His Silken Seduction by JOANNA MAITLAND Read Free Book Online Page B

her bonds and shrugged her shoulders. The golden silk whispered across her bare skin and sank reluctantly to the floor. Her arms were free. Her body was naked, proud and ready.
    Ben reached for the end of his own red silk.
    “No. Let me.” Slowly she unwound it from his body, feathering tiny caresses on to his skin as she turned him beneath her hands. When the folded sheet was all that remained, she allowed herself to smile. “I do not think this belongs here.” With a jerk, she pulled it away from his body and flung it out of the silk store. She sank to her knees and blew a long hot breath over him. “Only the most precious materials have a place here,” she said softly. “Only the most beautiful. Which we now have.”
    Ben did not dare to move. His blood was pounding in his ears. It had to be soon. Without the glorious release of making love, they would both shatter.
    It was Suzanne who made the first move. She reached up to pull the pins out of her hair, so that it tumbled down over her shoulders and on to her breast. Very deliberately, she rose from her knees, tossing her head just enough to ensure that her golden curls tickled and teased at his flesh. His reaction was somewhere between a laugh and a groan.
    Very satisfying, she decided. There would be no going back now. She put her right hand on his chest, directly over his heart. She could feel its rapid beat. She smiled her message into his eyes. She was willing.
    He understood. A deep breath hissed between his teeth as he knelt to spread the silks on the floor and to make a pillow of her petticoats.
    “No!” she cried.
    He sprang to his feet. In an instant, his eyes had changed from black to piercing blue. He raised his chin and stared down at her through narrowed eyes. “No? Of course it is no. I promised to protect you, yet I am on the point of robbing you of your honour.” His cheeks were slashed with scarlet. His mouth was a hard, uncompromising line. But he had made no attempt to cover his proud nakedness.
    Suzanne had desired him before. Now her longing was overpowering. This man, the man she loved beyond reason, had allowed her to take him to the brink of fulfilment, yet he was ready to stop at a word. He was doing her honour, not robbing her of it. She gestured towards the silks strewn on the floor. They were her family’s future. They must not be damaged.
    “Not here.” She held out her hand to him, watching as realization dawned and his gaze mellowed. When he put his fingers into hers, she threw open the door and led him towards the welcoming light of her own bedchamber.
    Ben tried to lift her into his arms, to carry her across to her bed and lay her down between cool sheets. He needed to show her how much he valued her gift.
    She shook her head and pushed away his arm. “You are not strong enough yet. You will reopen your wound.” She closed the connecting door and turned the key. Then, with graceful strides, she crossed to the main door and locked it also. She was smiling serenely when she turned back to him. For a moment, she leaned her shoulders against the wood, stretching her spine so that her breasts rose invitingly. “NO one will disturb us.” She crossed to the bed and threw back the covers. The gauzy nightgown slid to the floor, unheeded.
    Ben’s mouth was dry. He could hardly believe that his wonderful girl, his amazing Suzanne, was offering herself to him. But she was. She was stretched across the bed and beckoning him to join her.
    He lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms for a long, passionate kiss. Desire was driving him. He felt no pain at all. His injured shoulder flexed as well as it had ever done. He swept his right hand down her back and cupped her bottom. Then he trailed his fingers delicately up the back of her thigh. She shivered deliciously. He deepened the kiss yet more, glorying in her uninhibited response. She was ready for him. She must be.
    He had to be sure. He touched a finger to her inner thigh and