Her attention didnt waver. He shivered, although the night wasnt cold and a fire burned in the grate. You usually dont give me time to look at you.
Guilt pinched him. So far in their married life, hed swept Pen into bed. Hed aroused her, but hed been ruthless about it.
Lie down. At last she raised her eyes. Her eyelids were heavy and her cheeks were flushed. He felt less powerless now that he knew this seduction played on her control too.
He surged forward, taking her arm. As cool lawn bunched beneath his hand, he felt her lithe strength. He hadnt married a frail lily. Hed married a lioness. Lie with me.
Eventually. She stepped back, shaking him loose.
Pen, dont tease.
Teasing does you good. Youve become odiously imperious in your old age. Her voice firmed. Now on the bed, if you please, Your Grace.
Dont call me that.
Dont call me that.
Tonight Ill call you what I wish. She paused. Your Grace.
He wasnt sure whether he wanted to kiss her insolence away or put her over his knees and spank her. Both. Still, shed promised him a prize. He shot her a telling glance before stretching across the bed.
In the quiet room, he heard Pen exhale. With relief? With nerves? With anticipation?
He shifted on the sheets. Theyd been packed in lavender and the sweet scent tickled his nose. I feel absurd.
The silence extended, charged with suspense. Eventually he could bear it no longer. Pen, for Gods sake, touch me.
She continued to study him from the base of the bed. Later.
What the devil? He started to lunge toward her, but she shook her head.
Stay where you are.
For a long moment, he met the challenge in her eyes. She wanted him to prove that he couldnt handle this raw version of Penelope Thorne. Well, bugger that. If breaking through to something real between them required his abasement, hed damn well accept abasement.
She crossed to the decanters waiting on a gilded table. Cam slumped back with a groan and stared at the intricate plasterwork on the ceiling. The clock downstairs chimed two. Theyd been home little more than an hour. He felt like hed been hard for days.
He heard the clink of glass. Dutch courage?
Need some yourself?
He was past politeness. His voice emerged rough and urgent. The only thing I need is you. Wet. Ready. Under me. Moaning.
He turned his head quickly to catch what would surely be disgust on her lovely face. Instead, she looked intrigued. But not, blast it, intrigued enough to relent.
Pen wandered the room, sipping her claret. She paused in a shadowy corner. I dislike this picture of Apollo and Daphne. We should replace it.
Little red hot ringing bells of hell. To think that hed condemned her docility. She wasnt driving him insane. Hed been insane when hed suggested changing the status quo. If shed remained that compliant cipher, hed already be plunging between her milky white thighs.
Still, two could play at this game.
He rolled onto his side to study her. In her long white nightdress, she looked like a gorgeous priestess of some exotic religion. By all means, lets talk about art. We have until dawn.
Ha, that surprised her. He plastered an imperturbable expression on his face as she focused a startled gaze upon him. Shed ambushed him with this torture in the guise of seduction. See how the lovely witch liked a dose of her own medicine.
Her eyes narrowed as if she guessed his tactic. Theres a nice landscape downstairs that would suit.
The Turner? He began to sit up and was pleased to see Pen move to forestall him. Lets try it in place.
She stopped a few feet from the bed. You cant run around the house naked.
He subsided upon the pillows. Its my house.
The servants wont like it.
Theyre asleep. And we must resolve this question of the painting in that corner immediately.
I can wait until morning.
She might be able to. He wasnt sure he could.
Maintaining his casual manner required a mortifying effort. Perhaps we should bring some pictures from Fentonwyck. My grandfathers best acquisitions are in the long gallery there.
She regarded him suspiciously. I know. You showed me. Remember?
I remember. After hed botched his wedding night. Shed jumped every time hed touched her. Just as shed jumped tonight when hed taken her arm at the musicale.
The thought reminded him that he was at least half responsible for their difficulties. Pen had every right to prod and snipe. If it meant an end to the constraint between them, she could take an ax to him. He made himself smile. I wonder if perhaps the Titian in the library might be better. Do you want to go and look at it?
She sipped her wine as if considering his question. He had her measure now. Despite desire gnawing like a hungry tiger, he began to enjoy himself.
Perhaps not immediately, she said neutrally.
Then how else shall we pass the time? Do you still play chess?
A quirk of her lips. She definitely guessed his scheme. Not recently.
He nearly laughed. His amiability irked her. Although surely a moments glance at his body must reveal that neither art nor chess was uppermost in his priorities. Theres a board in my room. Shall I fetch it?
You want to play chess?
You want to discuss art?
To his relief, she burst out laughing, the sound sweet and silvery. He loved the wholehearted way she surrendered to amusement. If he could only gain her wholehearted participation in the conjugal act, hed be a happy man.
With a click, she placed the half-full glass on the table and advanced toward the bed, every line of her slender body conveying purpose.
Cam kept his expression quizzical and his posture relaxed while his heart thundered so fast, surely she must hear it. One hint of triumph and shed retreat.
You want to play? She stopped beside the bed and swiftly tugged her nightdress over her head. Before he could mask his shock, she kneeled on the mattress and with a determined gesture, pushed him back. Lets play.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Butterflies the size of ponies cavorted in Pens stomach. She wasnt nearly as confident as she pretended. Even worse, she suspected Cam recognized her uncertainty.
But beneath the playfulness, what happened tonight was important. To her. And to her future with her husband.
Shed been a fool to think that she could sustain her submissive spouse act. How unexpected that Cam asked her to be herself. Somewhere hed developed an appreciation for unconventional females.
Come here, my wife. His voice was hoarse with need. The desire in his gaze could set London alight.
He caught her in his arms, but she slid out of reach. No.
Shed held the upper hand until now. She had no intention of surrendering it until she achieved her aim. Tonight shed made Camden Rothermere strip naked physically. Little did he know she launched a campaign to strip him naked emotionally.
Dark brows lowered over his deep-set eyes, shadowing them into mystery. Whats this?
Her laugh was mocking as she lolled shamelessly against the pillows. Cam, havent you understood yet?
Ive done what you wanted.
Nowhere near, she said lightly, and wondered if he heard the implicit threat. She hoped not. If he guessed her plans to pierce his armor, hed be out the door before she could blink.
His hands opened and closed at his sides. The air sizzled with frustration. And arousal. He stared at her like he was starving. She flicked her hair behind her shoulders. Cams attention immediately leveled on her breasts.
Only a brazen hussy would respond to that rapacious stare by arching her back. But then, only a brazen hussy would succeed on tonights reckless quest.
Suspicion darkened his expression. Pen, what are you up to?
I promise to be gentle. Actually she didnt promise that at all.
He looked so magnificent spread naked across the bed that Pens courage faltered. Then she reminded herself to stop thinking like a starry-eyed virgin. She recalled discussions in France and Italy, late at night, when the wine flowed, when the gentlemen werent present.
Squaring her shoulders, she kneeled above Cam. This time he didnt make the mistake of reaching for her. Hed always been a quick learner.
Assessingly, she stared at her husband. She knew from many a scandalous duchessa or wanton comtesse that men requested services from a mistress that theyd never impose upon a wife. She even, thanks to those frank ladies, had an idea of what some of those services entailed.
The question wasnt whether she could imagine those acts. The question was whether she could bring herself to initiate them.
Then she recalled the way Cam closed her out, even at the height of passion. Her heart slamming against her chest, she started with what lay within reach.
Pen, what are you doing? he asked sharply, tugging at the foot she held.
Im tasting you. She carefully avoided looking at his erection as she pressed her lips to his ankle.
Then kiss me.
She stroked his foot. Shed never before taken time to consider what a marvelous piece of natural engineering he was. I am kissing you.
On the lips.
Soon. His body was fascinating, so different from hers. A scattering of black hair covered his skin. She tested the difference between bone and muscle, feeling him flex under her touch.
Well be here all night if you examine me like a damned quack, he said despairingly.
She slid her fingers between his toes. Do you have another appointment?
Youll kill me, you know, he said almost conversationally.
A smile tugged at her lips. All in a good cause.
And whats that?
My education, for one thing. She straddled his legs and kissed up past his knees to his thighs.
His muscles went as hard as rock, and heat sizzled off his skin. She cursed herself for not exerting her power earlier in their marriage. Turning him helpless with need was mightily enjoyable.
Cams scent had been her definition of heaven since shed been a little girl and hed carried her to safety from one mishap or another. Now that she lingered over him, she discovered subtle undertones. As she slowly wended her way across him, closer and closer to the part that rose hard and demanding, male musk intensified with every inch.
His animal arousal stirred her. She shifted to relieve the slick ache between her legs.