by Lisa Valdez
She lifted her mouth for his kiss. But no kiss came. Instead, she felt a firm downward tug upon her gown. Patience gasped as her low bodice suddenly loosened and slipped from her shoulders. She clutched it and, looking down, as that Matthew had cut the laces of the provincial style costume. His arms came around her. She felt another quick tug at her waist, and before she could grab them, her skirts fell to the floor in a frothy heap.
Taking a step back, he closed a slim knife and put it in his coat pocket. Then he held out his hand to her. “Give me your gown,” he ordered quietly.
Stunned, Patience looked down at her sagging bodice and the circle of fabric at her feet. But what point was there in refusing? As it was, the gown was of no use to her. Indeed, she would have to contrive some repairs in order to leave the chamber.
Shaking, she slipped out of her bodice and scooped up her skirts. At least she still wore most of her under-things. She handed the whole pile of discarded garments to him and then nearly leapt out of her skin when he tossed everything into the fire.
A small cry escaped her. The room immediately darkened. She could hear only her own rapid breath. And then the fire flared, higher than before, and Matthew was there. His hands reached for her and, with one hard pull, he ripped the fragile fabric of her corset cover. It. too. fed the greedy fire.
She felt both shocked and enthralled as she watched her beautiful gown blister into ashes. But when he reached for her pantalets, she grabbed at them. “No,” she gasped.
His brows lifted. “No?” He met and held her gaze as he simply moved his hands to the slit in her pantalets and, with complete disregard for her protest, sundered the fabric down the center seam.
He muffled her startled protest with a sudden but soothing kiss. It was so soft, so gentle. Her arms came around him. It seemed in complete contradiction to what he was doing. Patience moaned.
“You don’t say ‘no’ to me,” he murmured against her lips, and then he shredded the legs of her pantalets until nothing remained but a few points of fabric peaking from beneath her corset.
Shaking with Fierce, inexplicable anticipation, Patience threw her hands over the triangle of red curls between her legs. She looked wide-eyed at Matthew as he pulled her chemise down so that the high mounds of her breasts were exposed.
With his breath coming fast, he stood back to look at her. His handsome face was tight with desire. His dark eyes reflected the firelight, making them seem to burn from within. “Move your hands,” he ordered.
Patience felt her blood rising to her cheeks and descending to her already swollen clitoris. Her fingers trembled protectively over the little nub of pulsing flesh. She couldn’t bring herself to put her arms at her sides. No one had ever dared even dishevel her, let alone expose her like this. “I cannot.” Her voice cracked.
He looked at her and his gaze softened. “You must, Patience, or I will do it for you.”
Patience squeezed her eyes shut. She should scream at him in righteous indignation. Where was her indignation? She tried to summon it, but found only a hot, undeniable passion in its stead. And yet, she could not move her hands. She shook as body and mind, passion and pride, raged inside her.
“Is it so difficult?” Matthew’s whisper sounded from right in front of her.
Patience felt sudden tears well. She was half naked and vulnerable. It shouldn’t feel good.
And yet it did.
“Yes.” She lifted her gaze to his and her tears spilled over. “Yes, it is difficult.”
A low moan seemed to catch in his throat as his beautiful eyes locked onto her face with rapt intensity. “Ah, my sweet Patience, I adore the struggle in your tears—for I value most what is not easily given.” He moved against her side and she felt the brush of his hand as he stroked his cock through his trousers. His breath touched her temple. “Every tear you shed in the suffering of my demands, honors me. I cherish each one. But ultimately”—he lay a gentle kiss upon her brow—“your tears must always accompany your obedience. Now, move your hands.”
Patience’s cunt throbbed with a deep, almost painful, craving; and the pulsing bud of flesh that always brought her pleasure tortured her now with its burning need for release. Every word he uttered inflamed her more, made her want him more.
What was wrong with her? And why must she obey? Why did she want to obey? Her emotions warred within her but, somehow, the battle only served to heighten her need.
With great effort, she forced her arms to her sides. Her muscles were stiff and rigid with tension. Her fingers pressed against her thighs.
“There,” he whispered. “That’s good.”
His praise, so quietly spoken, calmed and warmed her. But in the next moment, her chest tightened and more tears welled at the realization that his simple words could affect her so. What power did he wield over her?
She lowered her eyes.
“No.” With a finger beneath her chin, he tipped up her face. “Hide nothing from me.” He kissed her trembling lips. “Don’t you see, I covet your every response. Each and every lovely reaction you have is a gift to me.” His dark eyes moved over her tear-streaked face with an intensity she had never seen. No one had ever looked at her in such a way. “Do you begin to see what I want from you?” His warm hands moved up her arms in a soft caress that sent a shiver down her spine. “I want you to submit to me. I want you to give me all that I demand of you. And I want you to hide nothing from me as you do it.”
A hot rush of desire coursed through Patience’s body, leaving behind a raw need that was tinged with both exhilaration and trepidation.
He stroked his hands over her shoulders as he moved behind her. “I want to see every struggle and every victory. I want to see each precious tear and each magnificent smile.” His hands moved over her bare bottom, squeezing gently, and she felt the brief brush of his erection. “I want all of you. every bit of you, all for myself.” Patience shuddered and closed her eyes as he kissed the tender skin behind her ear. “Do you know why I want this, my sweet Patience?”
She moaned as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his whole body against her back.
“Do you?”
She surged against him as his fingers slid into the red curls over her mount. “Tell me, Patience. Why do I want it?” His fingers slipped lower; her cunt throbbed. “Tell me and I’ll touch you as you long to be touched.”
A soft, mewling sound escaped her and her hips bucked. She knew the answer, but didn’t want to utter it.
“Tell me!” he demanded.
Patience drew a gasping breath. “Because it is what I want.”
“What? What do you want,” he said by her ear.
Must she say the words? She tilted her hips, but he didn’t move. God, why must he torment her?
“What do you want, Patience? Say it out loud.”
Patience bit her lip, her hips twisted with need. Say the words. She need only say the words. “To submit,” she finally breathed on a whisper. Tears filled her eyes. “To submit, completely.”
He came around to face her and a hot fire illuminated his eyes. “You see, you do know your own desires.” And then he kissed her, and as she tasted him and clung to him, her body leapt as his fingers slipped down over the throbbing, distended nub of flesh that fed her rampant desire. Once, twice, a third time he slid his fingers over her wet folds, and then he was rubbing her—in tight, firm circles he plied her tender bud.
Hot, stabbing pleasure shot through Patience’s body. She moaned and curled her fingers into the fabric of his jacket.
“There. There you are,” he murmured against her mouth. “Come for me. That’s my sweet, Patience.” He ground against her hip and she felt the thick column of his cock. “Come for me.”
God! Oh, God! Her chest heaved and her cunt clenched. It was too much and she had waited too long. Everything drew up tight within her. And then, throwing back her head, she cried out and her hips jerked convulsively against the press of his
fingers. Shards of brilliant bliss imbedded themselves in her shattered nerves, where they pulsed and flared unrelentingly. She collapsed against him, and had he not had his arm firmly around her waist, she would have fallen.
Sweeping his other arm behind her knees, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Patience looked at him from beneath half-closed eyelids. “Thank you,” she breathed.
His dark brown eyes held hers as he laid her on the velvet coverlet. His jaw was tight as he braced his hands on either side of her, but his voice was soft. “You’re welcome.”
He bent low to kiss her, and the kiss was as full of passion as their first. Patience curled her arms around him as his tongue plunged deeply. She moaned as he bit down on her lower lip and sucked it. Then, as quickly as it had begun it ended. He pulled away, leaving her feeling hungry for more.
She turned on her side to watch him. He crossed the room and, opening a door, disappeared for a moment.
Patience waited. It appeared to be his dressing room. Was he undressing? Her pulse started to race again.
When he returned, he was wearing a dressing gown. A long, white scarf hung from his hand. He walked purposefully over to her.
“Give me your hands,” he ordered gently.
Her eyes widened and her tender clit pulsed painfully. Did he mean to tie her? She froze.
A small frown turned his brow. “Give me your hands,” he said again, this time less gently.
Patience’s heart hammered in her breast as she slowly put her wrists together before him. His gaze grew tender and he kissed her softly. “That’s very good.”
He quickly tied her hands. She began to tremble as she felt the tightness. “You’re doing very well,” he murmured, drawing her bound hands over her head and tying her to one of the bedposts.
Patience’s body tensed and her nipples hardened against her corset. God, what was he going to do?
She sucked in her breath and almost screamed as she saw the flicker of the blade. But then she gasped as he imbedded it in the same bedpost .she was tied to.
When he pulled back to look at her, his gaze was hot and intent. He smoothed his hand down her heaving side and over her hip, and then let it rest upon her patch of red curls.
He studied her for a long moment. “‘Listen to me. You are a wonder and a beauty. There is something profound in you that calls to me.” He shook his head. “I’ve never been with a woman I wanted more. Even when I thought I loved another, I wanted you. Even when I thought I loved another, I dreamt of you.” He paused and stroked his hand down her arm. “But my dreams were as nothing compared to you in the flesh. You are more than I dreamed.” He leaned low and spoke against her lips. “And your submission is powerful.”
Patience kissed him and thrust her tongue into his warm mouth. His words were like a sensual touch and her body thrilled as both happiness and desire tore through her. Whatever it was between them, he felt it too. Her feelings were not unrequited.
She moaned into his mouth and arched against him as his hand began to stroke the moist folds between her legs. The press of his fingers, slick with her wetness, made her throb and quiver. He broke their kiss but his dark eyes stared into hers. She pulled at her bonds and lifted her hips as he continued to ply her swelling flesh. She gasped and thrust against his hand. His eyes never left her. Then, just as she felt her cunt being to pull, he stopped.
Patience watched, speechless, as he stood and crossed to the chamber door. She squirmed as her clit and cunt throbbed with aborted need. Then she blanched when he removed his robe and tossed it over a chair. He was fully dressed!
“Where are you going?” she cried.
He looked over at her and adjusted his cuffs. “I’m going downstairs. You will submit to my leisure and await me.”
Patience gasped as he pulled on his gloves.
“When I return, I shall expect you to satisfy me in the manner your maid satisfied your butler.”
Before she could respond, he was gone.
The lock clicked behind him.