Turning to him, she nuzzled her face gratefully into the hard wall of his chest and sank into sleep.
Kell bit back a low curse, keenly aware of the effect Raven Kendrick’s meagerly clad body had on him. After nearly four hours of attending her, the pain in his loins was excruciating.
He had relieved her suffering as much as was humanly possible, yet he couldn’t relieve his own. She was his captive, completely at his mercy. What kind of bounder would take advantage of her drugged state? Even if she was burning to have a man between her legs?
Whatever aphrodisiac she had been given was more powerful than any he knew of. It had made her sexually insatiable and frantic for a lover. Despite his skill, manual stimulation wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her. She would need more, would demand more…
He eased back, away from her warmth, but that slightest bit of distance was scarcely an improvement. He should have put out the lamp. Her shift was dampened from the many times he had bathed her feverish skin, and the cambric had molded itself in a transparent film to her body. The rigid peaks of her nipples strained against the delicate fabric.
Involuntarily his gaze drifted down her body, over her slender hips and thighs, and lower, where her shift rode up. Those long, naked legs were so slim and lovely. It was too damned easy to imagine them wrapped tightly around his flanks as he took her-
His arousal throbbed sharply in anticipation.
He drew a slow breath, trying to ease the brutal tension in his body. Her condition would likely last for hours, and he had to find the strength to resist her allure.
Averting his gaze from her body, he instead focused on her face. In sleep she didn’t resemble a heartless bitch. On the contrary she looked appealingly vulnerable, with her long la
shes fanned out against her smooth cheeks.
He’d rarely seen any woman so arrestingly lovely, but hers was an unconventional beauty: fresh, vivid, wholly enchanting. And her mouth…that sensual, provocative mouth was parted in sleep…
He had tried to avoid kissing that incredible mouth, but she had clutched at him, raising her face to his, imploring him. And in a lamentable moment of weakness, he’d given in, tasting her warmth.
“Witless fool,” Kell muttered accusingly to himself. He hadn’t wanted her to taste so sweet and hot.
She moved closer just then, pressing against him, and Kell tensed. He’d removed his boots and coat but left on his other garments as a barrier between them so he wouldn’t be tempted by the intimate contact of skin to skin. Yet clothing had proven little protection.
“My splendid pirate…” she murmured, curling her fingers on his chest.
Pirate? That was the second time she had called him that. He raised an eyebrow as he caught her hand and urgently removed it from his body. What would a blue-blooded debutante know about pirates? But then she obviously had more depth of experience than any unwed young lady rightfully should.
In truth, he’d been frankly surprised by her evident carnal knowledge-and by her boldness. He could well understand how she’d teased and tormented his brother into forgetting his own name.
She stirred against him, and Kell knew his temporary reprieve had ended. With a resigned sigh, he reached down to give her what she craved.
His hand claimed the softness of her, and instantly he felt moisture, warm and silky, coat his fingers. When he slid them along her drenched cleft, she whimpered gratefully.
He stroked her for a moment, then penetrated her warmth with his fingers, sliding inside her hot passage. She moaned and twisted under his caresses, clutching at his shoulders as she tried to get even closer.
The movement of her body only sharpened his desire, and Kell clenched his jaw against the pain. She was like live fire to his touch: beautiful, hot, wild.
His own breath was ragged by the time she climaxed for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. Her cry was sharp and agonized, her body arching and shuddering in his restraining arms.
He held her close until the feverish tempest within her had stilled. As soon as she relaxed, though, he eased away, not knowing how much more torture he could endure.
Taking advantage of the lull, he closed his eyes, needing a moment’s rest. What he really should do was stroke himself to assuage the savage ache…
He must have dozed off, for he woke to the most incredible sensations. A dark-haired woman was leaning over him, staging a delectable assault on his helpless body. She had unbuttoned the front flap of his breeches and was trailing her lips over his swollen erection, ravishing him as he slept…
His hand curled in her raven hair, urging her on-
Startled awareness made him go rigid.
Wide awake now, Kell caught her hands and dragged them to her sides. A mistake, he realized, for she only leaned closer, giving him a perfect view of her bare swelling breasts that now spilled over the bodice of her shift. Ripe and rose-hued, they loomed eager for a man’s caress…his caress.
A lightning stroke of desire surged through him.
Dragging his gaze from her luscious breasts, he found himself staring up into wide sapphire pools that were glazed with passion.