Page 45 of Venus in Disguise

“Tsk, every muscle is taut as a bowstring,” he murmured, and though Narcissa wondered what else he could expect when she was naked in his bed, she decided it was safest to keep her mouth shut. She didn’t want to risk him stopping what he was doing when she was all agog to see what came next. She felt him lean towards the bedside table, heard the drawer slide open and the soft pop of a stopper. The next time his hands touched her, they were slick with oil, the rich, voluptuous scent of it filling her nose. It was an exotic perfume, heady with incense and warm spices.

“That smells divine,” she said with a sigh.

“You can thank Nani Maa,” he said, amusement lingering in his voice. “It’s one of her special recipes, thankfully she passed the secrets onto my mother. You can also thank her for my talent at maalish.”

“Maalish?” she asked in confusion.

“Massage,” he clarified, adding with a chuckle. “I’d say she had more medicinal uses of the skill in mind but, knowing my grandmother, I think that is doubtful.”

Once more, his hands settled on her shoulders, caressing and kneading, seeking all the tight muscles and working them with his fingers until they gave in, surrendering to pleasure under his deft touch and leaving her utterly boneless.

Ash worked his way down her back until Narcissa was sighing and so malleable beneath his clever hands that she would have done anything he asked of her.

Dazed and mindless, she was only dimly aware of him laying the banyan aside, of the tug of his shirt as he pulled it over his head. The feel of his warm chest pressed against her back, however, that had her wide awake.

“Are you ready to sleep now?” he asked innocently, nipping at her ear.

She snorted before she could think perhaps that was not a very seductive sound and was relieved the counterpane had muffled it. Daring to turn her head, she opened one eye a little.

“No,” she said boldly.

“Dear me, you are making me work tonight,” he replied with a sigh that tickled her skin, setting her shivering all over. “Whatever could I do next to help you to relax? Hmmm? Any ideas?”

Narcissa shook her head and was rewarded with a low laugh.

“Poor darling, can you not bring yourself to look at me now?” he teased her.

“No,” she admitted, not moving.

“I shall cure you of that,” he promised. “But you may hide for now if it makes you feel better. Tomorrow night, once we are married, there will be no more hiding, that much I promise you. For now, I shall love you by stealth.”

Moving to lie beside her, he eased her onto her side, amused when she protested and covered herself with her hands. Reaching for the banyan, he spread it over her, the cool silk pouring over her skin in a sensuous slide of rich fabric.

“There, modesty is preserved for now, and you will not see the wicked things I’m doing to you beneath,” he said, a teasing note to his voice.

Narcissa gasped as his warm hands slid up to cup her breasts, caressing and kneading the soft flesh. His fingers moved to her nipples, gently tugging and pinching until they were hard little buds that sent jolts of lightning bursting through her with every languid pull of his fingers. His breath shivered over her neck as he pressed a kiss to the sensitive place beneath her ear.

“I have longed to touch you this way, sweetheart, wanted so badly to make you mine I could think of nothing else. I was wretched, believing I had lost you.”

“S-So was I,” she managed, but anything else she might have said fled from her mind as one hand coasted down her stomach until his fingers found the soft nest of curls between her thighs.

“Now, I shall bring you pleasure so sweet you will forget everything else and drift into sleep, leaving me mindless with unfulfilled desire, but you can make it up to me once we are wed,” he added, nipping at her ear.

“You will? I c-can?” she said, uncertain what part of that sentence she wanted the most explanation about.

“Mm-hm. Now hush, love. You are in the hands of a master, if I do say so myself. Just lie back and let me work.”

The smug words made her huff with combined amusement and anticipation and, if she’d had the wit, she might have teased him for his arrogance. As it was, she swiftly realised he was telling her nothing but the truth. His elegant fingers slid through the curls, easing into her most private flesh and caressing, circling, wringing gasps and sighs from her as he sought the precise place to touch, the exact amount of pressure to exert. Within moments, she was writhing in his arms, her head thrown back against his shoulder.

Ash let out a soft groan as she pushed back against him, discovering the hardness of his arousal pressed against her backside. “Oh, you will repay me for this, sweet,” he whispered, pressing his hips harder against her softness as his fingers played inexorably, tormenting the tiny nub of flesh hidden between her thighs.

Narcissa closed her eyes, giddy with the sensations coursing through her, too lost in the pleasure of his touch to even try to make sense of it. Her blood fizzed in her veins like fine champagne, her skin electrified as that secret place throbbed and pulsed and gathered every sensation, drawing it towards that tiny part of her until nothing else in the world existed. His fingers dipped lower and if she had not been out of her senses, the realisation she was slick with moisture might have been mortifying. As it was, she luxuriated in the slide of his fingers over her pulsing flesh and held her breath as some new pleasure beckoned her, drawing her on.

“That’s it love, give yourself over to me, I’ll take care of you.” His caressing words unravelled the last vestige of self-control she had clung to and Narcissa succumbed to whatever powerful force was urging her on. A cry left her mouth, torn from her without her volition as her body grew taut and then shattered.

Ash held her close to him, anchoring her when she felt she might fly away, pieces of herself sent far into the darkness never to be found again. But he held her securely, his wicked fingers wringing every last pulse of delight from her body until she was sated and boneless, utterly spent in his arms.

“You are quite spectacularly lovely,” he whispered, nuzzling at her neck. “Whatever happens in the future, sweet, I know I am a lucky fellow. Never think I don’t know that. Now, sleep, love. You have an eventful day ahead of you tomorrow.”