A Bluestocking Christmas (16 page)

Helen of Troy. She frowned at the words. Now the game had taken a deliciously wicked step up in difficulty. Homer’s poem, the Iliad, was about Helen, but these weren’t the words of the Greek storyteller. They were far too modern for the Grecian era. No. These were someone else’s words. But who? Closing her eyes, she repeated the words from the card over and over.
 

The author’s name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t quite remember it. It was worse than not knowing what might be in a Christmas present. Christmas—Christopher. That was it. Christopher Marlowe. His books were downstairs.
 

Eager to find her next clue, Ivy hurried through the book aisles and down the spiral iron stair case. No one had ever been so creative in their dealings with her before, and she liked it. She liked it very much. Reaching Marlowe’s works, she eagerly opened the envelope lying on top of the open shelf beside the books.
 

“Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul.”

While this is a true statement, I find it vastly over-rated. Perhaps he should have said the art of pleasure
 

is food for the body, mind and soul.

Smiling she shook her head. For all his rakish charm, he was almost as much of a bookworm as she was. Food for the soul. Was that Plato or Socrates? It didn’t matter, they were both in the Greek philosophy reading area, and she only hoped the game was close to ending as his words were seducing her almost as quickly as his touch had seduced her last night.
 

Adding the note to the other clues in her purse, Ivy ran toward the philosophy section where Plato and Socrates were housed. Something told her she was almost at the end of this clever scavenger hunt, and her excitement was building with each step she took. As she turned the corner and entered the classical Grecian era section of the library, she caught the faint scent of cinnamon and pine. At the end of the row of books, a soft light flickered against the wall. A light that wasn’t supposed to be there.
 

Simon. He must be in the small reading room in the back of the library. Smiling she hurried past the rows of dusty volumes to the end of the aisle. Light filtered out into the darkened library from behind the partially open door of the reading room. The door allowed just enough candlelight to shimmer out into the book section. She shivered as she put her hand on the door and pushed it wide open.

The sight in front of her made her suck in a sharp breath. Stretched out on the floor on a bed of soft furs, Simon smiled at her. It was a deliciously wicked smile, but it was his nakedness that stunned her. The maleness of him set every nerve ending beneath her skin on fire.
 

One leg bent, his arm rested nonchalantly on top of his knee. The confidence he displayed with the revealing pose sent her pulse skidding out of control. Even if she wanted too, she was so transfixed it would be impossible to flee from the room. Her breathing ragged, she pressed one hand to her throat as she took in every hard line of his body. Everything about him shouted raw male power. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized how much she wanted him. She wanted to glide her hands over him in an exploration that would help her memorize every inch of him. She was certain his shoulders would be hard and muscular while his beautiful arms would feel as sinewy with power as they looked.
 

But touching wouldn’t be enough. She wanted to taste him. Press her lips against the sculpted muscles of his chest. It wasn’t fair that he could affect her this way. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry simply from the heat blowing through her. Unable to help herself, her gaze skimmed across the hard muscles of his chest before it followed the thin line of hair that dove toward his erection.
 

His hard length jutted upward to brush against his stomach, and she swallowed. The sudden dampness between her legs told her that she was as aroused as he was. Wild, wanton sensations flooded her senses. The sight of him made her want to do things she’d only contemplated in the privacy of her own mind.
 

“Are you ready for our evening of pleasure, Ivy?”

She swallowed the knot in her throat with great difficulty as she nodded and continued to stare at the splendor of him. Tonight would be one she would never forget—she was certain of it. The real question was whether she would emerge unscathed. At the moment, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was explore his magnificent body and enjoy his touch in return. She watched his smile deepen into one of skilled seduction.
 

With a lithe movement, Simon sprang to his feet. He reminded her of a sleek, powerful jungle cat as he moved toward her with a slow, leisurely stride. Heart pounding, she sucked in a quick breath as he pulled her into the room then shut and locked the door behind her. She shuddered as his warm hand caressed the nape of her neck before he pressed his hand into her back and gently urged her forward.
 

Excitement slid through her as he circled her to face her again. He was beautiful. Strong, hard and all male. His touch light, Simon brushed his fingertips across her lips then leaned forward and feathered her lips with a whisper of a kiss. The touch served only to increase the desire growing inside her.

She’d never experienced this craving tightening her belly with Whitby. All thought of her past was obliterated as Simon kissed her again. With a soft moan, she leaned into him wanting more, but he pulled away and his lips curved in a wicked smile.

“Not just yet, sweetheart. Pleasure isn’t something to be rushed. It’s to be slowly savored, and we have all night.”

He circled her, the beautiful strength of his naked body outlined in every step he took. From the sculptured curves of his chest and arms to the sinewy line of his legs, he tempted and teased her senses simply by his mere presence. A shiver trickled down her spine when he stopped directly behind her, and the heat of his breath stirred the stray hairs on the back of her neck.
 

Sweet heaven, she wasn’t certain she’d be able to stand this excruciatingly slow seduction. She wanted to be in his arms, touching him and enjoying the pleasures of his touch in return. The intoxicating scent of him flooded her senses. It was a tantalizing mix of bergamot and something else. It was spicy and male, just like him.

Ever so lightly, he kissed the nape of neck as his fingers slowly undid the back of her dress. He didn’t say a word, and the silence between them thickened and grew hot. Trembling, she gasped as his mouth nibbled at her back, and he slipped her gown off her shoulders until it pooled at her feet.
 

~~~~

The tips of his fingers stroked the inside curve of Ivy’s thigh as Simon gently explored the bareness of her skin. Raising his gaze to meet hers, his fingers slid upward to the opening of her combination garment. She shuddered under his touch, and the intensity of her response to his touch hardened his erection until it stretched in a painful, yet oddly pleasurable way. Ivy didn’t say a word, but hunger filled her blue eyes. A hunger for him. The knowledge filled him with triumph.
 

As he rose to his feet, a sigh passed her lips. It was a sound of disappointment. Desire thundered through his veins with a strength that stunned him. Struggling not to drag her down onto the bed of furs he’d arranged on the floor, he reached out to begin unlacing the combination garment she wore. He’d promised her a night of pleasure, and he was determined to remain on his charted course.
 

Seducing Ivy with words was no longer just about seeing her come apart in his arms. It was about seducing her in a way that would bind her to him for a very long time. The thought stirred something deep inside him that made his hands grow still against her corset. He dismissed the emotion and continued unlacing her undergarment.
 

When she reached out to place her hand on his chest, he flinched at the heat searing its way into every inch of his body. If possible, his erection grew even harder. Christ Jesus, if she could excite him so easily with just a touch, what the hell would he feel when she clenched her body around his cock as he thrust into her.
 

He tossed her corset aside unprepared for the primal, possessive reaction he experienced. The air in his lungs evaporated, before he sucked in a harsh breath at the sight of her. The thin, fragile chemise covering the upper half of her body was the most erotic sight he’d ever seen. It revealed all and yet held him at bay like a thin cloud shielding the sun. Her gaze met his, and again he fought not to take her at that very moment. Instead, he forced himself to follow through with his plans. Certain that touching her would be his undoing he focused his attention on her hair and slowly removed the pins from her dark locks.

“You remind me of Corinna in Marlowe’s translation of Ovid’s Elegia Five,” he rasped. With measured movements, he slowly removed the pins in her hair. “Do you know the poem, Ivy?”

“Yes,” she said huskily. Sultry and hot, the single word response made his mouth go dry.

“Then came Corinna in a long loose gown, her white neck hid with tresses hanging down.” Ivy’s hair tumbled downward as his fingers threaded through the satin like locks. Sheer silk wouldn’t have been any softer. “Tell me the next line, sweetheart.”

“Resembling fair
Semiramis
going to bed, or
Layis
of a thousand lovers sped,” she whispered with a note of hunger in her voice. He closed his eyes for a brief instant as he fought to keep his control.

“I snatched her gown, being thin, the harm was small, yet strived she to be covered therewithall.”

It was impossible to resist doing exactly what the poem stated. Firmly, yet gently, he tore the thin, delicate chemise off her body. Gasping, she instinctively tried to cover herself, but he shook his head.

“Don’t,”
he growled. “I want to look at you.”

His desire held him rigid as his gaze devoured her. The sharp throb of his cock violently demanded for release. Bloody hell, he’d never wanted a woman so much in his entire life. Not even Elizabeth had sent his body into such a hardened state. The need to pull her into his arms battled with his need to make her experience the same dark level of desire grasping him so tightly. Determined to succeed forced himself to breathe.

“And striving thus as one that would be cast, betrayed herself, and yielded at the last. Stark naked as she stood before mine eye, not one blemish in her body could I spy.” His hand brushed across her shoulder, his will power fighting his body. “What arms and shoulders did I touch and see, how apt her breasts were to be pressed by me.”

Her nipple was a hard pebble beneath his thumb and a dark moan escaped her as she arched her body toward him. The heat of her skin sent a white-hot heat barreling up his arm and into his chest. She swayed toward him as he cupped her breast to suckle her. God almighty, he’d never tasted anything so sweet or intoxicating. He gently nipped at her rigid nipple, and her moan was a soft sob over his head.
 

“Oh God, Simon, please. I—” He ignored her plea and resolute in his determination to finish the poem.

“How smooth a belly under her waist saw I,” he rasped as he stroked her stomach and moved his hand downward. “How large a leg, and what a lusty thigh.”

The moment his hand reached her sex, he experienced an emotion so sweet and intense it sent shockwaves through his body. He couldn’t identify the feeling. He simply knew it existed whenever she was near. She moaned, and the scent of lilies mixed with the musky fragrance of her desire. From his first encounter with her in the library, he’d always known he’d make her his. But he hadn’t expected his own response to her to be so strong and fierce. Eager to feel her honey against his skin, he slowly parted the soft lips beneath her wiry curls.
 

“To leave the rest, all liked me passing well, I clung to her naked body, down she fell, judge you the rest, being tired she bade me kiss.”

Shock rippled through him as a slick wetness damped his fingertips. Slowly, he slid one finger up inside her heated passage. Christ Jesus. If mere words had made her this creamy, what would happen when she was wrapped around his cock? Her fingers dug into shoulders, and as he watched, her head fell backward and her eyes closed as she thrust her hips against his hand. The moment he found the small nub within her folds and caressed it, a violent tremor rocked her body.
 

“What do you desire, sweetheart?” he choked out.

“You,” she sobbed in a voice that echoed with the dark craving he needed her to feel. “I want you.”

Restraint no longer within his means, he tugged her down onto the fur blankets he’d had brought in for this very occasion. The feel of her silky skin against his only fueled his desire as his mouth sought her nipple again. A keening cry poured out of her as he tried desperately to hold onto his seed. His mouth went dry as he suckled her then moved his mouth upward to kiss her shoulder then the side of her neck. He’d reached his breaking point, and rolled her onto her back to hover over her.

“Tell me what you really want, sweetheart,” he rasped.

 
“I want you inside me.” Her sapphire eyes darkened with a hunger that clenched at his stomach. “I want you to fill me completely. Now.”

Without a word, he buried himself inside her slick, velvety core. Instantly, she uttered a cry of intense pleasure, her body arching upward to meet his thrust. Damn, she was tight. Hot and tight around his cock. Slick with heat, her body clung to him as he slowly retreated then pressed into her again. Lowering his head, he flicked his tongue out over a taut nipple. Another ripple shook through the sultry core of her, gripping him like hot vise.