Unless he could manage to persuade her to give him one night more. And after that another. Then another…
Damn it all.
Dom had to rein himself in, keep the demons within him under control before they consumed him. She made a soft, whimpering sound. Almost kittenish. Her fingers curled around his neck, finding their way into his hair, which he knew he kept too long. Desire shot through him, sharp as a blade.
But he did not want to go too quickly. He wanted to savor this moment, this woman.
He was still holding her smooth cheeks, cupping her face, trapping her in the angle he wanted. Dom decided to take advantage. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding into her mouth. She tasted of the decadence of dessert. Luscious.
Her tongue moved against his. Again, it was not the bold invasion some of the women he had known preferred but rather a timid courting instead. There was no overt carnality in her response. There was only a delicious, measured surrender. As if she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her yet did not dare show it.
Did she fancy herself better than him because she spoke like a lady and bedded a lord? Or was her hesitation part of her allure, a part of her elaborate act?
He had to know.
Dom sucked on her tongue.
She moaned, and there had never been a more beautiful sensation than this woman’s fingers tightening in his hair and tugging. He had grown up in the deepest, darkest corners of the rookeries. He was a bastard, a man who had fought with his fists, his weapons, and his wits for everything he possessed. Roughness pleased him. There was comfort in pain. Almost as much as there was to be found in pleasure.
He nipped her lower lip, then soothed the sting with his tongue.
Her tongue chased his, sliding wetly into his mouth. There was nothing demure about her kiss now. She was claiming him, owning him, her lips moving with firmer pressure.Good God, had this been her plan all along? If so, she could happily seduce him whenever the bloody hell she pleased.
He would fuck her all night long.
Hades, what was she doing to him?
He was Dominic Winter. Ruthless, cold, and hard. He was never weak. Not for a woman. Not for any woman. And yet, this one, with her dark hair and eyes and her throaty sounds and her delicate kisses that turned into an all-consuming melding of mouths that demanded his complete and utter surrender…
Nay. That was all wrong. Dominic Winter was not the one who surrendered. Not even in matters of the fairer sex. He had to do better. To remember who he was and how he had fought to obtain the power he now possessed.
He was going to make her come. Again and again.
Dom broke the kiss and stared down at her, his heart pounding, his cock more rigid than he could recall it ever being. The pale-blue muslin of her gown, trimmed with golden embroidery, enhanced the undeniable beauty of her dark hair and eyes. He thought about taking her for the first time with her dress around her waist, because it was so fine. The fantasy of spending all over the expensive frock made his ballocks pulse and tighten.
But no, he decided. He would have her naked first. Mayhap he would even have her disrobe for him.Aye.A slow, thorough fucking. That was what he needed from this angel who had fallen into his devil’s den.
“Your gown,” he said, trailing his fingers over the embellishment that edged her decolletage. Her bubbies were perfect handfuls, her skin there so soft. And when he dragged his caress across her flesh, she shivered. “Take it off.”
Her eyes were wide, almost innocent. He could believe, for a moment, she had never lived a life of sin. Those long, sooty lashes swept over her eyes.
“I require your assistance,” she said softly, and then spun, presenting him with her back.
When had he ever spent the time to admire a woman’s neck and shoulders?
Never.
Why not? He had to wonder now. Either this particular one had an exceptional back—would hardly be a surprise, that—or he had been missing a prime opportunity to admire a lady all this time.
He would make amends now, beginning with her.
His hands found her waist, and they molded to her curves as if they belonged. Nothing—not even a series of knocks from Devil that told him the Suttons were burning down the whole goddamn club—could keep him from setting his lips upon her nape. He bent his head and kissed her there.
Her skin was warm and smooth. He kissed a path to the place where her neck and shoulder met, then nibbled there while he found the tapes at the top of her gown and undid them. He kissed to her ear before catching the delicate shell in his teeth and tugging, then licked the rim.
“You…I…”
She was breathless. He liked that she was struggling to form a proper sentence, and he did not think it was because she feared him. Most of the people in his world—females included—were afraid of him. He had built his empire upon it. But for reasons he would not consider now, he did not want this woman to be anxious in his presence. Rather, he wanted her to know she was safe. That within these four walls, she would only know the height of pleasure.
