His Mistress

by Monica Burns

  “Can you forgive me?” The soft whisper near his ear made his mouth go dry. Jane’s voice. He immediately rejected the thought.

  “You did nothing wrong. So there is nothing to forgive,” he said in a tight voice. “We’ll not discuss it any further.”

  The black silk of her mask caressed his back, and his doubts rushed at him. If Jane really was Mystère, what reason could she possibly have for not revealing herself to him? He could think of nothing. It left him with only one of two possibilities. Either Jane and Mystère were two different women or Jane had lied to him.

  A voice in the back of his head encouraged him to tug the mask off her face. He dismissed the thought. It would be a breach of the house rules. A member’s identity remained sacrosanct. He of all people could appreciate that. The simplest thing to do was simply ask her for the truth. Her hand moved to curl around his shoulder and a soft kiss burned his back.

  He wanted nothing more at the moment than to roll over and take possession of her body. The thought of sliding into her and submitting himself to her commands on how to pleasure her knotted his muscles with desire. If it allowed him to elude the past for even a few brief moments it would give him the strength to walk away from her. And he would walk away.

  It didn’t matter whether she was Mystère or Jane. One woman had exposed the darkest part of his soul, and the other had offered him the possibility of home and companionship. Both possibilities left him vulnerable, and vulnerability was the one thing he couldn’t afford.

  Her hand moved again and caressed his skin in a seductive stroke until her fingertips brushed against the crevice where his hip met his thigh. Instantly, he was hard and erect. Tobias quickly rolled onto his back and put a wide space between them in the bed. Her mask slightly askew, she quickly set it to rights, but not before he caught a glimpse of her profile.

  Jane.

  A surge of anger spread through his limbs. Jane had deliberately hid her identity from him despite knowing who he was. She’d lied. She’d demanded his surrender—his trust. But she’d refused to confide in him in return. Her silence demonstrated her distrust of him. Another wave of anger washed over him as he remembered how she’d convinced him to bare his soul to her. The thought was followed by the memory of how tenderly she’d cared for him afterward. The fear and concern in her voice had been genuine. Tobias was certain of that.

  He closed his eyes. The sooner he confronted her, the better. While his anger was still under control, he had no desire for it to blind him as it had with Hopkins the other night. The sheets rustled softly next to him, and his eyes flew open. Just as in every erotic dream he’d ever had about Jane, she was on her knees beside him. The sight of her beautiful body obliterated every shred of anger he’d been holding on to. The air in his lungs disappeared, and deprived of oxygen, his head ached, but nowhere near as much as his cock. They stared at each other for a long moment before she smiled with amusement.

  “I’m not sure if I like you quiet and obedient or challenging my every command.” The sultry note in her voice was a silky spider web of sound that held him immobile. With a growing sense of desperation, he tried to rally his anger at her betrayal. Desire and need overruled him as his eyes focused on her full mouth. That the mere sight of her lush curves could undermine his resolve where she was concerned was a clear indicator of just how dangerous Jane was. She’d reached his soul, which meant she had the potential to touch his heart.

  He needed to find a way to extract himself from this volatile situation. The sooner he ended this, the better. He swallowed hard. Almost as if she could read his mind, her gaze narrowed beneath her mask. Christ almighty, how could he have looked into Mystère’s eyes and not recognized Jane? Desperately, he tried to keep his gaze focused on her face, but failed. Unable to help himself, he looked down at the dark pink nipples of her breasts and the sweet curve of her hip. A lush piece of flesh his fingers itched to caressed.

  “Tonight, you honored me with your implicit trust,” she whispered as she leaned over him and pressed her lips to his chest. “That you surrendered yourself so completely to my care merits a reward greater than the little I have to offer you.”

  “I deserve nothing,” he choked out as he tried to reignite his anger. In the next instance he was frantically trying to think of a way to escape without causing her the pain of his rejection. Bloody hell, why was he worried about hurting her? She’d lied to him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. He should have had Wilson examine him for possible brain damage after his fight with Hopkins. A second later, he acknowledged it was too late, and his brain malfunctioned the instant she straddled his thighs in a swift, unexpected move.

  “You deserve me,” she murmured. Her fingernail lightly scored a path from the tip of him to the base of his erection. A seductive smile curved her lips. “Your surrender makes you worthy of me.”

  His cock jumped violently of its own accord, and his entire body tensed with a growing need. Fuck, he needed to get the hell out of here, but her touch made him want her despite knowing she’d lied to him. Worse, his need for her was stronger than anything he’d ever had for any other woman. His grip on his self-control was slowly slipping away from him as Jane feathered his brow and cheek with soft, tantalizing kisses.

  The restraint holding him in check snapped completely as her mouth lingered over his for a fleeting moment then vanished as she lifted her head in a blatant attempt to tease and seduce. Sometime while he’d slept, she’d undone her glorious hair until it cascaded over her shoulders. His hand grabbed a handful of brown silk and tugged her head down to his as she started to retreat.

  Heat seared his mouth the moment his lips connected with hers, and an explosion of desire splintered its way into every part of his body. The scent of jasmine filled his nostrils as he slid his tongue into her mouth to probe the fresh minty taste of her. Not satisfied with just a kiss, his hands slid up over her belly until he cradled her full breasts in his hands.

  His thumbs brushed over the tips of her and the dark pink nipples grew hard and stiff beneath his touch. The soft gasp of delight passing her lips made his erection tug at him with a growing need to bury itself inside her. Tobias looked up to see her sapphire eyes had taken on a sleepy, languid look. Quickly sitting up, he shifted Jane further down his legs and bent his head to suckle first one breast and then the other. The jasmine petals strewn on the bed had scented her skin while they’d slept, and the fragrance wafted off her like a heady wine. Her fingers spiked through his hair as she arched backward to give him free access to her body.

  Christ almighty, she was intoxicating. As his tongue swirled around a hard nipple, his teeth abraded the stiff peak forcing a small cry out of her. Another cry escaped her the moment he reached between them and pushed his thumb past her soft folds. Her entire body jerked against his as he rubbed the small nub of flesh secreted just inside her. Slick with creamy heat, she convulsed against him as he continued to apply pressure to her sex.

  Her quiet moan filled the air above his head, and without any warning, he rolled her onto her back. The look of surprise on her face made him smile. Before she could speak, he captured her mouth in a hard kiss. As their tongues danced and mated, Tobias could feel his body hardening with each stroke of her tongue against his.

  Sweet Jesus, he wanted her. She was like a drug one could find in the opium dens in the East End. Every breath he took was filled with the essence of her. Tobias pulled his mouth away from hers and smiled at the soft moan of protest she made. Her sapphire eyes fluttered open to stare up at him. The frustration in her expression made him smile as he slid his body down along hers. In a lazy move, he paused his downward descent to savor the hard peaks of her breasts.

  The moment he caught the tip of her in his mouth, she cried out with pleasure, and triumph made his cock swell more. God almighty, all he wanted was to drive into her and make her scream his name as he made her come over and over again. He held back the base instincts demanding attention. This was ab
out giving her the pleasure she’d given him. Slowly, his mouth continued its way down to her stomach. With every brush of his lips across her skin, he relished the sweet taste of her. The instant his mouth hovered at the apex of her thighs, she gasped. It was a sound of trepidation, and he lifted his head to look at her. There was a look of panic on her face. Clearly her experience was not as extensive as she’d led him to believe.

  “Trust me,” he whispered. Somewhere in the far reaches of his mind, he acknowledged the irony of the words.

  Excitement thundered in his veins as he realized he was the first to pleasure her in such an intimate manner. A small tremor shook her body as his tongue licked the outside of her pink folds. She was lovely and slick with cream. Eager to taste her fully, he sucked on the smooth skin of her sex before his tongue probed deeper to find the nubbin between her folds. The moment his tongue swirled around the small bit of flesh, her beautiful backside came up off the bed in a small buck of surprise.

  He took advantage of her reaction and cupped her bottom and probed her sex deeper. The sharp taste of her flowed over his tongue as she trembled in response to his intimate caresses. It was still not the reaction he sought, and his teeth scraped across the small piece of flesh buried in her damp folds. With deliberate precision, he nipped then soothed the nub with his tongue.

  Her hands spiked through his hair in a frantic motion of abandon as he continued to assault her sex with his mouth. A sudden rush of cream flowed from her, and she tried to twist away from his intimate caresses. Tobias wrapped his arms around her thighs to hold her still. With each stroke of his tongue she bucked harder.

  Relentless in his objective, he swirled his tongue around the sensitive nub in her folds before catching it between his lips and sucking on it with increasing speed and pressure. The small scream of pleasure she released made him work harder on the small bud of flesh. She bucked again as her cream flowed more quickly into his mouth.

  If he’d not been keeping a steady grip on her thighs she would have managed to evade his probing tongue. Another cry broke past her lips, and this time it was his name. Triumphantly, Tobias drank from her as she continued to buck against him. Ever so slowly, her body grew still, and he licked the last bit of cream off her pink folds. He pushed his body back up over hers to stare down into her freshly satiated expression.

  “Did I please you, my Lady?” he asked with a small bit of amusement as he silently dared her to say no.

  “Yes, Tobias,” she sighed in obvious pleasure and stroked his uninjured cheek with her hand. He immediately turned to caress her palm with his lips.

  “I take it no other man has done that to you before.”

  “No,” she said almost shyly and a blush crept across her cheeks. “But I liked it very much.”

  “And I enjoyed giving you pleasure.” He lowered his head and kissed her. “Shall I continue to indulge your need for pleasure, my Lady?”

  “You may continue,” she said with a mischievous laugh.

  Their gazes locked, and the smile she offered him struck something deep in his heart. An emotion that threatened to appease his anger. It was a feeling even more dangerous than the darkness he’d held in check since he was a boy. Tobias ignored the silent warning and kissed her again.

  Beneath him, her body was soft and pliant. Like silk against his skin, she shifted her hips so that her belly rubbed against his erection in an erotic fashion. With a sultry twist of her lips, Jane reached out to brush her finger over his nipple before her hand slipped between them and she wrapped her hand around his cock.

  Her fingers were white-hot against his skin, and desire rose up inside him like a tidal wave. He growled deep in his throat as his hips moved against her hand in an effort to pump his erection against the hot friction of her grip. A moment later, her thumb circled the tip of him, and pressed slightly against the slit of his cock.

  Tobias swooped down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss, while his body continued to rock against her hand. Raw need crashed through him as his tongue danced with hers and a stark craving for her rose up inside him. The scent of her desire was strong, and it made him tug her hand off him. With his knee, he pushed her legs open then thrust his cock into her in one hard stroke. Her body jerked in reaction to his possession with a spasm that tightened around his rod like a hot vise.

  Intense pleasure slammed its way into his body, and for a long moment, he didn’t move as he savored how perfectly she fit him. Still teasing her tongue with his, a deep husky moan rose up inside her. He swallowed her cry then slowly slid out of her. This time he lifted his head to watch her reaction as he filled her again. Eyes closed, her body arched upwards to meet his thrust. She was beautiful in every possible way he could imagine, and he knew that tonight would the first and last time he would ever possess her. She hadn’t just exposed his soul. She’d reached a part of him so deep that it threatened the very fabric of his being. He could no longer trust himself or his heart where she was concerned.

  Chapter 13

  Fire engulfed Jane’s body as Tobias slowly filled her with his thick, hard length then retreated only to fill her again. It was an exquisite torture that heightened her senses to a feverish pitch. The faint taste of her essence lingered on his tongue as it mated with hers. From the moment he’d kissed her so intimately, he’d taken control of their mutual pleasure. While she knew it went against the practiced relationship between a Lady and her submissive, Jane was content to let Tobias take charge of their pleasure. She couldn’t deny that there was something to be said for allowing him to pleasure her so deliciously without any instructions from her. Raw and potently male, he was marking her as his forever. It expanded her heart as she responded to his touch with all of her being.

  In the far reaches of her mind, a voice reminded her that Tobias wasn’t making love to her, but Mystère. She crushed the thought. If tonight was the only night she ever spent in his arms, she would make it be enough, even if it was only as the masked woman who’d made him yield. Her fingers slid through his thick, dark hair before they curled around his neck as she clung to him.

  Need pulsed inside her, and she writhed beneath him as his mouth glided across her cheek down to the curve of her shoulder. A multitude of sensations she’d never felt before caressed and teased her skin. Whatever had possessed her to believe she was experienced in the art of sexual pleasure? This was something completely beyond those hasty few moments the night she’d given herself to Barnaby.

  A steady rhythm of desire beat its way through her veins with every stroke of Tobias’ body against hers. She trembled as an unfamiliar sensation unfurled in her belly. It demanded satisfaction, and instinctively she knew only Tobias could satisfy that unknown hunger.

  “Dear God, Tobias. I want…I need…” she panted.

  She didn’t finish the sentence because she didn’t know how. What she wanted and needed were beyond her ability to describe. A quiet whimper escaped her lips as her nails raked across his lower back in a silent demand. Despite her fingers digging into his skin in a silent plea for him to increase the pace of their lovemaking, Tobias seemed determined to torment her with deliberate, methodical strokes.

  Sharp and intense, her body hummed with a primal need that blinded her to everything but Tobias and the sensations he was arousing in her. His mouth worked its way across her shoulder before he lifted his head to look down at her. The passion blazing in his mahogany gaze made the flames licking every part of her skin burn hotter. Without missing a stroke of his body against hers, he lowered his head to flick his tongue over her breast.

  She uttered a cry of pleasure and arched upward into his mouth. The sudden sensation of his teeth biting down on her nipple made her cry out in surprise. The erotic nip had shocked her more than hurt, and it heightened the wild desire racing through her. Dear God, she’d never felt so wanton in her entire life. Instinct made her wrap her legs around his waist, and the instant she did so, Tobias filled her even more completely than before.


  He groaned deeply, and she could feel her body tightening around him. Suddenly, he increased the pace of their mating. With each stroke of his body into hers, he pulled her deeper into a whirlpool of passion. Wild and frenetic, it became a tangible sensation that rippled through her as their bodies moved as one. This moment transcended everything she’d ever thought desire was. The heat. The all-consuming need.

  Tobias’ ragged breathing echoed in her ears. It matched her own breathy pants as his hard muscular body pulled her toward a precipice she longed for, yet feared. Her hips moved upward to meet his with each driving thrust he sent pounding into her. As she looked up at him, his features were taut with passion. The glint of possession she saw in his eyes sent her heart skidding while the rest of her body began to come apart.

  “You’re mine,” he growled as he thrust hard into her with each sentence. “You belong only to me. Say it.”

  “I’m yours, Tobias,” she sobbed as a keen, almost knifelike, sensation swept over her in a fierce, unexpected wave of pleasure. “Oh, God.”

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized she’d just given him power over her, but she was unable to hold onto the fact as a white-hot heat consumed her. Above her, Tobias uttered an unintelligible sound as her body flexed around him. One tremor after another crashed its way through her as Tobias slammed his hips into hers at a speed that intensified her pleasure.

  Frantically, her hands clutched at his muscular arms in an effort to hold onto him as she froze against him and called out his name. Fire streaked through her then exploded in a wild flurry of tremors that made her hips buck against his as Tobias gave a shout and throbbed inside her.

  Together their bodies shuddered hard against each other for a long, delicious moment of intense pleasure. Slowly their tremors subsided and Tobias pressed his forehead against hers. The scent of leather and sandalwood wafted across her senses, and she breathed his raw male essence deep into her lungs.