Page 73 of A Lady’s Guide to Subterfuge and Science

He raised his eyebrows at her in the mirror before obeying. Kalila guided his hand, pressing it against her. She shivered at the contact as her hips involuntarily pushed against him.

“This is no practical demonstration,” he growled in her ear, allowing her to maneuver him to her liking. He increased the pressure of his touch, coaxing a quiet sigh from her throat.

“It’s called an assisted performance,” she huffed, arching to grind against him. “Do keep up.”

“I’ll try,” he said, circling the most sensitive part of her with unrelenting pressure. Sharp, delicious pleasure coursed through her in waves, so overwhelming that she released her hold on his hand and collapsed against his chest. They made a wicked tableau in the mirror, and Kalila was sure she had never, ever looked this way before. Her cheeks were flushed, her back arched, her hair wild.

She was, for the first time in her life, the very picture of depravity.

And there was no risk to it. Which made it that much easier to simply give in.

Oliver mimicked her own ministrations to perfection until she was at the very edge of ecstasy. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, urging him into working her just a little harder, a little faster, until—

She came undone, sparks of pure pleasure dancing down her spine before skittering through her limbs. Behind her, Oliver had his head buried in the junction between her shoulder and neck, pressing hot, desperate kisses onto her sensitive skin. Boneless and at peace, she closed her eyes, only opening them once Oliver had bundled her in his arms.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Bed,” he said. “The night is young, Miss Darwish. And I intend for us to take advantage of as much of it as we can.”

*

Kalila was perfect in his arms. God, she was delicious. Her exposed skin was gorgeously flushed, and her pink lips begged to be ravished.

All in due time.

He placed her on the bed, stepping back to undress himself. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her attention lingering on his hands as he tugged at his neckcloth and undid his buttons. For the first time in his life, a touch of shyness came over him as she watched his movements with an unreadable expression.

What are you thinking? he wondered as he dragged his shirt up an inch.

“Can I take that off?” she asked, as if reading his thoughts.

Oliver felt a smile pull at his lips as he dropped the handfuls of fabric and approached the foot of the bed. “If you insist.”

Kalila settled onto her knees, fingertips brushing the linen of his shirt. She pulled it off his body slowly, the act a form of sensual torture he had never experienced before. Instantly, he was made aware of his cock pushing against the fabric of his trousers.

Painfully aware.

After placing the shirt beside her, Kalila reached over to run her hands methodically over his bare chest. His muscles grew tense as she explored, desperate for her touch.

“You’re beautiful,” she whispered. “Almost too beautiful, really.”

He chuckled, the sound graveled and rough. “Indeed? I could say the same about you.”

“Oh?”

Placing his hands on either side of her, Oliver leaned forward until mere inches separated them. “I am haunted by you, Kalila.”

“Ridiculous,” she said, her words betrayed by a crack in her voice.

Oliver moved to drag the fabric of her shirt upward while taking great care to ensure that she was as tortured by the grazing of linen against her skin as he had been. Golden thighs were revealed, followed by the sinful juncture between them. Her abdomen was slightly rounded, even as her hipbones jutted out. Finally, her breasts came into view, small and lovely.

Clever, beautiful, sharp-witted, bright-eyed Kalila Darwish. Naked and hungry for him, just as he was for her.

“My God, Kalila,” he rasped. “Look at you.”

She did as she was told, glancing down before responding with an uncertain smile. “Will you not join me?”

Her murmured question spurred him into action, and he quickly discarded the remainder of his clothing under her curious, watchful gaze. When he looked at her again, it was to find her focus concentrated on his erection. Before he could speak, he caught sight of her teeth sinking into her full lower lip, and it was all he could do not to spend right then and there. Steeling himself, he turned to rummage through a nearby drawer.