She matched his passion, pulling herself closer as she opened to him.
The need to claim her again ran up his spine, and he quickly untied the back of her dress to splay one hand over her bare back and down to the curve of her small buttocks.
She arched toward his hand, offering him her arse.
The need to possess her heart, soul, and body grew stronger until her hand found his hard erection and squeezed him through his pantaloons. He growled before bending her back and slipping his fingers between her legs, moisture greeting him. “I want you again.”
She let out a raspy chuckle. “And I want the sling, so I say we agree.”
He froze, his body practically pulsing, demanding he take her. He took a deep breath, refusing to rip her clothes from her body. He wasn’t sure if she meant to be a temptress or if she wasn’t aware of what she did, but he had to stay in control.
Removing his fingers, he withdrew his hand from her dress.
Her moan of disappointment echoed through his groin, but he forced himself to set her back enough to look her in the eyes. “Have you ever experienced a sling?”
She shook her head. “You’ll have to teach me how it works, probably with a number of other items in that dressing room.”
He swallowed hard as the images of the items he had seen in the room flew through his head, making his body reverberate with need.
She sauntered by him, her dress slipping past her shoulders, catching on her hard nipples. “But I was most curious about that sling.”
He couldn’t hold back any longer and rushed her, throwing her over his shoulder like Pemberton had done to Alice on the stairs. He strode to the dressing room door and had opened it when a knock sounded on the bedroom door. “Go away.” His words were barely discernible with the predatory growl in his voice.
“A package from Lord Leighhall, sir.”
He halted, the heat in his loins disappearing faster that a thin sheet of ice on a pond on a sunny spring day. Lissa didn’t moveeither. Slowly, he put her down, and she pulled her dress up to cover herself. They stared at each other for a moment.
She gestured toward the door to the corridor. “We should probably see what it is.”
He agreed, but couldn’t quite get his voice to work, yet his body cooled so quickly as to almost make him shiver. Without saying anything, he turned and walked to the door as if he’d find a live snake curled up outside. Opening it, he looked about to see no one was there, but a bundle wrapped in brown paper sat on the floor.
He glanced down the corridor to see other packages. If every guest received one, then it must not be anything dangerous. Picking it up, he brought it inside and set it on the settee.
Lissa peered over his shoulder. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, but every guest received one.”
She breathed out heavily before plopping down on the settee next to the package. “In that case, let’s see what it is. Maybe it’s something for tonight’s activities.”
She was right, of course, and he admonished himself for his abundance of concern. Untying the wrapping, he lifted the note.For the bacchanalian celebration on our last evening. Please enjoy your costume and come prepared for a carnal experience fit for the gods. Of course, we will need a maiden to be sacrificed to those fickle deities. L
The image of Leighhall’s dressing room immediately came to mind.
“I’m sure he doesn’t mean a real sacrifice.” Lissa peeled back layers of the brown paper. “He did saycarnal, so I imagine we will have some final sexual show.”
Even as she lifted the white toga from the folded pile, he couldn’t agree with her. His only hope was that Pemberton, Buswick, and Rothbury would never come back if such sacrifices were the norm.
“I do believe this is rather short.” She handed him the toga. “Do you think that’s mine?”
He held the white garment against him. “I hope so. It barely covers me.”
“I don’t know. I think it quite fetching.” She reached into the paper. “Especially with this gold leaf circlet.” She held it out to him. “See if it fits.”
He took the gold-painted wreath and set it on his head.
She laughed. “I do believe that’s your costume.”
He did not find it humorous at all. “What else is in there?”
