The Seduction (Notorious 1)

He smoothed oil all over her body, starting from behind… her neck, her spine, her buttocks, her thighs… His hands moved slowly, massaging gently, rhythmically, the heat and slow languid motion unbelievably sensual. Then he made her turn onto her back so that he could anoint her breasts and nipples.

Vanessa was trembling even before his magical hands moved to her legs. Spreading his palms, he stroked upward along her thighs to the feminine juncture, where he paused.

Damien gazed down at her with eyes that seemed to scorch her with searing heat. “If, by some misfortune, you have a lover who cannot arouse you, leaving you too dry for penetration, then you can use this method.”

His oil-slick fingers slid inside her, his thumbs brushing the exposed bud of her sex. With a shudder of pleasure, Vanessa closed her eyes and arched against him, letting him sweep her away to a world of bliss.

Oil was not the only stimulant he used. He also taught her the merits of roses in lovemaking.

Several afternoons later, Damien made her undress for him, so that she wore nothing but her corset and gartered stockings. Vanessa blushed when she glance

d at the erotic image of herself in the mirror. The garment was nothing more than a tight-laced frame for her bare breasts, one that emphasized the thrusting ripeness of her jutting nipples and left the mound at the vee of her thighs completely exposed.

“Remind me,” Damien said, surveying her thoughtfully, “to take you shopping for an appropriate wardrobe when we go to London. That corset doesn’t do your exquisite body justice, as well as being much too plain for your intended effect.”

She turned to eye him quizzically. “Are we going to London?”

His gaze suddenly became hooded. “It is the most obvious place to begin your search for a protector. We’ll have to proceed discreetly, of course, as long as you are my sister’s companion. But learning to negotiate the London demimonde is essential to your education. And there are some dangers you should know about if you mean to dwell on the fringes of the underworld.”

“And who better to teach me about the dangers of wickedness than the notorious Lord Sin?” Vanessa asked archly.

“Exactly. Now come here.”

He was sitting in one of the two wing chairs, holding a long-stemmed crimson rose. Still flushing, Vanessa went to stand before him.

His devouring gaze ranged the length of her, over her breasts gleaming pale and bare… her thighs with the crown of dark curls covering the cleft of her femininity. Offering her a beguiling smile then, he lifted the rose and teased her nipples with it, arousing her till she shuddered. Moving lower then, he drew the velvet petals slowly over the lips of her sex.

Vanessa drew a sharp breath at the delicate sensation.

Damien plucked a crimson petal and held it out to her. “Now your turn.”

“My turn?”

“To touch yourself.”

The color in Vanessa’s cheeks rose higher, but Damien seemed to dismiss her embarrassment.

“Your lover may not be considerate enough to see to your needs. You should learn to achieve your own relief in the event you have a man who cannot satisfy you.”

Obeying with reluctance, she took the soft petal and brushed it over the secret place between her thighs. Abruptly Vanessa felt a wild tingle of excitement surge through her blood.

“This,” she whispered, gazing down at him, “is so decadent.”

“Not yet,” Damien murmured. “But it will be, I promise you. Now continue. Pretend those are my fingers caressing you, arousing you to pleasure.”

Her gaze locking with Damien’s, she did as he bid, exploring a world of forbidden mystery. Heat flared inside her as she stroked herself with the rose petal, gliding over the taut bud that was growing slick with her own juices.

Damien’s eyes darkened as he watched. “Your nipples are hard, sweeting. Does that mean you’re becoming aroused?”

“Yes… but it isn’t the same as when you…”

He smiled. “I’m flattered. Perhaps you’re ready for the next lesson after all.”

Drawing her hand away, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the intimate dewy center of her. Vanessa went rigid with surprise.

“Have I ever told you how much I like the scent of roses?” Damien murmured huskily.

His eyes gleaming like liquid silver, he stood and undressed her completely. Then, leading her to the bed, he pressed her down upon the sheets and arranged her position to his liking: her hair forming a torrent of tousled silk over her bare breasts, a pillow beneath her hips, her naked thighs spread for his sensual appreciation.