His Mistress (6 page)

“Tch, tch, tch, you are too eager,
mon cher
.”

“But you are so beautiful, my Lady. What slave would not want to serve you?”

“And how do you think you can serve me,
mon esclave
?” Angélique laughed again.

“Please, my Lady. May I drink from you? May I give you pleasure by licking and sucking on you?”

“Ah, so you wish to taste me, eh,
mon chou
?”

Using her crop, Angélique pushed the man backward until he was sitting on his haunches, his head upright, but his eyes still downcast. Slowly, Angélique slipped her fingers between her legs to stroke herself. There was no doubt in Jane’s mind that the man’s pleas to satisfy Angélique aroused the Frenchwoman. It was evident in the way her friend touched herself, her features taut with pleasure as her head fell backward and she pleasured herself in front of her lover.

The man drew in a sharp hiss of air that echoed with need as he watched Angélique caress the place between her legs. Despite the prurient nature of the Frenchwoman’s actions, there was something utterly seductive in the way Angélique’s actions made the man at her feet groan with desire. It pulled the darkest of fantasies from Jane’s subconscious out into the light.

Angélique slowly pulled her fingers out from between her legs. Fingers glistening in the candlelight with a pale white cream, she laced the man’s lips with her essence. Eagerly and frenetically, the man sucked at her fingers with a voracity that took Jane’s breath away. The man’s hedonistic actions illustrated how easily Angélique seduced any man she chose to bring into the Obedience Chamber. Every time she watched the play between Angélique and the men who served her, it aroused a craving inside Jane to possess the same feminine control over a man. It was a hunger the small voices of her upbringing and society tried to make her deny, but they failed.

Perhaps it was the way her friend’s raw, physical sensuality transcended the rigors of societal conventions. Where others might see hedonistic practices, Jane saw the beauty of the human body in its most emancipated form of desire and need. Nowhere in her life had Jane ever seen or thought to experience such strength or control by a woman over a man. But here at
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
, Angélique demonstrated that a woman had the ability to take her pleasure in the manner of her own choice.

The sensitive spot between Jane’s legs pulsed with a need she knew would only be relieved later in the privacy of her own room. As Angélique continued to seduce her charge, a sudden frisson streaked across Jane’s skin. It created an undefinable sense of awareness that swept through her like a hot breeze. Confused by the sensation, she shifted her gaze from the chamber below to the audience in the gallery.

Her gaze swiftly surveyed the small group of members watching Angélique and her lover in an effort to find an explanation for the odd sensation winding its way through her. She was about to dismiss her peculiar reaction when she saw him. The low lighting in the corner of the gallery cloaked his features. Arms folded across his chest, the stranger stood with one shoulder pressed into the wall. It was a nonchalant pose that suggested great strength, and he exuded a dangerous appeal that left her breathless. She knew she should turn away, but something about him captivated her attention.

Despite the shadows, she could tell he was looking in her direction, and she was certain his focus was on her and no one else. Even without seeing his face, Jane recognized the sheer magnetism of the man’s presence. Power in its most potent form flowed off of him and filled the distance between them. What would it be like to harness that power and bend it to her will? Her mouth went dry at the thought.

To make this man do her bidding was a heady thought. No, it was a dangerous thought. Jane swallowed the knot swelling in her throat. She was assuming he would be willing to submit to her. Just the aura of strength surrounding him said it was more than likely he would expect
her
to submit. Jane immediately rejected that possibility. Submitting to a man within the walls of
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
was an abhorrent idea. Outside of this sanctuary, she was forced to obey the edicts of others and constraints of society. Here in
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
, there were no such limitations, and she refused to give up the freedom she’d found within these walls.

The air suddenly thickened making it difficult to breathe as the stranger straightened upright in a slow, lazy movement. Excitement, mixed with trepidation, slid through her veins as she watched him. His movement emulated that of one of the tigers she’d seen pacing in their cages in Regent Park. Like those large jungle cats, there was a raw, primitive strength beneath the stranger’s seemingly lazy shift in posture.

An image of him on his knees before her made Jane’s chest tighten at the prospect. What would it be like for her to do with him as she pleased? Her mouth went dry at the thought. Beneath his dark suit, she was certain she’d find a hard, muscular body. The thought of slowly exploring him with her hands made her heart skip a beat.

She silently berated herself. Even from a distance, she was certain this wasn’t a man who was capable of submitting himself to a woman’s command. His entire demeanor shouted he would be the master of any relationship he indulged in. A shudder rippled through Jane at the thought as she considered what surrendering to this man would be like. The thought that she’d even contemplate such a possibility appalled her. All too aware of her fascination, Jane tried to calm her racing pulse. She failed as the stranger bowed in her direction. She didn’t know why, but there was a confident air about him that convinced her he was smiling.

It could have been a smile of enticement or amusement, but instinct said it was one of self-assured amusement. A confidence which would challenge her fledgling skills. Appalled, she rejected the notion. She had no desire to encourage the man. No, that wasn’t quite true. She had the desire. She simply knew it would be her downfall to answer his silent invitation. Without bothering to acknowledge the stranger, Jane slowly turned her attention back to the Obedience Chamber in a manner designed to illustrate her lack of interest. Even as she looked away from him, Jane longed to look back.

Alarmed, she struggled to focus on the events in the chamber below. Angélique was laughing quietly as she instructed her charge to lie on his back. Despite her efforts to forget about the stranger, Jane could still feel his penetrating gaze on her back. She swallowed hard as she fought not to glance over her shoulder in the stranger’s direction.

A split second later, every thought disappeared from Jane’s head as a frisson danced its way across the nape of her neck. The tingling intensified as she sensed a warm body suddenly occupy the chair behind her. Jane kept her eyes on the scene below and struggled to keep from looking over her shoulder to confirm what instinct was telling her.

The stranger had taken the seat directly behind her.

Heat skimmed across her skin while her heart pounded a wild rhythm in her ears. Dear God, how was it possible for him to affect her like this without saying a word? She swallowed the knot in her throat and fought to keep her attention on the chamber. The erotic scene below only served to emphasize the disturbing sensations sliding through every inch of her body.

“Good evening, my Lady.”

Instantly her skin grew hot in a feverish fashion. With nothing more than a simple greeting, he’d managed to make sin seem as innocent as a cup of warm chocolate. His voice was seduction in its purest form, and Jane’s heart skipped a beat at the enticing sound. Afraid to speak for fear of sounding as breathless and discombobulated as she felt, she ignored him. Instead, she continued to study Angélique and her lover in the chamber below. A scorching heat brushed the side of her face as he leaned forward until his mouth was almost touching her ear.

“Are you really that engrossed in the small play below or are you merely trying to avoid the obvious.”

“Obvious?” She frowned slightly.

“My intentions where you’re concerned.” The hypnotic note in his voice didn’t squash the lash of disappointment slicing through Jane. Her initial supposition about the stranger had been correct. She straightened her shoulders.

“I wasn’t aware I’d expressed any interest in your intentions at all, sir,” she said coolly. He countered her chilly response by blowing a soft warmth across the back of her neck.

“Then perhaps I should say that I have reason to believe you would not reject me outright.”

His softly spoken words made Jane draw in a quick breath before she slowly released it in an attempt to control her escalating pulse. Lord help her, but that had sounded almost like a request. Had she been wrong? Did he prefer a strong woman in his bed? The thought made her chest tighten as though her lungs were empty of air. With her next breath, she was able to breathe again. The idea filled her with a wild mixture of trepidation and excitement. Still uncertain of his true intentions, Jane didn’t look at him, but simply nodded toward the theater below.

“If that is the case, then permit me to watch the rest of this performance in silence.”

“As you wish, my Lady.”

A dark angel could not have acquiesced to her request any more reluctantly. His breath stirred the hair on the back of Jane’s neck, and she knew that if the sun were blazing down on her it could not have been as hot. Determined not to show how much he disturbed her, Jane forced herself to concentrate on Angélique in the Obedience Chamber.

Her friend had instructed her charge to lay flat on the floor. When he was in position, the Frenchwoman walked forward to stand above his erection. Bending at the knees, Angélique slowly sank downward until the man’s phallus brushed against her sex. Instantly, the man’s hands quickly moved to touch Frenchwoman’s thighs. Angélique’s fingers lightly tapped the tip of the man’s erection before she stood again and moved to stand over his head.

“You disappoint me,
mon chou
. You know the rules of our little game. You will not be satisfied until I decide you will be,” Angélique said with a sigh. “Now look up, and tell me what you see.”

“You, my Lady. You’re beautiful.”

“And what to you wish to do with such beauty?”

“I want to pleasure you, my Lady.” The ache in the man’s voice made Angélique smile as she moved away from him.

“Then you will please me by taking yourself in hand. Stroke yourself. Slowly.”

“Yes, my Lady,” the man said in a choked voice as he obeyed her command.

“Very good,
mon esclave
,” Angélique said with a soft laugh. “Now I want you to imagine you are sliding into me—ever so slowly.”

“Sweet Jesus,” the man uttered in a dark voice.

“And while you are thinking about that, imagining what that feels like,
mon ange
, you are to continue stroking yourself, but you are not allowed to spill your seed.”

Angélique’s command made the man draw in a hiss of protest, but he nodded and proceeded to obey her command. The Frenchwoman got down on her knees and bent over the man’s stiff erection to lick the tip of him. Every time he stroked himself, Angélique swirled her tongue around the edge of him. Muscles bulging with tension, the man shuddered.

“My Lady…please.”

The hoarse whisper made Angélique lift her head. With a nod, she stood up and walked across the room to a rack where she hung up her whip. His breathing still harsh, the man continued to stroke himself. Taking her time, Angélique returned to his side.

“You have done well this evening,
mon cher
,” she said with a seductive smile. “You have my permission to release your seed.”

A guttural sound rolled out of the man’s throat as with two last strokes of his hand, his body convulsed with pleasure, and he climaxed under the Frenchwoman’s and the gallery’s watchful eyes. As always, the voyeuristic experience left Jane feeling aroused and somewhat naughty at having witnessed such an intimate scene. His release complete, Angélique’s lover came up on his knees and leaned forward to kiss the Frenchwoman’s ankle.

“Thank you, my Lady.” The man’s impudent demonstration of gratitude made Angélique laugh.

“Off with you, mon cher, before I regret allowing you to come so quickly.”

As her submissive scrambled to his feet, she playfully slapped his backside as he headed out of the room. Laughter filled the gallery at the interaction, and Jane smiled. It was evident Angélique was fond of the man. Any other partner would have earned a stern rebuke for touching her without permission.

The moment Angélique left the Obedience Chamber, the soft murmur of conversation filled the air as the gallery audience slowly broke apart. Behind her, the stranger remained silent, almost as if waiting for her to command him. Anticipation skimmed through her blood as Jane rose and turned around to look down at the man seated in the chair behind her. In the space of one quick breath, shock shuddered its way through her entire body.

Tobias.

It couldn’t be. Why hadn’t she recognized him? Realized that the dark, seductive voice in her ear belonged to the man she’d agreed to marry? The answer was immediate. This was a Tobias she didn’t know. Even the roguishly wicked smile on his lips was foreign to her. And it was a smile that made her heart pound harder in one beat than it had at any other moment she’d been in his presence.

Panic swept through her as a look of assessment darkened his handsome features. Dear God, was it possible that despite her mask he might still be able to recognize her? Her fear slowly subsided as she realized he was merely studying her as one might study one’s quarry.

As he rose from his seat, she struggled to breathe and maintain a serene countenance beneath his bold look. Normally he was only an inch or two taller than she, but because the row she was standing on was one step below his, he appeared even taller. His eyes glittered with what she realized was appreciation, and in the back of her mind, Jane wondered if this was what it felt like when one was drowning. Her pulse skittering out of control, she fought to keep her wits about her under Tobias’ brazen look. Her mouth dry, she unconsciously licked her lips, and a low growl rolled out of him.