Captain and a Corset (25 page)

Yaneta and her two maids waited just outside the ballroom. Sophia glanced at the large clock ticking slowly away in the hallway and found that it was just past midnight. Rather early for a gala ball to end, but there was a steady line of carriages pulling up in front of the main entrance. As she climbed the stairs, she watched footmen return wraps and overcoats to those making ready to depart.

It seemed the prince would not be hosting his guests in the numerous rooms in his large house.
Of
course
not, he’s planning a flesh sale and couldn’t possibly want witnesses to that.

“Hurry now,” Yaneta encouraged Sophia once she’d climbed to the top of the stairs. The maid seemed flustered and waved her forward. Yes, yes, better to be locked up before she made a run for it.

Sophia hesitated, looking behind her for Bion. It felt like a noose was tightening around her neck, the sensation destroying the delightful mood she’d enjoyed throughout the night. The double doors to the bedroom she’d dressed in were open, more burly guards standing ready in the hallway should she decide to resist. She walked past them and heard the doors close. The moment it did, the maids closed in on her.

Someone had started the phonograph and there were candles lit on the side tables. Sophia turned in a circle, taking in the details of the rooms and her nape tingled with suspicion. It looked like a scene set for seduction.

“Take the dress off her.” Yaneta clapped her hands and pulled the flowers from Sophia’s hair herself.

“What is the hurry?” she asked, but none of the women answered. They were all tense, as if they expected something was going to happen. Sophia turned away from their hands.

There was a knock on the door and Yaneta gasped. “We took too long,” she lamented.

Sophia stared at the woman. The doors opened and Sophia hugged her partially opened bodice closed. The three women scurried toward the door, slipping out as the guards shoved Bion through it.

“I’ll lock you back in shackles if you even turn the doorknob,” one guard warned. The door slammed shut the moment the warning was issued. The sound echoed through the chambers, followed by the soft sound of Bion chuckling.

“What can you possibly be amused by?” she asked softly.

Bion walked toward her. “The fact that I am content to not meet that puppy’s challenge because it would cost me your company.”

His tone was dry and serious, but the compliment made her blush. “I see. Are you quite certain your reputation as a man of action shall survive?”

He stopped in front of her as her belly tightened with anticipation. He pulled his glove off, one fingertip at a time before tossing it onto a nearby table. With a gentle touch, he stroked her cheek. Sensation rippled down her body, raising gooseflesh.

“I believe I have been grossly mistaken on just what manner of action is more important.” His second glove joined its mate. “And God forgive me, I know Afanasi is a calculating bastard, but I don’t really care because his plans favor my own desires.”

“Plans?” Her brain was having difficulty functioning. All she wanted to do was drown in the flood of sensation he inspired.

Bion shrugged and pulled his cravat off with a satisfied grunt. “I believe he wants to increase your value by being able to claim you might be carrying.”

Her cheeks burned scarlet, but she smiled with satisfaction. “I told Yaneta we were lovers. I can’t believe it actually worked.” She rubbed her hands together, trying to think. “Now we can escape.”

“Escaping this room isn’t the challenge we need to overcome. It’s getting off the grounds,” Bion offered. “Our best chance will be in the morning, when the kitchen takes deliveries of fresh supplies and the hounds have been called in.”

“Hounds?”

Bion nodded. “My jailers were happy to share the details of how Prince Afanasi prizes his dogs. They are trained to hunt as pups and will run anything down at night. A rather helpful habit for keeping serfs on his land.”

“That’s ghastly.”

Bion walked to the window and moved the curtain a small amount. He looked down, his expression focused. For once, she was happy to see it because it awakened hope inside her. He dropped the curtain. “So we are here for the night.” He looked past her at the turned-down bed. “And here I thought for certain I would never thank that bastard prince for anything.”

He shrugged out of his overcoat and her mouth went dry. It really was a foolish response, for they had been together before. But every inch of her skin was begging for release from her clothing, her senses heightened as he moved back toward her.

“Um… what are you doing?”

Bion’s eyes narrowed at her question. He opened the first stud on his shirt and then another and another until his shirt was open.

“Disrobing.” His voice was dark and edged with promise.

“You’re toying with me,” she decided.

Instead of the mocking smirk she expected, he cupped her chin and raised her face until their gazes locked. What she witnessed in his eyes mesmerized her. It was hotter and deeper than anything she’d ever seen before.

“The circumstances have provided me with the rather unexpected opportunity to prove the aforementioned Jonathon Saddler is not the only man who might seduce you gently.”

“Jonathon never seduced me.”

“And neither have I.” He leaned down, sealing her lips beneath his. The kiss was surprisingly tender and soft. He didn’t rush to press her mouth open but teased her with unhurried motions until she yielded of her own volition.

“But I should have,” Bion offered softly against her ear. He inhaled the scent of her hair while stroking his hands down her back. She felt him tugging on the laces on the back of her bodice. They made the faintest sounds as they were pulled free and then he stepped back so he could pull the open garment down her arms.

“I’ve been very remiss in remembering you are a respectable woman, one who should have been enticed into bed with gentle words.”

He turned her around, wrapping her in his arms. For a moment, he simply held her, stroking her neck with warm fingers. She shivered, feeling the wave of sensation cresting over her. She was eager for more. He settled his hand over her heart, feeling its accelerated rate.

“Words I am rather unaccomplished at saying.” He pressed his hands against her sides to release the busk on the front of her corset. The metal closure snapped, allowing her to draw in a deep breath.

“I don’t much care what you say, your actions please me quite well,” she sighed as she drew in another breath and fought the urge to massage her breasts. “I’ve never been fond of tight lacing.”

Bion dropped her corset. Sophia settled for rubbing her sides, where her waist had been constricted. Bion brushed her hands aside and took over the duty. She was sure that someone, somewhere would tell her no gentleman should perform such a task, but Bion was a pirate, so it was perfectly fine.

Better than fine. She let out a sigh and then something that was closer to a moan. His touch awakened the need inside her once more.

“And let us not forget these…” He cupped her breasts, the thin silk of her chemise offering little protection—not that she wanted any. No, she craved his skin against hers. Blunt, primitive, base, she really didn’t care what upper society might label it. She pressed back against him, reaching for his thighs because standing still was impossible.

“Let us not forget that I consider myself your counterpart,” she said. Sophia turned and reached for him. Her hand was small against his nape but that didn’t stop her from pulling his head down so she might kiss him. She rose onto her toes, needing to prove that she might initiate as well as receive. This time the kiss was harder, and he responded in kind, his lips parting hers, then his tongue stroking the length of her own.

Pleasure tore through her. It was like a bolt of lightning and it left behind enough heat to make her frantic to be free of her clothing. The petticoats were stifling, and she reached for the hooks on the waistband. Bion happily pulled one up and over her head once it was free. It crinkled when he tossed it aside, and he grabbed a second one.

“Are you in there?” he asked as he fought with the third petticoat.

“Yes,” she answered, and a very soft giggle escaped from her lips. She slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified by the sound, but Bion merely raised an eyebrow at her.

“There is the proof that I’ve neglected your tender sensitivities. There is nothing wrong with laughter.”

Her chemise was floating free now, the few lamps in the room illuminating her curves.

“You’re a pirate.”

Bion tilted his head to one side and moved toward her. She hadn’t realized she’d stepped back, but couldn’t stop herself from doing it once more. Her belly tightened with anticipation as he slowly approached her.

“Not all the time.”

He offered her his hand. In some ways, the invitation was more arousing than the slow chase he’d been giving her. She blushed and fluttered her eyelashes, but she was already moving to meet him. He clasped her hand and pulled her against him. His kiss was hard and demanding, but she met him measure for measure.

Now that her petticoats were removed, the hard bulge of his cock was impossible to miss. She rubbed against it, impatient to have him inside her once again. He lifted his head, earning a soft hiss from her as frustration broke through her enjoyment of the moment. But he scooped her up, easing her impatience.

“We are not going to let that fine bed go to waste,” he muttered as he carried her through the open doorway and into the bedchamber.

“I should hope not. You’d certainly lose standing among your pirate peers if you did.”

The bed was turned down and the mattress soft. There was a soft scent of wildflowers as she crawled across its surface and faced her lover. He was freeing himself from his trousers, but his attention was on her. Sophia rose onto her knees and fingered the hem of her chemise.

“I swear you have only to ask me to beg you for your favor and I will.”

They weren’t flowery words, but from Bion Donkova, they were everything she needed. “I see.” Sophia tugged the silk up to reveal her thighs. His dark eyes were focused on the rising hem. She leaned forward and he shifted, moving his attention to the gaping neckline.

“Tease,” he accused softly. The bed shifted as he placed a knee on it. His erect cock was clearly in sight now, neatly turning the table on her.

“Somehow, I doubt Jonathon would have let me see any of his parts.” She drew the chemise up and over her head. The night air was brisk but she was too hot to be bothered by it.

“I doubt you would have looked to see if any were in sight if you’d been his bride.”

She shook her head. “No, I would have been put to bed, to await him.” She lay down and reached for the covers.

Bion tore them back, beyond her reach. “Pirates take everything.”

She lifted her arms and he came to her. Conversation became irrelevant as they communicated through touch. She needed to feel him—all of him—against her. As playful as their foreplay had been, she couldn’t fend off the frantic need to hold him one last time. It drove her, consuming her as he pressed her back against the bed.

“I am going to enjoy taking you, Sophia.”

His voice was low and menacing, but she purred with enjoyment. He spread her thighs, and she lifted her hips to welcome his first thrust. They moved together, giving and receiving, each trying to touch the other. There was pleasure in every motion and it built until there was no holding back the explosion. Her hands became claws as rapture twisted through her. Her nails dug into his skin while he bucked and drove his length hard and fast into her core. His body grew taut, his seed erupting deep inside her and for one moment, they were as close as two humans might ever be.

But it was a fleeting moment. Tears stung her eyes when he gathered her close.

You
can
cry
later.

It was good advice but her heart wasn’t listening. She struggled against the advance of time and the harsh reality Prince Afanasi had promised her. But a memory stirred, and she laughed softly with it. Bion shifted and raised her face so he might lock gazes with her.

“Somehow, I doubt that the prince has heard of the policy of killing new Navigators before they fall into the hands of the Helikeians.”

“I believe he thinks me too smitten to do you harm.” Bion pressed her head back onto his chest. “He’s correct.”

Maybe some would not have considered his words a declaration, but Sophia knew better. For the moment it was enough. In fact, she was sure she would hear his words in her dreams for the rest of her life.

He tipped her head up. The light from the outer room cast him in shadow, but it suited the moment.

“Perhaps you’ll consent to join me in an escape attempt.”

“How?” She tried to sit up but Bion held her in place. “I know it would be simple enough to use the bedding to climb out of the window, but I suppose you could have done that from the third floor…”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. She clearly had been thinking ahead. “I was locked in shackles and chained to the wall. Without your clever little announcement to Afanasi’s staff, escape would have been beyond my doing. You’re a better Illuminist than you realize, Sophia, and more of a counterpart than I gave you credit for.”

He rose up, turning her over so that he looked down into her face; her back was on the surface of the bed.

“And as much as I should be focused on your attributes as my colleague, I confess I am far more interested in kissing you until there isn’t a thought left in either of our minds.”

“I wouldn’t dream of arguing with you.”

He pressed his thumb against her lower lip as his eyes narrowed. “Yes, you would, Grace O’Malley.”

He kissed her before she might reply, and true to his nature, the man employed action until there wasn’t a thought left in her head—or his, which pleased her greatly.

***

Dr. Nerval fingered the grooves in the top of his walking cane. The Deep Earth Crystal was carved and set like any ordinary glass cane topper, but he knew what it was. Those he was interested in knew what it was too.