Page 18 of In a Rake’s Embrace (Sins & Sensibilities #3)

CHAPTER 18

W ho was this woman walking toward him?

Thomas became acutely aware of his heart beating in an unfamiliar rhythm. He wasn’t used to being looked at this way, with tender longing and delight. He was used to greed, machinations, avarice, and lust. Not this . His throat tightened, and for the first time in a long while, Thomas found himself unsure how to respond. That emerald gaze felt like it was dismantling them piece by piece, and he wasn’t certain he could stop it. “Agatha—”

“You shall not speak, my lord.”

Bloody hell . “What lesson is this?”

She stopped walking, smiled, and, with deft ease, slipped from the ballgown. It settled at her feet in a wisp of satin and silk. He distantly noted her blushes were fewer, and she was more comfortable with her nakedness. Agatha removed her chemisette, baring her naked body to his gaze.

Hunger, sharp and insistent, tore through Thomas. She removed the blonde wig and tossed it aside. How provocative she appeared, yet her hair caught up in a chignon gave her a demure, ladylike grace. Pearls encircled her throat, and the softest blush pinkened her cheeks.

Below her neck … her breasts were high and firm, the nipples lush and round like berries, the smoothness of her belly flat, and the arch of her hips flared enticingly. Her stockings stopped at mid-thigh and were held up bydelicate silk garters. They made her legs seem long and supple. He lowered his gaze to the delicate dancing sippers that encased her feet.

Temptation dug sharply into his gut, and a warning whispered through him that he would barely survive this lesson.

“I am the tutor,” he said, “not the student. How dare you think to give me a lesson?”

Those sweet lips curved, and she sauntered closer, slipping her hands slowly over his chest and up his nape.

“The auction is approaching faster than I expected. I would hate to see the naked male body and faint from the sheer excitement of it.”

“You teasing, minx.”

She laughed, her eyes gleaming.

A very peculiar yet tender wisp of sensation rushed through Thomas. “So, you want me at your mercy.”

“Never say you are afraid,” she drawled.

He ruthlessly disciplined all the fire of lust and strange emotions twisting inside him. “I am yours to practice on as you please.”

“I may be as wicked as I like?”

“I’m curious to see just how much you know about wickedness.”

To keep his sanity, he resolved to remain firmly in his role as her tutor, no matter the temptation. She slipped her arm around his neck and pressed the side of her breast against his body.

“Too stiff, your body needs to be more pliant … more sensual yet natural. Again.”

Agatha swayed against him, sliding her hand up his chest and peekingat him from beneath her incredibly long lashes. “Like this?”

Thomas cleared his throat. “Better.” God, perfect … you are perfect.

A radiant smile lit her face, and she moved back. He tightened his arms around her and held her, just for a moment. Something in him was desperately hungry for the feel of her body against his.

“I would like to practice a few of the … possible positions. I do not wish to appear gauche or startled when something is suggested. Bea and Ellen told me many men prefer it when womenare on top riding or when we are on our knees with hips arched. I recall you mentioned this riding. I want to practice it.”

“Very well.”

She flicked the tip of her fingers across his chin. “Are there any lessons you would like to teach me tonight? In addition to the one I suggested?”

Deviltry gleamed in her gaze, and he suspected Agatha had another lesson in mind but was leading him to it, a regular rule in the game of coquetry that women employed. He arched a brow, and she licked along her bottom lip.

Ah … that lesson.

Thomas obliged. He placed a thumb against her lower lip, exerting the slightest pressure until her lips parted. “I am going to teach you how to suck a cock.”

“Do men like that?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like it?”

Thomas was tempted to say his wants were irrelevant. “Yes.”

“Then teach me,” she whispered. “To use my tongue and lips and push a man toward release. But first … teach me how to ride.”

Bloody hell . He took a deep breath, stepped away from her and walked over to the large armchair. Thomas sat, his cock hardening even more. Her eyes widened, and she stared at his length before dragging her gaze up.

“Every man is different. Some smaller, some larger, some the same size.”

“I see. Thank you for telling me.”

He almost chuckled at that bit of politeness. “Come here.”

She sauntered over, that delightful pink blushing over her body.

“Sit astride me.”

“Like this?” she murmured, sitting in his lap, her legs caging his knees.

His belly rippled, and he clenched his teeth. He moved a little, adjusting his position so that the hard ridge of his cock nestled against her mound. The feel of his stalk against her bare pussy was alreadytorture. Perhaps he should put on his trousers for this lesson.

“You can face me … or give me your back, but your legs should bracket each of my thighs.”

“Oh,” she said, grabbing the headrest. “I would prefer to face you. Your eyes are so beautiful, Thomas. I always feel like I’m being pulled under when I hold your gaze.”

Their eyes met, and his heartbeat quickened. “Are you practicing the art of flattery now?”

“A man likes his vanity stroked,” she purred, her tone laced with playful confidence. “Did I delight yours?”

He smiled. Yes . “You can place your hands on my shoulders to balance your weight or slip them around my nape. Your lover can either place his hands on your hips or hug them around your back, or thrust his fingers into your hair and arch your throat.”

Agatha nodded and slipped her hands up to clasp his shoulders. Thomas wanted to get a dagger and stabbed himself in the heart. How stupid to have suggested she could pretend to ride him to learn the rhythm. He was a glutton for torture.

“Like that,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

His cock throbbed, and she looked down.

A soft shudder went through her body. “Usually, … your cock would be inside my body.”

“Yes. We’ll pretend.”

“Have you ever done that before?”

“Done what?”

Her gaze lingered on his face, a faint smile on her lips. “Imagined yourself … inside me.”

“That knowledge is hardly relevant to your lesson,” he replied.

Her rich and unguarded laugh struck him like a spark, intensifying his awareness of her warmth and allure.

“When you’re on his cock, you’ll want to move—slowly at first, then up and down, finding a rhythm,” he instructed, keeping his tone steady. “While I am not in you, you can still practice the motion.”

She released one of his shoulders to unpin her hair, letting it drop in a silken waterfall. Agatha surprised him by coasting that hand up his chest to cup his jaw and hold his gaze.

“Your eyes are truly beautiful,” she said softly.

Then she undulated. It was fucking laughable the way his cock jerked and his balls burned as if he was already close to a climax. She moved up and down, her body awkward.

“Slower … feel your weight, find your balance, and get comfortable before you pick up the pace.”

Agatha wrinkled her nose. “Perhaps I should learn to ride the horse first. However, I do not think that is logical. I have never seen a man or a woman bouncing atop their horse when they ride, and Bea said it was like bouncing.”

She sounded irritated, and he scowled, wondering if he was the only one losing his damn mind. Agatha reached between them and clasped his cock.

Sweet mercy . “Agatha—”

“My fingers can barely meet around your … manroot.”

A choking sound left him, and she laughed, her lovely eyes gleaming.

“I thought it sounded ridiculous, too. Did you know some women called it plug-tail?”

Thomas could not answer, for the damn woman tightened her fingers around his cock, and rubbed the flared, mushroomed head along her slit.

“Oh,” she gasped. “It feels … good .”

He tensed, gripping her hips with such strength she would likely have abruise. He forced his fingers to relax when she did it again.

“Can I do this and not allow … this inside?”

“No.”

“Why not?” she bit her lips, her eyes half-closed as she rubbed the tip of his cock against her slit.

“It would not be enough,” he hissed, his balls tightening.

“Does it feel good to you, too?”

“Yes.”

“But you need more?”

“Yes, because more feels better.”

“I cannot imagine it,” she gasped, arching her hips.

He stroked down her back, trailing his fingers along her spine. It took all his self-control not to grip her hips tighter and drag her pussy onto his length. Over and over, she tormented him until she found her rhythm and started to undulate against him. His cock flexed against her flesh, the head ruddy and flushed. There were times the soft opening of her cunt caught on the edge of his cock, and she would whimper, glide upward and return down.

Bloody hell .

This lesson would kill him.

Neither Bea nor Ellen had explained that sensual torture was double-edged. The ache inside her sex was sharp and insistent, peaking with each glide of her folds over his shaft. Thomas touched Agatha everywhere. Her breasts were so sensitive that each stroke of his fingers over her nipples caused a helpless moan to slip from her. He looked at her with pure male appreciation and hunger. She looked down and watched as he caressed her throbbing tips to straining redness. “This is too distracting,” she whispered.

“The man who takes you might not leave all the control to you. It is also a pleasure for him to learn your body, even if for his own selfish satisfaction. His hands will not be idle; do you understand?”

“Yes.” She was already desperately wet, for her body knew the pleasure his touch could inflict.

She rolled her hips, sliding her sex over the smooth hardness of his cock. He groaned, sank his fingers deeper into the armrest, and arched his throat. His gaze narrowed, and a hiss escaped him when she rolled her hips again and moved as if slowly riding, incorporating the lessons learned in the eastern dance.

Each rub of her folds over his hard length spiked her arousal, and she became wetter. Agatha drew a deep, shuddering breath, fighting for control. There was an aching, empty sensation low in her belly. She understood enough about coupling to know that she might find fulfillment once he was inside her body. She bit her bottom lip when his thickness slipped along her folds and pressed insistently at her entrance. Agatha bore down a little, desperate to be filled but careful not to be too exuberant.

He groaned, and she whimpered at the tight, stretching sensationbefore rolling her hips and unrooting him from the position. Over and over, she teased him, slicking her flesh over his cock, back and forth, up and down. A low, almost burning pressure in her bellywas desperate for release.

“Agatha … fuck …”

Carnal power rolled through her, and she leaned into her roll, brushing her lips against his. Thomas’s arms closed around her back, and his mouth covered hers, hard and voracious. One of his hands slid through her hair, gripping it as his tongue penetrated her mouth. Their tongues dueled with passionate demand, and he groaned deep in his throat, the sound vibrating in her own mouth. They kissed for several moments before he released her with a harsh sound. Her lips felt bruised, yet the sensations throbbing low in her belly were not fright but of alarming want.

“You are so wet,” he groaned.

A sensual smile crossed his lips as he watched her through lowered lids. Yet his jaw was clenched. Agatha realized he was exerting an enormous will not to ravish her. She couldn’t decide if she should be frightened or thrilled.

He gripped her hips to hold her in place, delved his hand between their bodies and speared two fingers inside her sex.

“Thomas!” Agatha couldn’t contain the cry of pleasure that swelled in her chest.

“Ride my fingers,” he said, his voice a dark throb of lust.

Feeling him there assuaging the emptiness urged her to glide up and down instead of the slow, teasing roll. His fingers remained buried deep in her quivering pussy while his thumb rubbed her clitoris. Far sooner than she anticipated, delirious pleasure swept through Agatha as she shattered, and she rode the sweet wave of ecstasy, trembling and moaning.

His fingers slipped from her and lightly teased her belly. “How is my ride, my lord?” she murmured, rolling back her hips in a teasing swivel.

He thrust his fingers through her hair and tugged her mouth close. “I am so tempted to fuck you right here.”

“You can.”

His gaze narrowed to aslit, and he froze. “What did you say?”

Though his manhood size and intensity intimated her, she drawled, “Five thousand pounds, and I am yours for the night. There would be no need for an auction.”

“No.”

Agatha kissed his chin. “I thought you would say that.”

A pang of disappointment went through her heart, and she shimmied off his body and lowered herself to her knees onto the lush carpet. He rose, his cock heavy and engorged as he reached for her. She slid her hands up his thighs, and he froze. She looked up at him, letting him see the unguarded hunger unfurling within her, solely for him.