Seducing the Master (An Erotic Historical in the Red Chrysanthemum Series) (33 page)

Gradually, with reluctance, he slid his fingers from
her mouth, leaving moisture upon her lower lip as he withdrew.

“
Thank you, Master,” she said
softly.

He cupped her chin and brushed his
thumb over her bottom lip. Such succulent rosiness. He wanted to
partake of it, tug at its suppleness with his teeth, and taste it
upon his tongue. Dropping his hand, he lightly passed his knuckles
down her throat and under a collarbone. Her bosom heaved to meet
more of his hand. He obliged and pushed the décolletage down to cup
the side of a breast. He weighed the fullness of the flesh in his
hand before squeezing it. She groaned. Her nipples were already
protruding against the shift. He clasped one between his middle and
forefinger and gently tugged. She groaned more forcefully. Gripping
it with his thumb and forefinger, he rolled and twisted the nub
till she began to squirm against the bedpost. He wanted to capture
the nipple in his mouth, but it was best not to attempt too much.
Best not to venture too far down a road from which he could not
return.

“
Will I find you more wet, Miss
Terrell?” he asked, returning his hand to the breast as he studied
dark-brown areolas. The coloring reminded him of cocoa. And as
enticing. More enticing.

“
Yes, Master.”

“
Good.”

She pouted in disappointment when he withdrew
instead of verifying the truth of her answer.

Stepping back, he prepared the flogger. “I will now
kiss the flogger to your legs.”

He swung the tails gently against a thigh and down
one leg, then the other. Against the shift, the tails made a soft
swishing sound.

“
Do you like the caress of the
flogger?” he asked for the benefit of Miss Katherine.

“
Yes, Master. You may apply a
harder blow, if it pleases you.”

He whipped the tails against the side of her right
thigh, the touch still too light to cause pain.

“
Thank you, Master.”

He swung the tails a little harder against the same
thigh.

“
Mmmm,” she purred.

After lashing the tails upon the right thigh, he
whipped the left thigh as he returned his arm.

“
Thank you, Master.”

Her body warmed by the softer blows, he let the
flogger fall harder. “Did that hurt?”

“
No, Master.”

With the flogger, he drew the figure of an eight in
the air, striking her right thigh, then her left thigh, the right,
the left. After several minutes, he paused.

“
Thank you, Master.”

Wendlesson crossed his arms. “I
have seen her endure far worse.”

Charles gave the man a hard stare. “She is not being
punished.”

Turning to Miss Katherine, he asked, “Are you ready
to experience that which I applied to Miss Terrell?”

Miss Katherine gave a shy nod.

“
Exactly as I had done and no
more,” Charles said to Wendlesson as he handed over the
flogger.

“
But I
do
intend a punishment,”
Wendlesson said.

“
Let us see how your wife fares.
She has not as much flesh as Miss Terrell.”

Wendlesson grumbled as he took the
flogger. To his wife he said, “You will advise me if the pain is
more than you can bear.”

“
Yes, Master,” she
replied.

With misgiving, Charles watched as
Wendlesson landed the flogger against her thighs. His touch was not
as light as Charles’ but it was not harsh enough to elicit more
than a small gasp, mostly of surprise, from Miss
Katherine.

Wendlesson glanced at Charles as
if to say, “And you would doubt me.” Charles made no
reply.

To his credit, the viscount kept
his strikes on the gentler side. Charles discerned the man more
than competent at wielding the crop and knew the areas of the body
to stay away from.

“
Thank you, Master,” Miss
Katherine said when he had finished.

Wendlesson presented the flogger
back to Charles with raised brows. Miss Katherine appeared in
comfort still. Only twice had she gasped when her husband whipped
the flogger with a little more force.

“
Was there any pain for you, Miss
Katherine?” Charles asked, taking back the flogger.

“
A brief sting once or twice, but
nothing of consequence,” she answered. “I was once stung by a bee.
I could endure at least as much pain as that.”

He turned back to Miss Terrell. “Now I will apply
the flogger harder.”

She nodded. He saw the enthusiasm in her eyes. He
wondered that she did not abhor the instrument.

Bringing back his arm farther than
before, he lashed the tails at her thigh. She gasped
sharply.

“
Thank you, Master.”

He snapped the tails at her other thigh.

She jumped. “Thank you, Master!”

“
I will use the tips, which
produce more of a bite.”

He snapped the tails against the side of her breast.
She yelped. He rained several more blows upon her body before
giving her a reprieve.

“
Thank you, Master.”

“
How do you find the lashes I
administered this time?”

“
Pleasurable, Master.”

“
Indeed? Do not lie, Miss
Terrell.”

“
I do not.”

“
What of the pain?”

“
The smarting lasts but briefly
and barely exceeds a mild discomfort.”

“
And you say it is
pleasurable?”

She pinned him with a smoldering stare that went
straight to his groin. “I do indeed. If you doubt me, I pray you
seek confirmation.”

She lowered her gaze to
indicate
where
he
would find substantiation. His cock throbbed. It was too
tempting.

“
Miss Katherine,” he said without
taking his gaze from Miss Terrell, “do you believe it possible for
pleasure to be derived from pain?”

“
I do not think Miss Terrell to
lie,” the viscountess replied.

“
That does not answer my question,
Miss Katherine.”

“
I suppose, as she is experienced
in this, er, these situations, she could find arousal.”

“
You do not sound entirely
convinced.”

“
I…”

“
Then let us see what proof we may
find.”

He approached Miss Terrell and thought he could feel
the heat of her arousal radiating from her body. Seeing the flames
of desire in her eyes, as provocative and alluring as her most
intimate parts laid bare, was nearly his undoing. How she must
yearn to touch herself.

“
Do you wish to touch yourself?”
he asked.

She pulled against her bonds. “Very much, Master.
I’ve wanted to for some time, since I began pleasuring Miss
Katherine.”

“
Did you enjoy pleasuring Miss
Katherine?”

“
Yes. She tasted quite delicious
and has a most quaint cunnie.”

“
You enjoyed bringing her to
spend.”

“
I would do it again if I could,
and especially if it pleased you, Master.”

“
Enough talk,” Wendlesson
interrupted. “I do not wish for my mother to wake and find Miss
Katherine gone. We have expended enough time as it is.”

Charles felt his jaw tighten at the man’s
impatience. Miss Terrell lifted a knee. It brushed his leg,
scorching him. Grasping her shift, he lifted the garment to her
hips and reached his other hand between her thighs. She gasped at
the sudden invasion.

My God.
She was sodden.

“
Am I not more wet?” she asked,
triumphant.

He brushed his digits against her clit, making her
pant. He pushed a finger between the folds, into that tight opening
of bliss. She groaned when he began to caress the walls inside. He
found a spot that made her gasp and tremble. He stroked it. Her
body writhed as if wishing to be free one moment and savoring the
bedpost the next. Her lashes fluttered, and she could no longer
look at him with that penetrating stare.

When she was beyond agitated, he withdrew and lashed
the flogger against her several times. She squirmed and rubbed her
legs together.

“
Thank you, Master. Harder.
Please.”

He obliged and slapped the tips of the tails to
her.

“
Yes!” she cried. “Yes! Thank you,
Master!”

“
My turn,” Wendlesson said, taking
the flogger.

Miss Terrell took in a deep breath, though she
seemed not in the slightest relieved. Charles was aware that his
own breath had become ragged. Hearing the thud of the flogger,
seeing the tails strike against her body, he wanted the distraction
of pain for himself.

Miss Katherine exclaimed, and
Charles worried that Wendlesson was too impatient to go gently with
his wife. But she withstood the assault of the flogger with more
stamina than he expected. She cried out with each strike but
remembered to thank him each time. This reassured Charles, but he
continued to watch them with care.

“
Th-Thank you, Master,” she said
with furrowed brow.

“
I wonder if she is as wet as I,”
Miss Terrell asked of the viscount.

Wendlesson stopped and reached
underneath his wife’s shift. His expression revealed the answer. He
rubbed her till she moaned, her head falling back against the
bedpost.

Pulling back, he applied the flogger once more. The
veins in his neck protruded. Miss Katherine cried out, but this
time she did not thank him. She squirmed and twisted her body away
from the flogger.

Just as Charles took a step toward
Wendlesson to intervene, the viscount dropped the flogger. He
unbuttoned the fall of his trousers, hoisted her legs about his
hips and plunged into her. Miss Katherine continued to exclaim, but
the nature of her cries differed.

Charles turned to find Miss
Terrell staring at him. She shook with the bed every time
Wendlesson thrust into Miss Katherine, shoving her into the
bedpost. The room filled with the sounds of Wendlesson’s grunting
and Miss Katherine’s cries, and the bed scraping against the floor.
Charles could not tear himself from Miss Terrell’s gaze and
returned it with equal intensity. He could see desire writ upon her
countenance and was certain she could see it writ upon his. He knew
what she wanted, and he wanted the same.

But he could not.

He had surrendered to temptation last night, but he
required more forbearance—for the both of them.

Picking up the flogger, he whipped
it upon her to relieve the distress of her arousal. Her cries soon
matched that of Miss Katherine. Wendlesson bucked
harder.

Suddenly, he roared and shook as if he might fall to
pieces. He shut his eyes and rammed his thick body into the small
frame of his wife. After several more grunts, he disengaged and
dropped her legs. He stumbled back, his breathing labored, his cock
drooping toward the ground.

He had spent.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

I
t did not appear
to Charles that Miss Katherine had spent, but she smiled as if in
triumph.

“Will my lord release me?” she asked. “My
arms are sore.”

Nodding, Wendlesson stumbled toward her and
untied the red scarf that bound her to the bedpost. Her legs
weakened, and he caught her in his arms. He pressed a kiss to the
top of her head.

Charles released the breath that he had
held.

After setting her back on her feet,
Wendlesson replaced his fall, then retrieved her robe for her.
“Come, we ought not tarry.”

Charles stayed them. “Before you go, I would
like to know what you thought of the lesson tonight, Miss
Katherine.”

Her countenance glowed. “I think it went
well, Master Gallant.”

Though he would have preferred to see her
spend, he believed her truly satisfied with the results.

“I am glad to hear it,” he said. “I will
ring for Tippy or perhaps Miss Terrell can—”

“I will see to her toilette,” Wendlesson
said. Offering his arm to his wife, he led her toward the door. At
the threshold, he turned. “Thank you, Master Gallant.”

“Miss Terrell deserves more the credit,”
Charles replied.

“My thanks to you as well, Miss
Terrell.”

“Thank you,” Miss Katherine added.

When they had gone, closing the door behind
them, Charles turned to Miss Terrell, who remained tied to the
bedpost. If she had smirked or attempted one of her impudent
remarks, he might have been better able to resist. Instead, she
only looked at him, patiently waiting, her cheeks still flushed
with arousal, her eyes bright with uncertainty and longing.

As Wendlesson had done, he dropped the
flogger and covered the distance to the bedpost in one step. One
hand went to the back of her head, the other grasped her jaw,
tilting her face up so that his mouth could cover hers. With her
head trapped in his hands, he claimed the lips he had coveted,
delving his tongue between the generous suppleness, taking greedy
mouthfuls of her, interrupting her breath and making her pant
through her nose for air. When she had recovered from her surprise,
she met his ferocity with her own, as intent upon consuming his
mouth as he was of hers. Being tied to the bedpost limited her
efforts, but it was enough that she could press her hips to
him.