Free Lori Brighton - [The Seduction 02] by To Capture a Rake Page A

strings that held the material together and pushed her breasts into soft mounds that practically spilled from her shift. His fingers curled, his hands itched to touch those beautiful, pale breasts. This is what he was here for. This is what he was…a man who brought women to the heights of pleasure. This is what he understood.
    For a long moment he didn’t stir, although why, he wasn’t sure. Hell, he’d undressed many women. Hundreds. Why did she give him pause? Forcing his legs to move, he made his way slowly toward her. He stopped so close they were almost touching. So close that the tips of his toes touched hers. He felt like the villain from a horrid novel, which wasn’t surprising. What caught him off guard was that for some bloody reason he felt almost guilty about his heated desires, guilty about the fact that he planned to not only steal from the woman, but abandon her as soon as possible.
    His breath teased the loose hair that had slid from her pins and caressed the sides of her face. She shivered, whether from his nearness or the cold, he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure at all how she felt and he hated not knowing. For nearly fourteen years now he’d been sure, completely and utterly positive, about what women wanted from him, about what
he
wanted. Now…now he felt decidedly confused and all because of a woman who looked like a milkmaid but kissed like a whore.
    He pulled the knife from his waistband and slid the tip under her laces over her belly. Her stomach quivered. Their gazes clashedand held. There was fear there…yes, but something else…something he’d seen far too often. Desire.
    With a flick of his wrist he tugged the blade upward, shredding the laces. The corset parted, falling to the floor with a soft swoosh, leaving her in a fine shift. She didn’t yelp, or curse in outrage. There was no maidenly blushing, or quivering shock. Mrs. Ashton merely released a puff of air, her delicate shoulders relaxing.
    “Much better.” She pressed her hands to her ribs. “Although, did you have to destroy the piece? It was French silk.”
    He flipped the knife around and handed it to her. “Yes, Mrs. Ashton. It was easier then untangling the mess of strings. Besides, her dress will be too large for you. You won’t need it.”
    She gave him a shy grin that left him feeling off balance. “I admit, it does sound rather freeing not to wear one.” She set the knife upon the bedside table.
    The woman fully dressed was a temptation, but without a corset, those hardened nipples pressing to the fine fabric of her gown, she would be a morsel even he wouldn’t be able to ignore.
    “And please,” she said. “Call me Elizabeth. It seems silly for us not to use our given names.”
    Elizabeth. The name fit her. He liked how it rolled off his tongue. “Elizabeth,” he repeated slowly.
    “Yes?” She lifted the narrow straps of her shift from her shoulders and dropped the garment to the ground.
    Naked, she stood before him. Pearly skin that practically glowed in the firelight; smooth skin that begged to be touched. Blood rushed to his cock. In the many years he’d been ensconced at Lady Lavender’s, he’d seen many naked women, so why did he feel as if he’d never seen a female before? Why did he feel as if he’d never touched a woman? Never rested between silky thighs?
    “Gideon.” She practically breathed his name. “I’m going to bathe.”
    He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her warily. He wasn’t sure which he distrusted more, the innocent milkmaidbefore him or the way his body reacted to her. He had the odd feeling the woman had been setting him up all along for his downfall. What was her plan?
    “But after I’m done,” she whispered, “I should very much like for you to seduce me.”

Chapter 5
    There, she’d said the words she’d been waiting to say all day.
    She thought she’d feel better, but she didn’t. The fact that she was naked would surely prompt him to respond. She