Velvet Embrace (10 page)

It was nearly midnight when she heard Dominic rap softly on her door. Defiantly Brie turned away and pulled the covers up to her chin, determined to let him think her asleep. He would try the handle, but he would find it locked.

It was with a sense of amazement, therefore, that she heard the bolt being drawn back. Feeling a chill breeze touch the back of her neck, Brie gave a gasp and sat up. Her eyes widened in astonishment when she saw Dominic standing in the doorway. He looked like a pirate, with his loose-sleeved shirt and skintight breeches.
A
dangerous
pirate.
His black hair and bronzed skin seemed even darker against the startling white of his shirt.

He shut the door behind him, giving her a casual grin. "I suppose I should have warned you. I'm an expert with locks."

When Brie remained speechless, Dominic found his own gaze sliding over her appreciatively. Her russet curls spilled over her shoulders in wanton disarray, while the firelight leant a delicate golden hue to her skin. She was naked beneath the blue robe, he guessed, for he could just see the tops of milky white breasts where her dressing gown gaped open. Looking at her, Dominic was conscious of some unmistakably erotic stirrings in his body. He wondered if Brie knew how very close she was to being ravished. He had bided his time, waiting patiently for her to lose her qualms about him, but he didn't intend to wait much longer. Aware that he needed something to
distact
his thoughts, Dominic turned his attention to the brandy decanter he had left on the table the previous evening.

Brie found her tongue while he was pouring himself a drink. "Do you always barge into ladies' bedrooms uninvited?" she demanded.

"Rarely," he replied, unruffled by her angry tone. "I generally have an invitation. You,
chérie
, are the exception."

"Get out! Get out of my room before
I
—" She broke off as Dominic slanted a mocking glance at her. His look clearly told her she had no choice in the matter. She was powerless, and any threats she might make would be empty.

He surprised her completely by apologizing. "Forgive me for being late. Jacques had a matter that required my attention."

Brie frowned. "You might have sent me word."

"I know. I'm sorry."

He sounded genuinely sincere, Brie decided, but her anger was only slightly mollified. She didn't like being in such a helpless position. But she certainly couldn't remain in bed while he was in her room.
Catching up one of the blankets to throw about her shoulders.
Brie climbed out of bed, shivering as her feet touched the icy floor.

Dominic noticed her reaction to the cold, but he refrained from comment as she marched over to the chaise longue. He doubted that she would appreciate his offer to warm her just now. At the moment her cheeks were flushed with temper and her eyes were flashing green sparks. He greatly admired her eyes, Dominic reflected as he settled himself in the armchair across from her. They were large and darkly fringed, and they tended to change hues like an ocean. He found himself wondering what color they would be when they were glazed with passion.

That thought was uppermost in Dominic's mind as he set about soothing Brie's ruffled feathers. He put himself out to be charming, drawing on skills that had worked with reticent females in the past.

His strategy was successful. At the end of an hour spent discussing neutral subjects, Brie had totally forgotten her anger and was even enjoying their conversation. Curled up on the chaise longue with her feet tucked beneath her, she listened with unfeigned interest to Dominic's tale of how Elgin had brought his famous Greek antiquities to England.

And since she was unaware of Dominic's specific plans for her seduction, Brie wasn't particularly concerned when he rose to throw another log on the fire. Even when he settled himself on the bear rug at her feet, she didn't immediately recognize the danger. Dominic's movements were casual and
unhurried. He leaned back, bracing his weight on one hand, resting an arm on his upraised knee. When he stopped talking, the silence was comfortable and natural.

It was only when Dominic looked up at her, fixing her with those penetrating gray eyes of his, that Brie felt her heart skip a beat. He was so close that she could actually feel the heat that radiated from his body. She was suddenly afraid of their intimacy, of his nearness.

Thinking only of escape, Brie uncurled
herself
and swung her legs to the floor. But Dominic was faster. He caught her hand in his, preventing her from rising.

Brie stared at him, her heart pounding in her throat. The flickering firelight painted his carved features an orange bronze, accenting their hard masculinity. He was watching her with a heavy-lidded expression that she had no trouble defining.

His thumb swirled lazily against her palm, making his intent crystal clear. "You know I want you," Dominic murmured, his voice low and caressing.

The husky tone sent shivers up Brie's spine. She wanted to look away, to break the spell he was weaving around her, but her eyes seemed to be locked with his. Mesmerized, she nodded wordlessly.

Dominic was satisfied with her answer. He tugged gently on her hand, drawing Brie to her knees beside him. Then, slowly, he reached up to stroke her cheek.

His fingers were warm and reassuring, but his touch left her breathless, as if she had been running too quickly. When Dominic's gaze settled on her lips, Brie felt her heart start to hammer against her ribcage. She held her breath, unable to move.

Taking his time, Dominic ran his fingers through the burnished flame of her hair. Then cradling the back of her head, he drew her mouth closer. His lips touched hers softly at first, in a tantalizing butterfly kiss. Brie's palms instinctively came up to press against Dominic's chest, but his lips continued to move softly over hers, and her token resistance faded beneath the gentle persuasion of his mouth.

She felt herself losing all sense of reality as she knelt there before him, yet all her senses seemed infinitely sharper. She was conscious of the steely strength of Dominic's muscles beneath her hands and the crisp linen of his shirt against her palms. She tasted the warm brandy on his breath as she opened to his probing tongue, then felt the ruffled thickness of his hair with her fingertips as her arms crept up to encircle his neck. She was aware, too, when Dominic's hands began sensuously kneading her shoulders. She shivered as a tremulous wave of longing flowed through her.

Brie wasn't prepared for his next move, though. His hand slipped between the parted
fabric
of her robe before she even realized what he planned. She was stunned to feel his warm, seeking fingers on her naked breast. She stiffened automatically. Pulling away, she stared at Dominic with wide, frightened eyes.

Dominic was puzzled by her fear. He had felt her body's first response to his caresses and was convinced that she wanted him almost as much as he wanted her. "Are you afraid?" he asked softly, forcing himself to be patient.

Brie found it hard to answer. When he looked at her like that, with eyes that were soft and glowing with desire, she felt like warm clay.
But she
wasafraid
.
"Yes" she
said,
her voice no more than a breathless whisper.

He touched her cheek. "Don't be," he murmured tenderly. "I only want to give you pleasure." Firmly then, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. For a moment she tried to twist from his grasp. But then Dominic's mouth covered hers once more, and once again she became lost in the sensations he aroused.

Dominic felt Brie's melting response, but her previous reticence had challenged his masculinity. He wanted more now than to have her limp and pliant in his arms. He wanted to see her lips parted in ecstasy, to have her warm body straining eagerly against him. He kissed Brie urgently, making her feel
a fiery
warmth that had nothing to do with the crackling fire in the hearth.

Brie was trembling by the time his lips slid hotly across her cheek to her ear. She made no protest when Dominic's fingers found her breast again and began gently stroking. Her hands only tightened convulsively on his muscled shoulders. He trailed a path of teasing kisses down her throat and lower, letting his mouth nuzzle gently at one soft breast. Brie gasped as she felt the hot flick of his tongue against her nipple, but her head fell back in an unconscious gesture of surrender. His touch burned her, yet she could no more have stopped him than she could have commanded her heart to cease beating.

Dominic could sense her defenses weakening. He lay back slowly, pulling Brie's unresisting body with him until she was draped across his chest. Her breasts pressed against him, making him throb, and he began to kiss her hungrily—long drugging kisses that left her weak and dazed. His tongue plundered her mouth, stealing away her breath, her will.

She was powerless against his half-tender, half-savage assault. The feel of his hard body beneath her sent ripples of excitement racing through her, while the hands caressing her back aroused emotions she never experienced before. She was too dazed even to notice when Dominic gently rolled her over on her back.

Supporting his weight on one elbow, he lifted his head to gaze down on her flushed face. He ached to possess her, but he forcibly curbed his impatience. Slowly, so as not to alarm her, Dominic eased Brie's robe open, baring her fully to his gaze. His breath caught at the sight.

She had the body of a wood nymph. Her shoulders were smooth and gently sloping, her breasts high and pointed with just a hint of tantalizing fullness. Her hips were slim, her legs long and slender. The curls at the junction of her thighs were dark, but they had the same reddish hue as her glorious hair. In all his experience, Dominic thought he had never seen such an exquisite body. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her silken skin, to feel those taut, provocative breasts burning against his chest once more. He bent his head again, letting his mouth close over hers in a hard, possessive kiss.

Even with her senses drugged, Brie could feel the passion he held in check. She pressed closer against his hard body, wanting something more from him but unable to name what it was.

As she arched against him, Dominic gave a groan of satisfaction. Intending to arouse her even further, he swept his hand downward possessively, claiming her breasts as his personal property. His long fingers stroked and caressed the soft peaks, lingering over each quivering nipple until it throbbed at his touch. When he heard the soft whimpers coming from Brie's throat, Dominic cupped her breasts in his hands and lowered his head. Drawing first one swollen tip into his mouth, then the other, he teased and sucked until Brie was moaning with pleasure.

Yet she wasn't aware of making a sound. A flood of heat and desire was sweeping through her, like nothing she had ever known before. When his lips began a sweet exploration of the rest of her body, time ceased to exist. There was only Dominic's hot, hard mouth working its magic, his warm sensuous fingers stroking her skin.

Quivering beneath his roving kisses, she was only vaguely aware when his hand roamed downward to caress her flat stomach and slender hips,
then
gently press her knees apart. But shortly, his mouth moved lower, to the cluster of curls between her thighs. When his tongue claimed her there, the resulting jolt awakened Brie from the spell he had cast over her and she stiffened in shock.

Dominic paid no attention to her sudden rigidness at first. Most women had never been pleasured that way, he knew, and it was natural for Brie to be surprised. When she began to pull frantically at his hair, though, Dominic realized that he had moved too quickly. For a moment he tried to soothe her by gentling his kisses. Since that had no effect, he reached up to pull her clutching hands from his hair.

Brie panicked when she felt him grasp her wrists. "No!" she whimpered, flailing at his shoulders with her fists. "Please, no!" When Dominic released her, she scrambled to her feet and fled across the room, sobbing.