky hair. “I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice, Tobias. Just as you have the choice and obligation to tell me if you’re in pain. I am here to care for you, not give you pain.”
She allowed her fingers to relax in his hair until she was stroking his scalp in a tender gesture. Reluctantly, she forced herself to step away from him and returned to the table to pick up a small bottle of oil. As she turned around, she breathed in a quick breath as she stared at him.
Everywhere she looked he was hard, lean muscle. The ropes that kept his arms up over his head displayed the taut sinews of his underarms, while emphasizing the breadth of his shoulders. He embodied a controlled power and strength that was magnificent to behold. From strong hands bound by suede cuffs to the way he balanced his body on the balls of his feet, it was evident God could not have made a more beautiful male creature.
Her gaze drifted down to where the leather ring kept him fully erect. A small pulse of electricity hummed its way through her. Their mutual pleasure hinged on her ability to draw him out and make him yield his strength to hers, if only in this room. Here he would find the refuge he longed for, but clearly didn’t believe was possible. She nibbled at her lip and walked back to his side.
The oil warmed her palm as she poured a small amount of the viscous liquid into her hand. Setting the bottle on the floor, Jane proceeded to smooth the oil across Tobias’ back. His muscles instantly flexed beneath her touch as she began to work the thick liquid into his skin. She worked in silence, enjoying the feel of his muscles loosening and giving way under her fingers. As she worked out a particularly hard knot in his upper back, a grunt of contentment echoed out of him. She smiled to herself.
“I think you like this.”
“Yes, my Lady. I like your hands on me very much.”
The wicked note of supreme satisfaction in his voice made Jane bite back a laugh as she continued to knead the muscles in his back and shoulders. In a leisurely stroke, her hands slid further downward, and she caressed the beautiful male curve of his buttocks. His body flexed with tension as she blew a small breath over his back. Her gaze suddenly focused on the white scars on his back, and she traced a particularly long ridge with her forefinger. His reaction was immediate and fierce as he jerked away from her touch.
“Don’t…” he rasped. His breathing was harsh and unsteady in his obvious effort to regain some measure of self-control “Forgive me, my Lady.”
She didn’t say a word, she simply watched his body illustrate the anger and fear simmering beneath the surface. The silence stretched out into a thinly disguised coating of charged emotions, and the sudden snarl that escaped him made Jane jump. It was the dark sound of a wounded animal. Without hesitating, she reached out and ran her hand over his rock hard shoulder. For several long moments, she massaged his shoulders and the nape of his neck conscious that his tension did not abate. He merely held it at bay.
“You said I wouldn’t hurt you,” she whispered as she slid her hand down the nape of his neck with a smooth, steady pressure. “Were you lying to me, Tobias?”
“No,” he denied.
“Then tell me how you got these scars.” Her command created a fresh group of knots in the muscles beneath her fingers.
“My father.”
The words were raw and hoarse with undisguised fury. Almost as if he realized he’d revealed too much, his body hardened even more against her hands. Where only seconds before his muscles had been supple under her touch, now he was inflexible steel beneath her fingers. His body had become a reflection of his need to hold her at bay. Powerful and all male, his back glistened in the candlelight, the scars on his back standing out even more prominently than before. With as light a touch possible, she traced the largest ridged scar on his back.
“How old—”
“Eight.”
The savagery in his voice was visceral, and it sent a chill skimming down her back. There was so much darkness in that one word. It rang out with a note of bleak despair that pointed to scars far worse than those from a physical beating. Her heart aching for that young boy, Jane impulsively bent her head and kissed the largest scar. With a low roar, Tobias threw his body forward in a vicious lunge. Overhead the pulley clanked its protest, but the ropes held fast. Arms stretched high and outward behind him, his muscles bulged taut and stiff beneath his skin. The sight made Jane draw in a sharp breath of horror as she realized he could easily pull an arm out of its socket. Alarmed, she quickly released the tension on the ropes then darted around his uninjured side to face him.
“Stop this, now,” she ordered in a harsh voice.
Tobias went rigid at the command then slowly relaxed as she pushed him backward until his feet were firmly planted on the floor and his cuffed hands were resting on his head with his elbows pointing toward her. Jane rubbed his bent arms with long, soothing strokes, and as the tension eased from his body, she slowly moved to stand behind him again. When her hands touched his upper back, he flinched. Jane held her breath for a long moment, but when he didn’t pull away from her touch, she continued to massage his shoulders.
“You seem to enjoy making me fear for your safety,” she murmured as her hands, still slightly damp with oil, rubbed across his shoulders with light, soothing strokes. “What am I to do with you, Tobias?”
“I can think of a number of things.”
While the darkness still vibrated in his voice, there was a touch of familiar arrogance threading its way through the bleak despair as well. To her surprise, he suddenly leaned his body back into her touch, and her heart skipped a beat. It was a movement that signaled a small, almost insignificant measure of surrender, but she accepted it.
The memory of his response to her kissing his scar made tears well up in her eyes. Jane slid her fingers up the nape of his neck into his silky, dark hair. A dozen questions danced through her head, and she sighed. Almost as if he’d read her mind, he tipped his head away from her touch.
“I didn’t need saving then, and I don’t need saving now, my Lady.” His voice was flat and emotionless. The words betrayed how close she was to touching the demons inside him.
“Perhaps not, but you seem to have a talent for rescuing others,” she murmured as she lowered her head to kiss his shoulder. “Who were you trying to rescue all those years ago?”
The moment the question filled the air, Tobias’ body became a marble statue, and she knew she’d reached the darkness of his soul.
Chapter 12
Fear twisted around his limbs like thick vines until he couldn’t move—breathe. She couldn’t possibly know the truth. How could she know he’d been trying to protect his mother the day his father beat him so hard blood ran down his back? His chest tightened with panic. Only two other people knew his secret, and she’d never met John or Samuel. A soft purring sound echoed in his ear, and he realized it was Mystère’s voice. Somewhere in his panicked thoughts, he’d imagined it was Jane’s gentle voice soothing him.
“There is nothing to fear in this room, Tobias.” Mystère’s fingers lingered against his temple in a soothing stroke. “Let me care for you. It will please me to do so.”
He shook his head viciously. She wasn’t talking about his p
hysical injuries. It was his inner soul she wanted to touch. The realization emphasized how unworthy he was of any woman, least of all Mystère or Jane. If he revealed the darkness buried deep inside him, it would horrify her almost as much as it did him. The thought charged his body with a terror he’d not experienced since he was a boy. It was a tangible sensation across his skin, and he was certain she sensed it as well.
“I prefer to tend to your needs, my Lady. Let me serve you by bringing you pleasure,” he ground out as panic continued to escalate inside him.
“Damn you, Tobias. You are an obstinate man,” she exclaimed with soft frustration. He heard the sound of satin rustling angrily over the floor as she walked around to face him. He was too exposed at the moment to challenge her by raising his head. Soft fingers slid across his scalp as she pulled his head up and forced him to look at her. “How do I make you understand that it gives me pleasure to care for you? If you truly wish to serve me, you must yield.”
“I have yielded to you, my Lady,” he muttered between clenched teeth. He wasn’t sure if he kept his eyes downcast out of respect or in an effort to keep her from seeing how close she’d brought him to the brink. “I answered your questions.”
“But still you hold something back.”
“Then ask me a question I’m willing to answer,” he snarled. She released her grip on his hair and allowed him to bow his head once more.
“Very well. What’s the real reason you came back tonight, Tobias?”
The question drove a spike into him. The answer was one his brain recognized yet refused to acknowledge. A candle sputtered somewhere in the room, almost as if protesting on his behalf. Silence filled the room then quickly stretched out ominously between them. The harsh rasp of his breathing reached his ears before he inhaled a deep breath and released it with a loud whoosh.
“You.” The word scraped painfully against his throat as he forced himself to share at least one truth with her. “I came back for you.”
“For me?” There was a pained note of disbelief in her quiet response that made him frown.