Hilliard tilted his head slightly, giving him more room. Monty’s heart was pounding in his chest as he continued his journey, planting more feather-light kisses across Hilliard’s skin. Carefully, he slid his hand up Hilliard’s chest and tugged gently at the end of the bowtie.
“Another important factor in seduction,” he said, unbuttoning the collar band and sliding it off Hilliard’s neck, “is to start slow and then maintain the pace.” He nibbled gently at Hilliard’s throat. The gasp Hilliard gave in response sent a wave of pleasure through Monty’s body.
“She certainly didn’t do that in the movie,” Hilliard commented, his voice deliciously husky.
“No, she didn’t.” Monty unbuttoned Hilliard’s shirt with deft movements and continued exploring Hilliard’s neck with his mouth, figuring out which places made the man squirm and gasp. “She went straight for the kill. But that’s where I think she went wrong.” He slid his hand under the open shirt, palm gliding over the cotton of Hilliard’s undershirt. When his fingers met one hard nipple, he pinched it gently, smiling against the other man’s skin when the gesture was met with another gasp. Then he slipped his hand down to the cumberbund, unbuckling it.
“‘Cause you see,” he continued. “You can’t just go from a slow pace to a quick one. You have to take your time.” The cumberbund slipped off and Monty rested his hand on Hilliard’s soft stomach. He nuzzled against Hilliard’s neck. “Otherwise you’ll startle whoever you’re seducing and that would never do.”
“So when do you go in for the kill?”
“I don’t. I wait until they’re ready.”
“Remind me never to take you hunting,” Hilliard murmured, before tilting his face to catch Monty’s mouth with his.
Monty smiled against his lips and licked along the seam of his mouth. Then he pulled away and took in the impossible sight before him. Hilliard was breathing hard already, his pupils were wide, and his mouth was parted slightly.
“So,” Hilliard said, his voice gravelly. “Once you know they’re ready, what do you do?”
“Well, this is the key to a really good seduction,” Monty said, easing off the sofa and onto the floor. “People think that it’s about getting what you want. Amateurs.” He grinned and laid a hand on Hilliard’s leg then slid his hand up the other man’s thigh. “It’s about the other person. You need to give them what they want.”
Hilliard uncrossed his legs obligingly. “I see,” he breathed. “Give them what they want so that you can get what you want.”
Monty tilted his head side to side. “In a way.” He kept his tone conversational as he rubbed his knuckles over the front of Hilliard’s pants, smirking when Hilliard gave an involuntary lurch at the touch. “This is the secret they never tell you about seduction. It shouldn’t be about you or what you want at all. It should be entirely about the other person.”
“How generous.”
“Mm. Perhaps that’s why I’ve never quite mastered the art before.” He found the zipper and carefully pulled it down. “I was always too wrapped up in what I wanted to do it right.”
“Never too late to learn a skill.” Hilliard helpfully raised his hips so Monty could pull the pants down.
Monty rested his hands on the other man’s knees. “Of course, it helps if you find the right person.” He gently pushed Hilliard’s legs wider. “Then you won’t care how slow you go or how long it takes. Because whatever they want will be what you want, really.” He dipped his head to press soft kisses on the inside of Hilliard’s knee. “You know what I mean?”
“Oh, sugar,” Hilliard breathed.
Monty wanted desperately to go straight for what they both knew would be next. But he had to stick to his own script. As he had done before, he made a slow journey of soft kisses up one of Hilliard’s legs and then the other. When he nuzzled at the softness of his inner thigh, Hilliard whimpered.
And when Hilliard said, “Please, Montgomery,” he couldn’t help the way his magic burst out of him, making them both gasp at the sudden explosion of power.
“Aw, baby,” he purred, licking the tip. “All you had to do was ask.”
Then he lost himself to the sensations: the taste of Hilliard on his tongue, the feel of Hilliard’s fingers in his hair, the sound of Hilliard’s moans as his pleasure escalated. When Hilliard came, he swallowed everything up greedily and then rested his cheek against the other man’s thigh, as satisfied as if he was the one who’d been seduced.
Perhaps, in a way, he was.
Chapter 20
Hilliard
When Hilliard woke the next morning, it was with a sense of satiety he had never experienced before.
He allowed himself a couple of minutes to soak it in, watching the long hand on his alarm clock tick out an endless rhythm as memories of the previous night came back to him like the gossamer edges of sweet dreams; little flashes of bliss that seemed unimaginable.
But it was real.
He was exhausted in a way he wasn’t sure how to put into words, but he knew it was from the exquisite heat of his magic burning in his heart as Montgomery Kincaid had given him everything he’d wanted and more.
As carefully as he could, he rolled onto his back. Monty was in a similar position, one arm over his head on the pillow. His other hand was in the middle of his bare chest, rising and falling as he breathed.
