Nicole Jordan - The Seduction

And he was offering her an even chance to triumph. She might actually win. But if she lost? She would be ruined.

His proposal was dishonorable, even cruel. But her passion was his price for mercy. And to shield her family from his wrath, she would bargain with the devil.

“You give me little choice,” she replied in a low, toneless voice.

To his credit, he showed no amusement. “You may do the honors. Shuffle the deck and draw first.”

She moved reluctantly toward him and accepted the deck. She had played whist and piquet often enough to be proficient at shuffling, but her hands were so unsteady, the task took a moment.

“Choose your card, sweeting,” Lord Sin prompted.

Spreading the deck on the table, she drew a single card and turned it right side up. A jack of hearts. Hope rose in her breast. It was possible a jack would outrank his draw. Vanessa held her breath, feeling her heart thud.

Lord Sinclair selected his card then, turning it over with long, elegant fingers.

Vanessa stared down at the king of spades, unable to hide her despair. She had lost.

“There is still time,” he murmured, “for you to change your mind.”

Curiously he was giving her a final chance to withdraw. Numbly, she shook her head. She would honor their agreement.

“Then we have a bargain?”

She drew a measured breath, striving for control. She was no coward. And her family would be saved. She had to be content with that.

Indeed, their salvation was far more than she had dared hope for when she had come to plead with Lord Sin. “Yes, I accept.”

She was startled when he raised his hand slowly to touch her cheek. It was all she could do not to flinch.

“Vanessa.” He said her name softly, his tone almost a caress.

When she looked up, their gazes locked for a heartbeat.

“Would you honor me with a kiss to seal our agreement?”

Her gaze dropped to his lips. He had a beautiful mouth, she thought incongruously. She felt her pulse quicken dangerously.

She stood frozen as he bent slightly to bring his mouth into delicate contact with hers. It was the slightest brushing of flesh against flesh, barely that, and yet she felt the sensation like a burning brand. Abruptly she shivered.

When he lifted his head, she could see satisfaction in his smoke-silvered eyes.

“Was that so difficult?”

“I suppose not,” she admitted bleakly.

With a casual finger, he flicked the high collar of her pelisse. “You must be warm, sweeting, wearing so many layers. You do not need this, do you?” His voice was husky, a low caress.

She regarded him in confusion, unable to understand the question.

“Will you take off your pelisse for me?”

“W-why?”

“Because I wish to see you.”

She felt alarm begin to rise within her, an alarm he must have sensed.

His eyes captured hers and held them. “I make you a promise, Vanessa. I won’t take you unwillingly. I give you my word.”

Vanessa did not know if she could believe him, if she could trust the promises of a notorious rake, but it really made little difference. He had paid for the privilege of undressing her if he wished.

With trembling fingers she unfastened the buttons of her pelisse. When she hesitated, he drew the garment from her shoulders and laid it casually across the table.

“I confess disappointment,” he murmured as he scrutinized her plain day dress of brown merino wool. “I much prefer the gown you wore last evening. This does not do your lush figure justice, although it brings out the rich color of your eyes.”

“Come, sit with me a moment.” He took her hand in his and led her to the chaise lounge.

She willed herself not to resist as he drew her down beside him, with the cool assurance of a man who inevitably got his way. Sitting rigidly, Vanessa held her breath, feeling her heart race with trepidation. Did he mean to seduce her here and now?

His face was disquietingly close to hers. She found herself staring at his mouth, that incredibly sensuous, beautifully carved mouth.

Damien saw where her gaze rested and his loins stirred. Yet he made no move to touch her.

He wanted her, he freely admitted. Too much to risk a precipitous action. He was glad he had won the draw, and not because of the vast sum at stake. He was wealthy enough that he would not miss even so large a fortune. But now he would have the opportunity to explore the hidden depths of this spirited, intriguing woman.

His well-honed male instinct told him she was not being coy. She was afraid… and very, very vulnerable. Someone had hurt her-badly, he suspected. It would take every ounce of control he possessed to go slowly with her, to wait until she responded to him freely, but the treasure he would uncover at the end would be well worth the effort.

He couldn’t allow her to leave just yet, not before he began his campaign to vanquish her fear of him and to win her trust. Once out of his presence, she would only torment herself with dark imaginings, build him up in her mind till he was an evil monster.

No, first he wanted her to sample a taste of the pleasure he could give her, so she could begin to see he wasn’t really so fearsome.

The sweet scent of her rose up to tease his nostrils, but with iron-willed control, he forced his desire to remain in check.

“Will you look at me, sweeting?” When she acceded reluctantly, he went on, keeping his tone disarming. “You think me a libertine, I know, but am I such an ogre?”

“I… don’t know you well enough to make such a judgment.”

He smiled. “True. And like you, I have never faced this particular circumstance before. We shall just have to improvise.”

Vanessa couldn’t look away; there was something warm and tender in his eyes that allayed her panic.

“I should like to kiss you again, Vanessa. Will you deny me a kiss?”

She felt her heart beating a wild pulse in her throat. “Are you giving me a choice, my lord?”

“Indeed. The choice will always be yours.”

She searched his face, looking for signs of deception, finding none. He had promised he wouldn’t take her against her will. Perhaps he truly meant it.

When she made no reply, he raised his hand again to her cheek. “You have such lovely silken skin.”

His thumb stroked her jaw, his touch lingering and provocative. She wanted to move, to flee his disturbing nearness, yet she was held captive by the intensity of his gaze, by the raw, powerful sexuality emanating from him.

His knuckles brushed over her moist, parted lips. A frisson of fiery sensation sparked from his fingers to her skin.

“Your answer, sweet Vanessa?” He tilted her face up to his. “Will you kiss me?”

His voice stroked her senses like velvet, weakening her defenses. The need to protect herself from this man was strong. And yet… she didn’t want him to stop touching her.

“Yes…” she murmured, her voice a whisper of sound.

It was enough. His palm cradled her face gently, with infinite tenderness. Vanessa watched, spellbound, as his ebony lashes lowered to shadow his sensual eyes. His breath fanned warm against her lips, before his mouth settled on hers with the slow, sure pressure of experience.

A heated rush of feeling assaulted her. His kiss was a languid, intimate knowing of her mouth, one that stole her breath away. When she made no protest, his tongue penetrated her lips in a sensual invasion. The taste of him was arresting. Her hands rose to press lightly against his chest, yet she didn’t really want to push away. She could feel the hardness of his corded muscles beneath her fingers, the heat of his powerful torso, smell the arousing scent of him, warm and faintly musky.

His tongue played in a leisurely, erotic dance while he continued his tender assault with his fingers. Vaguely Vanessa realized he was caressing her again, stroking with hushed delicacy the column of her throat, her bare collarbone, her shoulder…