Tempt the Devil by Anna Campbell

proceed, my lord?”
    â€œNo wine,” he said softly.
    Olivia cursed herself for a fool, because she thought she heard compassion in that deep voice.
    Â 
    Erith prowled after his mistress up the lamp-lit stairs to the bedroom. Her slender back was ruler straight and her hips swayed in a soft rhythm that made his heart accelerate withanticipation. Her rose evening gown indicated she’d expected him.
    Of course she’d expected him. Something inexorable drew them together. He just wished to hell he knew what it was. Not sex. Although soon it might be.
    Was she frigid?
    He didn’t believe that. But he also knew if he wanted more than a courtesan’s tricks from her, he’d need every ounce of shrewdness and sensual expertise.
    A worthy challenge for an infamous rake and seducer.
    He’d stood listening long enough as she played to realize that whatever limits she placed on her physical response, there was passion in her. He heard that in the music, in spite of the odd fits and starts.
    She played like a man, attacking the music as if she went into battle. She did other things like a man too. His blood heated as he remembered her in trousers, knocking back brandy like any society gentleman.
    His wife had been the most feminine of women, except on horseback. She’d ridden like a demon. That recklessness had killed her, and left him a broken man at twenty-two.
    Shocked, he paused at the top of the landing. Why think of his wife now? He couldn’t imagine two more different women than Joanna and Olivia Raines. One was pure as an angel. The other sold her favors to any taker.
    Except that wasn’t fair.
    Gossip indicated Olivia discriminated about who she took to her bed. A couple of lovers a year, fewer recently.
    She reached the door and turned. “My lord?”
    Two words in that husky contralto and his cock stood to attention like a damned soldier on parade. He’d had so many women. None of them, even his darling, dead wife, had affected him like this.
    Primitive determination surged. He’d win Olivia Raines. He’d show her a world she’d never known. He’d make her his so irrevocably that she never forgot him.
    He strode forward to join her in the doorway. In the confined space, they were mere inches apart, but neither moved to bridge the gap. He heard her breathing, soft and uneven. She wasn’t as composed as she tried to appear.
    Of course she wasn’t. Last night he’d brought her to the brink of trusting him. Or as close as such a wary creature would venture. Now she thought he betrayed her by taking her to bed.
    â€œI’ve bought some more unguent,” she said bluntly.
    â€œYou won’t need it.”
    She glanced down without a blush to where he rose rampant as a damned stallion. “It will be easier for me.”
    He reached out to touch her arm. Her skin was cool and smooth beneath his hand. He turned the touch into a caress, running his hand down to take hers. “I won’t hurt you.”
    A cynical expression crossed her face. “Your pleasure will be greater if I have my way, my lord.”
    â€œLet me be the judge.”
    â€œWhat a typically male response.” Disentangling herself with a skill he could only admire, she slipped into the room.
    â€œI am a typical male.” He followed her toward the bed.
    She glanced over her shoulder with a slight smile. She didn’t argue. “Shall I undress you?”
    The rainbow shifts of power between them were familiar now. Inevitable. After last night, she thought she had his measure, but she wasn’t going to gain the upper hand as easily as she imagined. He had a plan and it started now. “No, I’ll undress you.”
    She shrugged as if the matter held no significance. “Be careful with the gown. I like it.”
    Erith laughed with reluctant delight. “Damn your impudence, Olivia. You treat me like a cursed ladies’ maid.”
    Her lids