His Wicked Seduction novel Chapter 27

Audrey watched the two remaining men, Lucien and Jonathan, as they stood at the opposite end of the drawing room. Jonathan eyed Audrey with hesitation, then looked to Lucien, who shrugged indifferently. She bit her lip, trying not to smile. Watching him squirm was more than a little amusing.

"Miss Audrey, would you please accompany me upstairs? I should like to-" but Audrey cut him off.

"No, I don't think I shall," she declared. All of the men had been so boorish this evening she wasn't about to give ground, not even for him.

She reached for her fashion magazine again. Jonathan's eyes narrowed. She feigned a yawn, noting the way his nostrils flared and his fists clenched. There was a wicked pleasure to be found in getting under his skin. She knew he only wanted to cement his role in the League and she was making that difficult.

"She needs a firm hand, Jonathan. Show her who's in charge," Lucien encouraged as he leaned back against the wall, grinning.

Jonathan grimaced and walked over to Audrey's chair.

"Miss Audrey." This time his tone was clearly a warning. "You will come with me at once."

With a lift of her chin, Audrey declared war. "You wouldn't dare touch me, not after what my brother did to Charles." Secretly she hoped he would be daring enough. The thrill of making him work for her attention left her heart beating madly.

"Audrey, don't encourage him," Horatia cut in. Clearly she saw the storm brewing. Her sister abandoned her book and made to stand, but Lucien pushed away from the wall, blocking her. Horatia dropped back down into her seat as she met Audrey's gaze and gave a warning shake of her head.

"I would dare to touch you, and more, you rebellious little chit," Jonathan said. Before she had time to properly react, he scooped her up into his arms.

She kicked and squirmed. He was ruining the way she'd planned their encounter. It wasn't supposed to go this way. She wanted to be seduced! When her struggles proved futile, she retaliated in a way that worked against small children and unruly pets.

She rolled her magazine into a tube and started whacking him over the head while screaming, "Have at it, you fiend!" Despite the assault, Jonathan never flinched, even when she walloped him soundly between the eyes.

He glared down at her with such a level of irritation that sparks seemed to fly. "Fiend, am I?"

Jonathan marched out of the room with her in his arms and carried her up the stairs. When he reached her bedroom, he nearly kicked the door down. Audrey abandoned the magazine and resumed her struggles.

Lord he is strong, she thought with a sudden pang of desire. Being overwhelmed like this was something she hadn't counted on, nor had she expected to enjoy it so much. Perhaps there was something to be said about being manhandled. What if he lost control of himself and ripped her clothes off? She gasped at the dizzy excitement that overtook her.

Audrey was caught in a thunderstorm of panic, pleasure and fascination all coursing through her body at once. More, she needed more now! She released his cravat and slid her hands down his neck, across his shoulders and under his waistcoat, then began to peel it off his shoulders. Never stopping in his kiss, he threw the jacket off and pinned her beneath him again.

One of his calloused palms stroked her thigh, a worker's hands she realized, and for some reason that pleased her. He did not merely exist, he lived, and that set fire to her blood and filled her with a strange recklessness. She wanted to be with him, to live the way he did, and experience things with him. This was no idle gentleman, but a man who earned his living, just as she wished to earn hers.

A pang of hunger streaked through to the juncture between her thighs. She tensed, startled at the frightening feeling of losing control of her body's reactions. Jonathan pressed himself deeply against her at the same moment, as though knowing how she would react. Audrey moaned and arched her body upwards as her hands roamed his tightly muscled body. He hadn't lived a life of leisure; he was corded steel layered with primal sensuality. A rough nibble of her lower lip, a grind of his pelvis against her core and she melted into him completely. One of her hands strayed below his waist, seeking the bulge in his trousers that he fervently pushed against her. He groaned helplessly. They were a symphony of ancient instincts, exotic sensations and thrilling sounds in a perfect moment that should have gone on forever. But it didn't.

Recalling what Evangeline had said to do, she moved one of her hands down to his groin and rubbed at the hard shaft pressing against the front of his trousers. He hissed against her lips, then almost snarled as he took her mouth hungrily. She tried to curl her fingers around as much of his covered length as possible and squeezed. She'd been told it was the best way to stimulate a man's interest so she made sure to squeeze as hard as she could.

Something seemed to shift a little in her hands, like Chinese baoding balls.

Jonathan gasped. His face had become a silent scream. But that face wasn't supposed to come until later, was it? Quickly she realized it was not a look of pleasure. Quite the opposite.

Jonathan ripped himself away from Audrey and dove for his jacket. Without a backward glance he sprinted from the room. Truth be told it was more of a bowlegged hobble. Audrey lay still on her bed for a long moment, struggling for breath, trying to ease the heavy panting and the disappointment she now felt. She'd come so close. What went wrong? One thing was clear however-kissing Charles had certainly not felt like that.