"I will send a maid to you so you can refresh yourself," Dare said. "Shall we meet in the lower drawing room in, say, an hour?"
"That will suit me perfectly."
"Until then, cherie."
He gave her a polite bow and lingeringly kissed the tips of her fingers. Julienne felt her breath catch at the warm feel of his tongue on the sensitive pads, but she promised herself she would get even with Dare later.
She was glad for the time to bathe and change her gown. A quiet, self-effacing maid assisted her, and soon Julienne was making her way to the drawing room. She hadn't bothered to arrange her hair in anything but a simple chignon, for she doubted any coiffure would be safe for long in Dare's company.
In that respect, however, he surprised her. The evening began rather tamely, with sherry and desultory conversation in the drawing room. Dinner was of the usual excellent quality, served by almost invisible servants.
Dare spent much of the evening telling her about the history of the estate, which had been a minor site of conflict during Cromwell's bloody reign. Julienne listened politely, but all the while a sense of feverish anticipation was welling inside her. If Dare was deliberately prolonging the moment, his tactics were proving effective. By the time he finally pushed back his chair, her nerves were screaming.
"If you are finished," he said, "we can retire upstairs."
When she agreed, he rose and moved around the table to draw out her chair. "Go ahead and make yourself ready," he murmured, planting a light kiss on her bare nape. "I will wait for you in the mirror room. Oh, and Jewel?" he added when she turned to obey. "Don't undress just yet. I want that enjoyment for myself."
Despite her determination to maintain her composure, she felt her excitement rise.
Julienne went to her bedchamber and utilized her coffer of sponges, then went in search of the mirrored room. Dare was waiting for her as promised, lounging against the pillows of the large bed, his lean, elegant body reclining with a lazy grace. He appeared to be nude except for the red silk sheet drawn up to his waist. Several candelabra lit the chamber, the flames reflecting brightly in the myriad mirrors.
When Julienne shut the door behind her, Dare remained in his sprawl and laced his hands behind his head. "Now you may take off your clothing."
"I thought you said you wished to undress me."
"I've changed my mind. I can enjoy the sight as much from here. And turnabout is fair play, after all."
She remembered the last time they'd made love, when she'd been so angry at him for thinking her a traitor. She had ordered him to undress in front of her while she watched.
But Dare apparently had more in mind now than reprisal. "From the first moment I saw you on stage, I've imagined you giving me my own private performance. Do it slowly, Jewel. I want to see every inch of your beautiful body… every lush, tempting curve."
She might have protested his arrogant directive, except that the devilish, even taunting, smile on his face could melt the strongest resistance. And this was one command she wanted to obey.
She began with her gown, unfastening the hooks and letting it fall to the floor. She hadn't worn a corset, only a chemise.
"Are your nipples hard?" Dare asked when she slid the fabric over her shoulders. "Let me see." When she drew the bodice down so that her nipples jutted out, hard as pebbles, he gave her a lazy smile of admiration. "I would say so. Now the rest."
When finally she stood naked before him, his gaze traveled slowly down her bare body and even more slowly upward again. His eyes burned, seeming to brand her where they touched.
"What now?" Julienne murmured, her own tone challenging.
"What do you want?"
"I want to see you."
"Then I am happy to oblige."
Throwing off the sheet, Dare rose gracefully and stood before her fully aroused. Incredibly aroused. His phallus was magnificent, darkly engorged, long and thick and silky smooth. Julienne's mouth went dry. "You are very large."
"The better to pleasure you, my sweet."
He moved toward her till he was almost close enough to touch. "Do you want to feel my cock sliding inside your quivering flesh?"
Her blood surged at the question. Julienne moistened her lips. "Yes…"
Grasping her shoulders lightly, Dare guided her backward till her spine was pressed against the mirrored wall. The glass felt cool against her hot skin, making her shiver. But it was Dare's emerald gaze that countered the chill. His indolent scrutiny brushed over her with an intimacy that set her senses on fire.
"I see before me an irresistibly aroused woman," he whispered, drawing a finger down her throat to her collarbone.
Deliberately he rested his hands on the pale, high curves of her breasts as if they were his property. A jolt of sensation burst through Julienne.
"I want to suck on your nipples till you come."
She had no doubt that he could. And she wanted him to.
"Do you want me to make you come?" he queried.
Aching from temptation, she nearly moaned aloud. "Yes."
"My name is Dare. Say it."
"Yes, Dare…"
His hands moved over her breasts, fondling them leisurely as his gaze narrowed. He watched her as he played with her straining nipples. A shameless need grew in her with each caress of those strong, elegant fingers. Eventually he bent his head, planting soft, teasing kisses around the rosy areolas. Julienne thrust her aching breasts helplessly against his lips, longing for release.
Then his mouth took over from his fingers, capturing one taut bud, tugging at the crest, drawing it over the rough, wet surface of his tongue.
The soft sound of his sucking was somehow powerfully erotic, and made Julienne groan. She arched her back, bracing her palms against the mirror behind her. Obligingly, Dare shifted his body so that his knee rode intimately between her thighs, the rigid blade of his manhood prodding against her belly. Julienne felt the quaking between her legs intensify.
"You're very excited, darling, aren't you?" When he let his fingers slide down to the apex of her thighs, her harsh gasp sounded loud in the silence. "Yes, let me hear you. I want you frenzied and breathless."
The caress of his mouth, the heat of his hard, lean body against her, was a delicious torment and roused a burning need in her loins to feel him driving deep into her.
Dare seemed to understand.
"Open your legs." His husky whisper took on a tone of command. When she obeyed, he rewarded her by rubbing the swollen head of his erect member up and down her moist cleft.
Julienne's resistance broke completely. "Dare, please," she pleaded.
"Want me?" The velvet texture of his voice sent flames rippling up her spine.
"Merciful heaven, yes…"
His slow smile set her blood racing as his massive member nudged between her slick flesh. She parted her legs wider to give him full access and bit back a cry of need as he began to enter her.
His fingers cupped her throbbing breasts, squeezing lightly as he swelled upward into her clinging heat, filling her. With a whimper, Julienne softened against him helplessly, dizzy with pleasure, her eyes falling shut…
"No, don't close your eyes. Watch while I'm taking you."
With effort she focused her dazed gaze on the mirror to her right. She could see his long, thick shaft gliding into her…
Julienne groaned again, her inner muscles contracting, clamping around his hardness. Over his shoulder, she saw their reflections in the opposite mirror, saw his buttocks flexing as he slowly pumped between her legs. It was the most erotic sight she had ever seen.
She began to writhe against him, urging him to increase his unhurried rhythm, but he refused to comply. Each time he withdrew, she strained to hold the sweet fullness buried deep inside her, but he wouldn't allow her to.
She wanted to curse him. Dare knew what she needed so desperately, but he deliberately held her on the edge, her body pulsing and craving more. He was skilled in the art of prolongi
ng pleasure, and he used every talent he possessed to bring her to a fever pitch of desire.
She lost count of how many times he drove her to the brink, only to deny her. It was exquisite, agonizing. Her breath was rasping rawly in her throat as she pleaded with him, begging for release.
"I'm going to let you come now," he warned at last.
"Yes!" she cried, nearly sobbing. Her nails dug into the flesh of his back as he thrust fully inside her, building the firestorm.
When she bucked wildly against him, he thrust again harder, impaling her to the hilt. "Scream for me, darling. Scream like I know you want to."
She did scream. The brutal rush of feeling when she climaxed left her shuddering and shattered. She felt Dare plunging inside her as he found his own explosive release, but she could only cling helplessly to his broad shoulders.
His shaft was still throbbing sweetly, deep within her as her last melting spasms ebbed away.
With a groan, Dare sagged against her. Several heartbeats later she felt him smile into her hair.
"You screamed for me," he murmured, his voice a satisfied rasp. "But we've only just begun. I intend to make you hoarse before the night is through."
His fingers slid through her hair, searching for pins. "Next time I take you, I want you sprawled naked on the sheets… your incredible hair cascading wantonly across the pillows… I want your smell on my body, your breath on my skin…"
The last words were whispered as he captured her mouth, and this time Julienne surrendered with no resistance at all.
That first night set the stage for their time together. Dare pleasured her ruthlessly, but Julienne proved his match in their erotic battle for supremacy. She was passionate, greedy, hot, reveling in his raw sexuality, and in her own.
The mirrors served the purpose he'd intended. From then on the image of their twisting, nude bodies locked in carnal embrace was branded on her mind. She had only to look at Dare to remember, and the fire between them leapt instantly to life.
By tacit agreement they never spoke of the danger that threatened them, both preferring to see this interlude as a respite from the world. Yet Julienne soon recognized another source of danger: too many opportunities for emotional intimacy and tender remembrances.
The day following their arrival, the weather turned inclement. Rain came down in torrents, bringing back a winter chill to the air and forcing them to remain indoors.
After a lazy breakfast, they strolled in the conservatory, which was regrettably scented with roses. And listening to the rain beat against the panes of glass reminded Julienne too poignantly of a particular afternoon she'd spent with Dare in their cottage during a summer storm.
When she met his eyes briefly, she could tell he was recollecting the same moment.
"So tell me about your years in York," Dare prompted as if to change the subject.
His choice of topics was scarcely any more comforting to Julienne's mind.
One of the things she had appreciated most about Dare in the days of their courtship was that he was always so interested in her thoughts and feelings. Now his interest was simply worrisome. And yet Julienne found herself reminiscing about her life as a fledgling actress. There had been far more good times than bad, possibly because she had quickly become a success.
"So what have you been doing with your life all this time?" she asked in turn. "Has it been all debauchery and pleasure?"
Dare visibly winced. "Much of it, I'm afraid. I was serious when I said that after you, I lost interest in much of anything else."
She drew a measured breath and replied in a low voice. "I am sorry, Dare."
It was the first time she had apologized for breaking his heart, but he shrugged off her reply with a forced smile. "Let's forget about it, shall we? For these next few days we'll pretend the past never happened."
And yet Julienne wasn't able to forget. If anything, her remembrances only grew stronger the more time she spent with Dare.
He devoted every moment of the following days to entertaining her, displaying the consummate artistry of his passion in countless ways. He was a man of smoldering sensuality and insatiable appetites, with a demanding eroticism that ravished her senses. Even so, he was somehow different from the charming, wicked rakehell who had wagered to make her his mistress. In the tender intensity of his wooing, at least, he resembled much more the lover who had once utterly captured her heart.
It was his tenderness that Julienne considered most dangerous. The rivalry between them was more arousing than any aphrodisiac, more primal than any courtship, but Dare's tenderness penetrated every defense she had. And with every caress, every kiss, every sweet new intimacy, she found it harder to shield herself.
She tried to remind herself of their game, that Dare was merely set on winning their wager and repaying her for her past cruelty. But while her rational mind warned her to beware, her heart seemed to whisper something else altogether, something she wanted with a desperate longing.
Dare, too, felt the same longing. Their third night together he chose a different room, this one a study on the lower floor made up like a hunting lodge, walled with stag antlers and stuffed boars' heads.
"Another fantasy of mine," he said when Julienne saw the sable furs spread out before the hearth.
He built a roaring fire, and they toasted bread and cheese and fed each other between languid, heated kisses. Then they undressed each other slowly, taking their time, savoring the moment.
Dare left her hair for last… discarding the pins… letting the shining cascade tumble to her shoulders. Tangling his fingers in the silk, he tilted her head back so he could taste her warm parted lips, ready for his own. Then gently he lay Julienne down before the fire and ran his hands over her body, stroking the intoxicating softness of her skin.
He found the contrast of her luminous flesh against the luxurious fur riveting. And when her scent filled his nostrils, musky and beguiling in the warm room, every muscle in his body tightened with need.
"You're tempting as sin, lying there."
He was just as tempting, Julienne thought. His eyes glowed in the warm light of the fire, while his hair shimmered like molten gold.
With careless grace he stretched out beside her on the furs, lounging on one elbow. He gazed down at her, studying her with a mesmerizing intensity as palpable as a caress. His eyes took possession of her wherever they touched. Then his warm, naked fingers joined the exploration, finding her most sensitive spots, skimming over her flesh with the same seductiveness as his voice.
Julienne lost her breath long before he rolled her over so that she was lying facedown on the fur. He ran a finger along her spine, making her arch her back. Then, lightly grasping her hips, he lifted her to her knees so that she was bent over, with him kneeling, poised behind her.
Her fingers clenched in the rich fur when she realized his intent. But she craved the thrill of his possession any way he wanted her. She was hot, aching inside, the emptiness between her legs throbbing.
For a moment Dare stroked the smooth bottom cheeks that were brazenly presented for his attention. Julienne tensed as she felt his rigid maleness probe the center of her body, while her heart began a steady hammering.
"Dare?" she murmured.
"Easy," he said, calming her. He gripped his engorged shaft in his hand and slid the swollen crest over the lips of her sex, anointing it with honeyed liquid from her body.
Her breath grew shallow. She felt the press of his thighs, lean and powerful, urging her legs wider, felt the scoring heat of him as he leaned into her. Sweet shocks ripped through her as he invaded her sleek feminine passage, filling her inch by inch with his massive member.
Desire coiled inside her at his deep penetration, but then his hips began a slow undulation, rousing a devastating buildup of feverish hunger.
A gasp lodged in her throat as his hands reached for her dangling breasts, stroking them, teasing her hardened nipples, inflaming her bare flesh, even as he whispered h
eated, erotic love words.
The burn sharpened, intensified, when he slid his hand around to her throbbing sex. All the while he was moving inside her, ravishing her with long, slow strokes, sheathing and drawing away till it became exquisite torture.
Her body turned molten. When she surged back against him, impaling herself, his rhythm increased. In time to her whimpers, he drove deeper and deeper, every rocking movement, every possessive claiming forcing a husky cry from her. In only moments she felt delirious ecstasy rush toward her, felt Dare surrender as he was caught up in the same fierce tumult. At his ragged groan, fire exploded through her veins. Julienne threw her head back as shudder after shudder racked her.
The warm, pulsing rapture throbbed through her senses long after she collapsed bonelessly on the fur.
Dare followed her down. Bracing himself to spare her the full force of his weight, he curled his body around hers and reached up above her head, entwining their fingers together. Her ivory skin was moist in a silken sweat, and he pressed his lips against the flesh of her back.
The room was quiet but for the crackling fire and their raw, rasping breaths. He lay inside her half-hard, wholly intoxicated, desperately wanting more of her, desire still sharp and insistent.
He wanted.
He wanted to stay with Julienne like this forever, lost in this moment. Wanted to keep her here with him, where he could cherish her to his heart's content. It was a primal, elemental need that was soul deep.
It was love, he no longer had any doubt.
His chest squeezed with a hollow ache. Despite everything, some uncontrollable part of him loved Julienne still, had always loved her.
He shut his eyes, filled with a blind yearning. He had vowed to drive her other lovers from her mind, but by his very act of possessing her, she had managed utterly to possess him.
The victory was hers.
And if she came to realize her power over him? If she chose to wield it? If she betrayed him once again?
Dare felt a blade of fear stab him. The pain this time would be unbearable.
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