The Devil You Know by Victoria Vane

about.”
    “I treat my people very well, and they are devoutly loyal to me
    for it.”
    Diana worried her lower lip. “What will you do now?”
    “Whatever your heart desires.”
    She shook her head sharply, unsettled by his continued attempts
    to unbalance her with his persistent innuendoes. “I’m speaking of the
    race.”
    “The matter is taken care of.”
    “You have confronted Reggie?”
    His face hardened. “No. I have quite another method of dealing
    with this.”
    “You won’t tell me?”
    “I will not. It is a most unpleasant topic that I would rather not
    dwell upon when there are far more fascinating subjects at hand.” He
    stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers, and she broke away
    from him with a strangled sound. “That’s not why I’m here. I came to
    protect my personal interests. To warn you about the race.”
    “In nothing but your wrapper? Tsk, tsk, my pet. Untruths are so
    unbecoming. Yet it is precisely your most personal interests, your inti-
    mate needs, that are foremost in my mind right now.”
    She opened her mouth to protest, but he advanced and silenced
    her with a finger across her lips. He traced the curve of her mouth
    with a whisper touch that made her ache for his kiss. His thumb lin-
    gered, caressing her lower lip and making it tingle with exquisite sen-
    sation. She closed her eyes and bit her tongue to suppress the urge to
    lick him.
    “If I had had any doubts about you before...” he murmured,
    “they were laid to rest the instant I set eyes on that feckless husband
    of yours. There are no words to encompass his unworthiness of you,
    Diana. You were made to be worshipped. Say the word, and I swear
    to atone for the grievous neglect you’ve suffered.”
    He had spoken her own deepest feelings, her darkest desires. She
    averted her face in an attempt to ignore the heightened awareness of
    him. The big, strong, near-naked body. The powerful chest exposed
    by the loose banyan, the even more powerful urge to touch him.
    “I’ve not given you leave—”
    “To touch you? To address you with such intimacy?” He laughed.
    “You and I both know you crossed that boundary at the threshold
    to my bedchamber. Someone damn well needs to touch you, Diana.
    Someone, preferably me, needs to make amends for your husband’s
    disgrace and fuck you senseless.”
    She stared at him, speechless.
    “Don’t look so affronted, my dear. I know how to give you pro-
    found pleasure, Diana. We both know that’s why you came to me. You
    have only to admit it.”
    Her heart surged as he moved in for the kill with the ease of a
    practiced predator. Dipping his head, he drew her lower lip into his
    mouth, gently biting, sucking, and sending a jolt of molten lightning
    straight to her core. She melted into him with a whimper. He slowly
    released her with a feral gleam in his eye. “Just tell me you want me,
    and I will show you many ways I can please you until you beg for
    your release.”
    Dear God, but he was right. She had crossed the threshold. There
    was no turning back now.
    Sensing her qualms,
    ***
    fearing she would change her mind and flee,
    Ludovic had let her blather on about the races, but all the while deftly
    and relentlessly guiding her back to the truth and compelling her to
    face her motives. She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise
    of her breasts. He could smell her budding arousal and would relish
    bringing her to full bloom. God, how he loved this dance! She had
    taken the first tentative steps, yet she still fought her desire, refused
    to give in to it, but he would lead her now. He was a master...and a
    ruthless bastard.
    He moved behind her, taking possession of her waist, his fingers
    riffled gently through her hair. He closed his eyes to inhale her faint
    rose scent mixed with womanly musk. He dipped his head, letting
    his breath tickle her ear. She shivered. He whispered low and sultry.
    “Do you wish me to name the ways I can please you? I am