She ran her index finger along the braid, and Julius felt it as though her finger caressed his own skin.
Leaning forward, Amanda peeked into the box and lifted one of three glass bottles. She titled the amber bottle to the side and examined it through a stream of sunlight. “Oil?”
He nodded and wound one end of the rope around his fist.
She replaced it and dug deeper into the velvet lined interior. A wisp of dark hair drifted across her cheek. Brushing it behind her ear, Julius plucked the ineffectual pins from her head, tossing them onto the carpet. Her hair fell in thick waves down her back. It was long enough to serve as its own rope. He could definitely tie her wrists with it. And if she was flexible enough, perhaps even her ankles. He pressed his palm against the front of his trousers. He’d have to think on that.
A deep divot appeared between her eyebrows. She held up a twelve-inch jade column in one hand, and a much smaller one in the other. One end of the columns was softly rounded; the other flared to a wide base. She squinted and brought the objects closer to her face. “There are faces carved at the tops of these. Are they dolls of some sort?”
Biting back a smile, he placed the rope on the bed and pulled out the other three columns. He lined them up in a row before her, from largest to smallest, the pearlescent stones a soft and creamy green against the white counterpane. “Not dolls, my sweet. Tools. Objects to increase our pleasure. When I was in the East, before I was captured, I did a lot of shopping. Sent many toys back home for me and my friends.” He took the large one from her and replaced it in the box. “And that’s one you won’t be using for a while. Not until your body adjusts to the smaller sizes.”
“Adjusts …” Her eyes widened. “Where, exactly, do you plan on placing thesetools?”
He smiled. “Two guesses.” When she continued to frown, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Trust me. Whatever I do will be for your enjoyment.”
Taking what he needed, he put the box on the floor and undressed.
“Why do I think these won’t only be for my enjoyment,” she grumbled. But the corner of her mouth twitched. The smile faded as the last of his clothes fell away. She looked away from his groin, pink flaring across her cheeks.
He crawled over her, his body forcing hers to lay back. “I promise, if you don’t find pleasure in something, I won’t either. Now”—he traced the lower curve of her mouth with his tongue and sucked the plump flesh into his mouth—“are you going to stop questioning my every move, or do I need to gag this pretty mouth?”
“You could try.” Her eyes glittered darkly. “But I’ve lived my entire life biting my tongue, never speaking up. I won’t let anyone silence me again.”
Like an artist before a block of marble, Amanda chipped another piece of Julius’s reserve away. If he wasn’t careful, she’d carve him into an entirely new man.
“No gags.” He settled into the cradle of her hips, his cock nestled against the soft lips of her cunny. Running his nose up her neck, he inhaled deeply. “Besides, I can think of much more interesting things to stick in that mouth than a rag.”
Clenching a fistful of her hair, he turned his wrist, each revolution wrapping more strands around his hand until he was tight against her skull. Holding her head immobile, he took her mouth, feasting on her eagerness. Amanda’s innocence had long been taken, but Julius would bet that no one had spent any time merely kissing her. It was an intimate act, more intimate than fucking. And Julius loved that he was the one introducing her to that pleasure.
He scraped his teeth along her tongue, exhaled when she inhaled, merging their breaths into one. He made his kisses soft, whispers of a touch, before delving back in and demanding her surrender.
When he finally pulled back, light-headed and out of breath, her lips were swollen and red.
“Julius.” She pressed a palm to his chest. “That was lovely, but …”
“But what?”
Her cheeks flushed red. Julius glanced down. The blush spread to the tops of her breasts, and he couldn’t resist taking one of her hard nipples in his mouth and suckling.
“But … oh, my …” Her chest heaved with a ragged breath. “But I don’t quite know what I’m to do. Should I be touching you? Before, men took what they wanted and left.”
Julius dug his fingers into her hip before relaxing. He needed to hear her out. Understand what she needed.
“But with you,” she continued, “since we’re …”
“Having carnal relations.”
She looked over his shoulder. “Yes, that. Since we’re doing that, I feel like I should do something more or else you’ll become disinterested. But I don’t know what.”
Julius sat back and looked down at the lovely woman laid before him. “First, any time you wish to touch me, you may. It will always be welcome. Unless we’re having tea with the prince regent, and even then I think I could make it work.”
A smile curved her mouth, but she still chewed her lip like it was made of spun sugar.
“Second, I will never become uninterested in you. Do you know why?” He picked up the rope and eyed the canvas of warm flesh before him. She shook her head, sucking in a sharp breath when he looped the cable over one ankle. “Because even when you do nothing, are unable to move a single, solitary inch, you are the most alluring woman I know.” He spoke the truth, and for a minute his gut clenched at the knowledge that their time was temporary. For even though Amanda’s prospects for marriage were limited, his were nonexistent. After his time in the East, he’d known he could never take those vows. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the time they did have.
He wound the rope up both legs, pulling them tight together. Julius made sure there was enough give so she could bend at the knees before rolling her onto her side. He crisscrossed the rope around her back and shoulders, weaving a harness. Each inch of silk that slid through his fingers soothed the itch under his skin that was a constant presence. Every coil of rope against her smooth skin settled his nerves.
And inflamed his desire.
