Page 162 of A Story of Love

“I am,” he agreed, yanking off his cravat and tossing it aside before going to work on his coat and waistcoat.

“You have a strange look on your face,” she said, her own expression nervous.

“Strange?” he repeated, shrugging off both his coats at once and throwing them off to the side without looking.

She laughed at his deliberately careless gesture—which had been his intention—some of the tension draining from her face. “Your valet isn’t here to tidy up after you, you know.”

He grunted, not taking his gaze from her luscious body as he toed off his Hessians in a rough way that would have Bixby scolding him, kicking them off to join all the other clothing strewn across the floor.

He shed his pantaloons and drawers on the way to the bed only pausing to bend and push down his stockings. When he stood, he was naked.

Her smile had disappeared, replaced by a hungry look that made his already hard prick throb even harder.

Fast gripped the base of his shaft and slowly pumped himself, reveling in the heat in her darkened gaze. “You like watching me stroke myself, don’t you?”

She nodded, her big eyes huge.

“I’d give you a proper show if I didn’t think I’d shame myself in less than a minute,” he said, reluctantly releasing himself and climbing onto the bed. “Oh, no you don’t! Where do you think you’re going?” he growled when she tried to scramble to the other side of the bed. “I want you right here.”

Here was beneath him and he straddled her hips. She’d moved both her hands to cover her breasts, so he caught them easily and then held them above her head with one hand.

“Fast!” She squirmed beneath his greedy gaze.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured, drinking in the sight of her full, firm breasts and their large pink nipples. “It embarrasses you that I’m staring, doesn’t it?”

She pursed her lips and her eyes—which had been fixed on his mouth—jumped up to meet his. “No.”

Fast laughed. “Liar.”

“You enjoy making me blush and squirm, don’t you?” she accused, doing both to perfection as she hastily looked away.

“I love it,” he admitted. “Especially when you are naked. Eyes on me, Lorelei.”

She obeyed immediately and her lips parted, either in surprise at her own behavior or because his commands aroused her. Or maybe both.

“I’m going to release your wrists, but I want you to lay your hands above your head and keep them there. Understood?”

Fast loved watching the struggle that took place within her, the independent bluestocking at war with the sensual young woman, the former fighting to bring the latter to heel.

What she needed was a bit of taunting to make the struggle even more entertaining…

“You like submitting to my commands, don’t you?”

She exhaled shakily—which caused her lovely breasts to tremble in an entrancing fashion. “I don’t know what is wrong with me.” Her eyelids lowered until her eyelashes were fanned against her cheeks. “But I do like it, Fast.”

“Look at me, Lorelei.”

She raised her gaze slowly, something that looked like mortification flickering across her face.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, love. You can obey me in the bedchamber and still be a strong, intelligent woman. What we do in private is our concern and ours alone. I love having you at my command. And I love that it arouses you. All too often the women of our class are told to stifle their urges and fantasies while their husbands are encouraged to look outside of the marriage bed to satisfy their sexual appetites.” Holding her gaze, he leaned low enough to take a nipple between his teeth, nipping and tugging the sensitive bud until she hissed, her eyelids fluttering and her back arching. Fast was pleased to note that for all her squirming her hands remained in place.

He released the tightly puckered bud and gave it a gentle kiss before saying, “I want you to be my sexual slave in the bedchamber, Lorelei.” He moved to the other nipple. “And I want to be yours, as well.” He smiled when her breathing quickened. “You would like that, wouldn’t you? Making me kneel before you. Making me obey your every command and beg for my release?”

A shiver wracked her, but her voice was coolly defiant when she retorted, “I believe I might.”

Fast gave a triumphant laugh. “I imagine you will be a deliciously cruel mistress.”

She bit her lip but could not retrain her scandalized laughter. “You are absurd!”