Sweet as the Devil

Table of Contents

 

 

“Susan Johnson is a queen of erotic, exciting romance who soars to new heights with each novel.”

—
Romantic Times

 

“Johnson delivers another fast, titillating read that overflows with sex scenes and rapid-fire dialogue.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“A spellbinding read and a lot of fun. . . Johnson takes sensuality to the edge, writing smoldering stories with characters the reader won’t want to leave.”

—
The Oakland (MI) Press

 

“Smart . . . sexy . . . sensuous . . . [Her] books are legendary!”

—Robin Schone,
USA Today
bestselling author

 

“Sensually charged writing . . . Johnson knows exactly what her devoted readers desire, and she delivers it with her usual flair.”

—
Booklist

 

“Fascinating . . . The author’s style is a pleasure to read.”

—
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner

 

“Flat-out fabulous, sexy [novels] so textured they sometimes compare . . . to the phenomenal Judith Ivory.”

—All About Romanc
e

HOT PINK
HOT LEGS
HOT SPOT
FRENCH KISS
WINE, TARTS, & SEX
HOT PROPERTY
GORGEOUS AS SIN
SEXY AS HELL
SWEET AS THE DEVIL

 

TWIN PEAKS
(with Jasmine Haynes)

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

 

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

SWEET AS THE DEVIL

 

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / March 2011

Copyright © 2011 by Susan Johnson.

Excerpt from
Seductive as Flame
by Susan Johnson copyright © by Susan Johnson.

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-47750-2

 

BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. BERKLEY
^®
SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

 

London, May 1893

 

 

 

 

“
J
AMIE, DON’T YOU
dare
leave! I
need
you
. Jamie!
”

Already sliding from the bed, James Blackwood turned back, leaned over in a fluid ripple of honed muscle, and kissed the countess’s pouty mouth. “I would stay if I could, darling,” he said, sitting up and smiling at her. “But I’m already late. Drinks at eight. John’s new wife was quite emphatic.”

“Pshaw on little Vicky,” Countess Minton peevishly noted. “What about me? I haven’t seen you in almost a year. And it’s only drinks. You won’t miss dinner, I promise. You can’t say you’re not
interested
,” she murmured, her sultry gaze drifting to Jamie’s blatant erection, her smile sly and knowing.

“You keep a man interested, Bella—no doubt about that.” The voluptuously nude woman sprawled in the shambles of the bed was well aware of her sensual allure. And her charming capacity for innovation was also an accomplishment of no small merit. “Unfortunately,” he said with a truly regretful sigh, “duty calls.” There were degrees of lateness and politesse apropos his cousin’s wife, and he was pressing the boundaries of both. He began to turn away.

Rolling up on one elbow with breathtaking speed, Isabella seized Jamie’s upthrust penis in her pink-nailed grip, swiftly bent her head, and seized the moment.

Christ!
Jamie’s breath hissed through his teeth, his cock oversensitive after hours of fucking, Bella’s assault a shock to his nerve endings. But a heartbeat later, his twitching nerves adjusted with indecent speed to licentious pleasure and he softly exhaled.
Now what?
With Bella performing fellatio in her usual masterful fashion, assessing the relative merits of duty and lust required a degree of rational observation that was fast eluding him. Yet—a modicum of reason still remained in the nether reaches of his brain; he glanced at the clock.

Bella suddenly nibbled a trifle overzealously or perhaps deliberately, and an unexpectedly sharp jolt mauled his senses.

He gasped, the fine line between pleasure and pain not only taking his breath away but also effectively ending his debate.
What the hell.
Shutting his eyes, he gave himself up to prodigal sensation.

One good turn deserved another, et cetera, et cetera, and an hour later, lying facedown on the bed, panting, Bella gasped, “No more.”

Sprawled on his back beside her, laboring to drag air into his lungs, Jamie finally became aware of the censorious voice inside his head that had been trying to warn him for a considerable time that—
Vicky’
s going to be furious!
Silently swearing, he lifted his head from the pillow, took a disgruntled breath, and sat up. Why had he made plans? He never made plans. Raking his fingers through his dark, ruffled hair, he wondered how much time had passed since he’d been so felicitously persuaded to tarry.

Oh Christ
. The face of the small bedside clock jerked him back to reality. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he scanned the floor for his trousers.

“Don’t go.”

He glanced at the flushed woman who could keep his cock hard indefinitely. “You said no more.”

Her smile was Circe’s. “I take it back.”

His dark lashes lowered slightly. “Be reasonable. I’m already later than hell.”

“I don’t care. Stay—
please, please
.”

For a moment he actually debated staying; it was incredibly late. He still had to return to his apartment and change—which would make him even later. Dare he ignore Vicky’s invitation? And risk his cousin’s displeasure? Knowing the politic answer, he twisted back with the fluid grace of an athlete, whispered in Bella’s ear, and quickly quit the bed before his libido regained the upper hand.

He found his trousers where they’d been hastily discarded that morning after he’d stopped by to talk to Charlie about a prime cavalry mount he wished to buy and had found Isabella in dishabille instead.

Charlie was out of town, she’d explained with a seductive smile. “But there’s no reason to hurry off, Jamie dear,” she’d purred. “We haven’t seen each other in ages. Do tell me all the gossip from Vienna.”

She hadn’t meant it of course.

She’d meant something else entirely.

And now he was damnably late for Vicky’s dinner.

 

 

H
E MADE HIS excuses to Vicky and his cousin, John, Baron Reid, and to all the guests who’d looked up from their desserts as he’d entered the dining room and greeted him with sly smiles and curious gazes. No one believed for a minute that he’d been detained because of an accident on the Windsor road, since Vicky had chanced to mention over drinks that Jamie had gone to see Charlie Bonner on the matter of a horse, to which Freddy Stockton had pointed out that Charlie was in the country. Everyone also knew that Isabella had a penchant for handsome men and Jamie Blackwood in particular.

But since the fashionable world viewed fidelity in marriage much as they viewed children—as something to be ignored—amorous peccadillos were not only commonplace but also generally regarded with amusement.

So after the initial raised brows and roguish scrutiny, conversation reverted to the usual tittle-tattle and gossip that passed for social intercourse in the frivolous world of the beau monde. Several earlier courses were brought up from the kitchen for Jamie while the other guests indulged in a sumptuous variety of sweets. John’s chef was superb, the wine free-flowing, and famished after having exerted himself at stud all day, Jamie tucked into his meal with gusto.