I’m an Angel. I can handle this. Think.
Taking a breath, she willed the moment of panic to pass. She ran through the options. If she and Cull spooked Ellis now, they would have a difficult time getting him alone for the interrogation. They couldn’t physically detain him, not with all the footmen around. They could leave and try to keep an eye on him, but what if he got away? He’d proved to be as slippery as a lamprey.
She came to a swift conclusion: the best option was…to play along.
Cull stood behind her, aggression pouring off him in waves. He was braced to fight, yet that wouldn’t help them achieve their goal of getting Ellis alone. The situation required finesse. Her mind made up, praying that Cull would play along, she leaned back against him. The contact with his sinewy length sparked a sudden flame at her core.
He was aroused. Hard as a rock. From all the depravity they’d been witnessing, no doubt.
I like to watch,he’d told her more than once, and heaven help her, she was beginning to understand why. The lack of inhibition had lit a primal fire inside her. Made her aware of her desire for Cull, the pulsing, impolite enormity of it. She realized that she had to expend energy to keep her passion in check until the private moments when she could set it free.
She was tired of restriction. Of caging her wants and desires and keeping herself small. In this moment, she did not want to deny herself what she wanted.
Cull’s erect member pressed into the small of her back as she reached up her arm, cupping the back of his head. Twisting her neck, she looked into his smoldering brown eyes.
Trust me.She willed him to understand her thoughts.We can do this together.
His nostrils flared. Then he bent his head, taking her mouth. Her entire being shivered at the slow, deliberate kiss. He took his time, his tongue tracing her lips before plunging in between. She opened for him, taking what he gave her. She moaned when he drew her bottom lip between his teeth, tugging gently.
“Well, this is promising.” Lady Effingworth’s voice pierced the sensual spell.
Pippa had nearly lost track of the audience.
Ellis, who was sitting up now, spoke for the first time. “Come closer. I want a better look.”
Cull’s voice scalded her ear. “Are you sure?”
Breathlessly, she nodded. In the next instant, he swept her into his arms. He carried her to the circle, but he didn’t take her to the mattress. Instead, he chose an unoccupied loveseat, sitting and positioning her on his lap, her back to his chest.
Clever man, keeping both their gazes free to monitor Ellis, who was directly across the circle from them. He was watching them avidly while Lady Effingworth stroked his hair like he was a prized pet.
Pippa leaned her head to one side, exposing her neck to Cull. He took the invitation, dragging his mouth down the sensitive column and then back up. She grabbed onto his thighs, feeling the corded muscle as she squirmed on him with helpless delight. Without her petticoats, she felt every inch of his turgid cock. He licked the shell of her ear, flicking her plump lobe before drawing it into his mouth. His hot sucking pulled her nipples into visible points against her bodice, a gush of dew dampening her thighs.
She fought to keep her attention on her audience. To remember this was for show. The two other couples were kissing, as were the Effingworths. Ellis, however, had his gaze trained on her and Cull.
She drew Cull’s head to hers, whispering, “He’s watching. Keep going.”
Cull drew down the strap of her robe, exposing the rounded top of her breast but keeping her nipple covered. The possessive fire in his eyes blazed through her, his message clear. He would go along with her plan but on his terms. He would control what the others saw of her. And he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Love swelled in her. Cull was everything she’d fantasized about when she’d paintedPortrait of a Lady Dreaming. The lover the lady with the red-gold hair had been looking out the window for; a man whose love expanded, rather than reduced, her world. A partner who allowed her to explore, and explored with her…and who always, always kept her safe.
Relaxing into Cull’s embrace, Pippa sighed as his mouth brushed along her shoulder. The hot kisses and tender nips raised goose-pimples on her skin. He cupped her breast, trapping the stiff tip between finger and thumb, making it jut out rudely against the thin fabric. Her head fell back against his shoulder, and she saw that he was looking straight at their audience as he fondled her.
His arrogant expression spoke louder than words.She’s mine. You can look, but you’ll never touch.
His possessiveness pushed a moan from her lips. Their audience echoed the sound, clothes swishing to the ground. Pippa’s blood rushed beneath her skin as Cull ran a possessive hand down her front and into the high slit of her dress. When he cupped her bare sex, she whimpered with need.
“What a wicked girl you are,” he rasped in her ear. “Getting wet from being watched.”
“That’s not why,” she gasped.
“Why then?” He stroked her slick folds, the sight of his hand moving beneath the fabric a study in eroticism. The suggestion of what he was doing was somehow more titillating than if the act were exposed. Their audience clearly agreed, for the sounds of coupling filled the room.
“Why is your cunny drenched, then?” Cull demanded in a harsh growl.
“Because of you.” He rewarded her honesty with a swirling touch just where she needed it, making her sigh, “Always you.”
“Remember that the next time you decide to play games.”
