Free Tempt the Devil by Anna Campbell Page A

mouth on him again. Unbelievably, in spite of that titanic climax, his arousal stirred anew.
    â€œYou seem on edge, my lord.”
    She pulled the shirt over her head. His tempestuous state should calm now that she concealed her remarkable body. But something about the thoughtless grace with which she tugged the mass of hair away from the collar and shook it free to tumble down her back jolted him with electric awareness.
    The movement wasn’t designed to seduce. Yet seduced he was. Just as the flowery scent of her skin seduced him and the sound of her voice—even arguing, damn it—seduced him.
    Her wide, sensual mouth glistened with moisture. With acomplete lack of self-consciousness, she raised her hand and wiped it across her lips.
    That mouth had clasped him tighter than a new glove. He burned to discover how it felt to penetrate her body. Would her grip on him be as tight? Tighter? He swallowed to relieve the sudden constriction in his throat as he imagined thrusting into her.
    â€œI don’t want the game to end yet, if that’s what you mean.” His voice sounded rusty. He snatched up his trousers and tugged them carelessly over his long legs and hardening prick.
    She looked troubled, and when she spoke, her tone was somber. The faintly teasing edge had gone. “My good sense tells me it’s better to part, my lord.”
    His heart gave a great thud of denial. No. He couldn’t let her go. Not now. Not after a glimpse of the pleasure she could give him. After what she’d just done, how could he endure the prospect of losing her?
    His instincts homed in on something he’d already guessed. He kept his voice steady even as his heart broke into a panicked race that he might be wrong. “What will the world say if I toss you into the street after one night? The reputation of irresistible Olivia Raines will suffer a blow, perhaps a fatal one.”
    The voluptuous mouth flattened. “Perhaps the world will consider you inadequate.”
    â€œI’m renowned as a great lover, Miss Raines. I suspect gossip will favor me.”
    A frown creased her brow. “I don’t care about gossip.”
    â€œLiar. Every male in the ton is at your feet and you love it.”
    She didn’t bother denying his assertion. Her complete lack of coyness was one of many things he admired. “My charms don’t bewitch you.”
    â€œTake me in your mouth again and you’ll see how bewitched I am.”
    She gave a choked giggle. It made her seem suddenly younger, more real. She sat in radiant dishevelment, like an Arabian boy in front of a carpet stall. Except no Arabian street urchin had that luxuriant mass of tawny hair or those remarkable topaz eyes. No Arabian boy wore an expensive man’s shirt, crumpled and open at the neck.
    The hard points of her nipples pressed impudently against the fine white linen. He had to stop himself from leaning down and tasting her there even as hot blood began to pound in his ears.
    He and Olivia played a subtle game of push and pull for sovereignty. He’d fallen prey to her dominion once tonight. Next time he planned to be the leader.
    Surprisingly, a streak of color marked her slanted cheekbones. “What I did was a farewell gesture, Lord Erith.”
    He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had walked away from him. Perhaps never. No wonder Olivia accused him of conceit.
    He floundered for something to make her stay. Anything. Money wasn’t the answer. A strange revelation when it came to a whore.
    What did the witch want? His soul? She was welcome to it. It had never done him any good. Although surely such a canny jade wouldn’t want anything as useless.
    Not money. Not luxury. Not, blast her, sexual pleasure.
    A shame. He could give her all three without a blink.
    Ah, she was a complicated wench, his Olivia.
    Well, he was the Earl of Erith, and he always held the whip hand. But she didn’t have to know