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A VIBRANT FIRE GREETED her as she entered the chambers at the appointed hour. Alastair, in his nightshirt and banyan, stood with his arms crossed before him. Without forethought, she knelt at his feet.

“Forgive me, my lord.”

“I accepted your apology already, Millie,” he said.

“That was for speaking before your family. I now ask your pardon for having defied your wishes.”

“You will atone for that tonight. And I had thought you intended to earn a reward.”

“I did have such intentions. But...I should have waited to voice my opinions to you in private.”

“Then you do not regret what you said? Only that it was said in company?”

She kept her gaze lowered. “My thoughts on the topic have not changed, my lord, and needed to be voiced.”

“Then why ask my pardon now?” He sounded slightly baffled.

“Because I had not wanted to disappoint you. In hindsight, I should not have agreed to a command I could not follow. When you were so dismissive of your duties—well, I will accept whatever actions you intend, my lord.”

He threaded his hand in her hair and eased her head back so that she could meet his gaze. “It will be a long night if you do not.”

Despite the threat, warmth pooled between her thighs.

“On your feet.”

She rose from the floor and stood, waiting for his instruction.

“Remove the robe,” he said.

She slid out of the garment. With a masterful stride, he stood behind her, close enough to make her every nerve come to life. Reaching an arm around her, he cupped a breast through her shift. He rolled the orb against her chest as he hardened and released his grip.

“You were very wet between the legs last night.”

She let out a ragged sigh.

“Did you enjoy being in such a state?”

She gasped when he pinched her nipple through her shift. “Yes, my lord.”

He pulled her shift down one shoulder and kneaded the exposed breast. He pulled her into him. “Your body will want to spend desperately tonight.”

She moaned at the thought, relishing the hardness of his body at her back.

“Do you deserve to spend?” he asked, his other arm snaking around her hip to clasp her mound.

“Perhaps not.”

He rubbed her between the thighs. It did not take long for the wetness to flow. Feeling him harden behind her, she wanted her body to meld with his, for the hand at her breast to become a permanent part of her. The fabric he rubbed into her folds, though damp now, created a pleasurable friction. He lightly pinched her nipple before moving his hand to her throat. Her head fell back to his chest as the rest of her writhed against him. She panted and slipped further into the pool of desire.

Her backside brushed against him as he pulled her closer, his caresses pushing her arousal higher and higher. She arched into him, ground herself into him, straining for that imminent release. How easily she could spend for him! But he lightened his caress, and when he withdrew his hand, she felt bereft. Her body trembled, dangling over an unseen precipice.

He pulled the sleeves of her shift down her shoulders and allowed the garment to drop to the floor. Once more the stood naked before him, and once more arousal triumphed over modesty. His hands roamed her body, gripping, grasping, caressing. She relished every touch but wished he would return to fondling her between the legs.

Stepping away, he instructed her to lie down upon the bed. Eagerly, she obliged. But he puzzled her when, instead of coming to her in bed, he took the newspaper he had left upon a nearby table and sat down in a chair several feet away. She watched him read the paper for several minutes before sitting up and clearing her throat.

“Am I to watch you read all night?” she asked.

“If that is my desire,” he replied blandly.

This, then, was part of her redemption—or punishment, rather. Did he truly intend to read the newspaper? He could not be without lust himself. She had felt the thickness of his desire. She wondered what she could do to entice him. Or did he expect her to patiently wait while her body vibrated with need?

She supposed she had brought this upon herself. Seeking to relieve her agitation, she touched herself, but his voice stopped her.

“I did not allow you could pleasure yourself.”

Reluctantly, she stilled her hand. He set down the newspaper and approached the bed. Her pulse quickened in an instant. Instinctively, she licked her lips.

He began to untie his cravat and undress at a leisurely pace.

“May I assist you?” she asked when she thought she might go mad from his slowness. Her body remained on edge, yearning to be taken. But he had only removed his neckcloth and collar.

“No,” he replied, undoing the buttons of his waistcoat one by one.

She ground her teeth in impatience as he removed his waistcoat, his braces, and finally his shirt. The sight of his fine form caused the heat within to surge. She urged him on with silent words and practically cried out in joy when he stood as naked as she, his hardened arousal bared to her.

“Are you still wet?” he asked.

“Need you ask?” she returned.

A faint grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Lay back.”

She did as he bid. He widened the distance between her bent legs and studied the intimacy between her thighs.

Touch me, she willed him.

When he did, her body could have leaped off the bed. He resumed where he had left off, his strokes increasing the agitation so that she could scale the mountain of pleasure. He curled two fingers inside her, sending waves of delight reverberating throughout her. She moaned her appreciation and grasped the bedclothes as tension mounted.

And waned.

Her breath caught in her throat as he withdrew. He attended his own center of arousal, rubbing her moisture onto his shaft. She hoped he intended to sink himself into her waiting heat. Instead, he leaned against the bedpost and continued to fondle himself. With anticipation and envy, she watched him stroke his member. She wanted to touch him but dared not without his command. His body tensed, the veins his neck visible, as he thrust himself into his hand. A flush spread across his chest, and he gave a fierce grunt as he attained the pinnacle she craved.

Heat swirled angrily in her loins as she watched him spend, and she looked longingly upon the evidence of his rapture upon the bed. Having achieved his end, he would not now take her as she had hoped. She began to fear that the night would prove long indeed.