This was the closest Dimitri had ever come to pleading with a woman. That he did so now proved the extent of his desire—he couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this much. And it was so unnecessary for him to argue with her at all. She couldn’t resist for long. The drug wouldn’t allow it.
He said no more, waiting, not touching, watching her welter in an agony of need. Watching her needless suffering was almost painful. She had only to ask, and relief would be hers. But she was resisting the drug and resisting the cure. Was it pride? Could she be that foolish?
Dimitri almost took matters into his own hands—her protests be damned—when she turned to him, her eyes beseeching, lips parted enticingly, hair all bedraggled, and flesh quivering. God, she was beautiful like this, so incredibly sensual.
“I can’t bear it anymore. Alexandrov, do what you will, please, anything—just do it now.”
Dimitri smiled with amazement. The little wench had managed to turn a plea into an order. But it was a command he was quite willing to obey.
Shaking off his robe, he stretched out on the bed next to her and drew her close. She sighed at the cool contact of his flesh, but the sigh quickly turned to a whimper. She had waited too long. Her skin was too sensitive again, everywhere, but especially her breasts. Damn. He wanted to feel her exquisite body under his hands. He would have to wait.
“Next time, Katya, don’t wait so long.” His voice was sharp with frustration.
Her eyes rounded. “Next time?”
“This will last for hours, but there is no need for you to suffer through any of it. Do you understand? Don’t deny me again.”
“No—I won’t—only please, Alexandrov, hurry!”
He smiled. No woman had ever called him Alexandrov, at least not in bed. “Dimitri,” he corrected. “Or Your Highness.” He chuckled. She beat her tiny fists against him. “All right, little one. Easy. Relax.”
He could wait no longer. Her hips were thrusting wildly against him, firing his passion to an alarming height. He rolled on top of her, resting on his elbows, his long upper arms keeping the massive width of his chest well above her. He bent to taste the sweetness of her parted lips, and they were sweet, distracting, but the gyrations of her lower body would not let him forget the matter at hand.
He released her lips to move into position, cupping her face between his large hands. He wanted to watch again as she received her pleasure, to see ecstasy reflected in her eyes. He thrust deep—and she screamed. But it was too late. Her maidenhead was breached.
“Sweet Jesus!” Dimitri hissed. “Why didn’t you tell me, woman?”
She didn’t answer. She had closed her eyes, and a single tear slid from the corner of one. Dimitri swore silently. She was no blushing girl, but a woman! What the devil was she still doing with her virginity intact? It was not something usually valued by servants. Only the nobility used it as a commodity when arranging important marriages.
“How old are you, Katherine?” he asked gently now, brushing the moisture away from her eyes.
“Twenty-one,” she murmured.
“And you managed to stay a maiden that long? Incredible. You must work in a household sorely lacking in men.”
“Mmmm.”
Dimitri laughed. She wasn’t listening anymore, but was availing herself of the hard shaft embedded deep within her, undulating provocatively, drawing him in even more—exquisite. He groaned, gritting his teeth, letting her have her way as long as possible, but it didn’t take long before she soared over the edge. And although he would have prolonged his own pleasure, the throbbing pulsations he felt within her were his undoing. He joined in her climax, grinding his hips fiercely against her and hearing her cry out as she exploded yet again.
With his heart still pounding erratically, Dimitri moved to sit on the side of the bed and poured himself a brandy. He offered one to Katherine, but she shook her head without looking at him. He would have to wash the stains of her virginity from her, but he would wait until she would better appreciate it. He smiled, contemplating that. Already he was anticipating bringing her to another climax.
He moved back, sitting sideways, resting one arm on the other side of her hip. She still wouldn’t look at him until he brought the cool, round base of the brandy goblet to play across one pointed nipple. He chuckled, delighting in the way her eyes flared.
“You will have to appease me, Katya. I like to play with my women.”
“I’m not one of your women.”
The rancor in her tone made it a pleasure to insist. “But you are—for tonight.”
He bent forward and flicked her other nipple with the tip of his tongue. Katherine jerked in response and then groaned when he took her breast fully into his mouth. Instinctively her hands moved into his hair to pull him away. He responded to this resistance by closing his teeth gently on her nipple until she gave in and allowed him his way. But soon she was ready for him again.
Dimitri left the bed to retrieve the washcloth from her bath, dipping it in the cold water. When he returned to her, he applied it to her body first, waiting until her inner heat was near raging, then he doused the cloth with ice water from the pitcher and pressed it between her legs.
Katherine went wild with the combined pleasure of icy cold to quench the heat and stimulation where she most needed it. She came almost instantly and continued on and on until he was finally done cleaning her.
He left her once again to wash himself and when he came back, he settled himself between her legs to suckle at her breasts. She didn’t have the will to protest. She needed him. That had been proved beyond a doubt. If he insisted on “playing” with her between each crisis, that was her cross to bear. But she actually derived pleasure from that too, so how could she complain?
Katherine reached another peak by grinding herself against his pelvis while he continued to caress her breasts. And then he used his fingers again, while his tongue explored every inch of her mouth. The double stimulation each time added to her pleasure, magnifying the intensity to an almost unbearable pitch. Yet nothing was as completely satisfying as when he finally used his body, the deep penetration fulfilling a baser need, leaving a blessed contentment.
