Chapter Six #2
The woman stepped back into his view and continued to a spot several paces in front of him.
Finally facing him squarely, she slowly, deliberately smoothed her hands down the sides of her stiff-boned corset to rest on her hips.
Then she tilted her head and curved her red lips into a smile that sent a frisson of alarm and something else through his core.
“You owe Madame a debt.” Her words were thickened by a French accent. “I am the collector.”
His stomach tightened. He was to give an hour to this dark creature?
Ralston was not a man to frequent brothels and bordellos.
He preferred to keep his sensual exploits more private and well-contained.
Since coming of age, he’d had arrangements with three different mistresses.
Discreet women who offered their companionship in exchange for his care and consideration and financial support.
Modest, proper relationships that kept the passion to the bedroom and ended without fuss or fury or even a hint of scandal.
Despite his lack of experience with the kind of temporary and more casual arrangements to be made in places such as the Lyon’s Den, he knew enough to understand that the current situation was backwards.
How was he to settle a debt by spending an hour with this seductress?
Typically, one would have to pay for such an experience.
Jarrett had even mentioned a Frenchwoman whose services came at a precious cost.
It made no sense. What in hell had he agreed to?
He stared at the woman standing a significant distance away.
He noted her commanding posture. Her silent patience and steady regard.
With her dark hair pinned atop her head, the slim length of her throat was bared to his gaze, as was the gentle breadth of her shoulders, and the hollow of her collarbone.
Her lush cleavage was cushioned by the black corset which cinched her waist and accented the soft flare of her hips.
His mouth went a little dry as his gaze continued down the slopes of her thighs—gently caressed by the liquid fall of silk—to her slim ankles encased in laced black leather boots.
His body hardened as a thundering pulse angled to his cock. He may not have much experience with the kind of seduction this woman employed, but he was not immune to it. Especially when her lips curled secretively…as if she knew something she’d never tell him.
She tilted her head with that mysterious smile as her gaze swept over him from head to toe.
“You are a strong man—a powerful man, no? The world…it bows to you, does it not?” The golden flicker of her gaze slid back to meet his.
Her next words were a rich murmur, “Would such a man lower himself before me?”
He tensed his jaw. “I do not—”
“Silence.”
Once again, a single word from the woman put an instant halt to his intentions. This time, there was more force behind the word and a subtle suggestion of anger. Or impatience.
Ralston tensed and watched and waited. Though he was not exactly intimidated by her manner, his curiosity had definitely been piqued.
But it wasn’t curiosity alone. The woman’s attitude inspired an unusual carnal interest. His mind did not have to fully comprehend the situation for his body to respond with the thrill of lustful attraction.
She appeared pleased by his obeyance to her demand. Her posture softened just a bit as she took two languid steps toward him. “Bien, mon grand,” she purred.
The sultry sound reverberated through his blood and the note of praise in her voice danced over his nerves like champagne bubbles. Light, effervescent, exhilarating.
Ralston scowled. And the woman smiled again. A bold, anticipatory, secretive smile that made him slightly uneasy even as he found himself staring at her mouth. Would those dark red lips taste rich and decadent? Or sharp and bitter? Both possibilities appealed.
There was something shockingly enticing about the woman who stared at him in confident silence, her eyes roving over his body in such a casual manner, as if it belonged to her.
He was extremely intrigued. In truth, he could think of worse ways to clear Jarret’s enormous debt than to spend an hour with this fascinating creature.
“Remove your clothes.”
Ralston tensed and lifted his chin. Her voice, though warm and sultry, held a hard edge of command. She took another step toward him and tilted her head. Her mouth was still softened into a faint smile, but her tone was rigid as she ordered, “Fais le.”
The sparks that had been dancing through his blood flared.
His nerves hummed and danced beneath his skin.
His stomach muscles tensed and his curiosity slid swiftly into a dark and subtle craving.
As his desire increased, his choice seemed suddenly obvious.
He’d agreed to an hour. Whatever this woman intended, he would comply.
Keeping his eyes on her, he shrugged free of his coat and dropped it to the floor.
Then he untied his cravat, letting it drift through his fingers to pool atop his coat.
Next, he pulled his shirt from his pants and lifted it over his head.
As that garment joined the others, he thought he heard a faint inhalation as the woman’s red lips parted.
He’d undressed countless times in his life, many of them with a lover watching.
But he’d never experienced the kind of acute awareness and overwhelming sense of anticipation as he did in this room.
He held his breath as her intense stare slid slowly over his bared torso. Caressing his skin, burning him.
He wanted her to come closer.
She remained several steps out of reach.
When he lowered his hands to the fastening of his breeches, she visibly flinched. Her spine tensed and her breath seemed to get trapped in her throat before bursting from her lips in another sharp instruction.
“Arrête.”
Ralston was surprised by the command to stop. Surprised and disappointed.
A frozen moment followed that single word as neither of them moved. Then she swept her tongue across her full lower lip as she raised her chin to narrow her gaze at him.
“On your knees, mon grand,” she said then. The words were barely above a whisper but they still managed to flow through him with inexorable strength.
He did not hesitate.
Later, he would wonder why not. But he’d already decided to comply, out of curiosity and something more. So when she gave the command, he did not pause to think about it or consider if it was in his best interest.
He just did it.
Simply because she required it.
And something strange coursed through him as he slowly lowered himself to his knees before resting back on his heels.
Anticipation mingled with confusion and a hint of uncertainty as he awaited her next move.
His muscles felt too tight, his stomach too taut.
Sweat broke out on his skin and he smoothed his palms up and down his thighs to ease the tension in his hands.
The movement seemed to attract her attention as she slinked forward a single step. “Arrête,” she murmured thickly.
He stopped instantly, splaying his fingers atop his thighs.
She was close enough that he could see her pulse flutter at the base of her throat as her gaze slid from his hands up his arms to the breadth of his shoulders before sliding down the contours of his abdomen.
His body hardened under her silent focus.
Hardened and strained within the confines of his breeches.
A part of him felt a blush of shame for being brought to such a state under such minimal circumstances. The woman hadn’t even touched him for God’s sake.
But another part of him…
He peered up at her, wondering if she could see his lustful reaction and if it would please her.
“Drop your gaze.” Though her tone was unexpectedly harsh, there was something mesmerizing in her voice. A thread of sinuous silk that tugged at his muscles and drew upon his will.
Ralston immediately followed her demand, angling his focus on the floor in front of him.
“Très bien,” she murmured in a sultry whisper.
The low praise stirred the heat in his loins. Unable to see her, he listened intently to the rhythm of her breath as it grew quicker and less easy. There was tension in her exhales and hesitancy in her inhales.
He scowled, sensing that something wasn’t right, but he forced himself not to look up. And then, he heard her steps on the wood floor. Moving away from him before they went silent. He held his breath. Anticipating her return. Craving it. Needing it.
He had no idea how long he waited before he finally accepted that she was gone.