Tempting a Sinner (3 page)

A beautiful boy, and now a handsome man with more than a hint of ruthlessness around the eyes and the mouth. But she could scarcely say she’d stayed the same either. Life had a way of imprinting itself on a person’s face, and from the look of it, neither she nor Lord Keyes had enjoyed an untroubled existence. That comforted her somehow. She’d always feared he would move on to the leisurely life of an aristocrat and forget his past, but he certainly hadn’t taken that easier route. The work he did to protect the British nation required steely courage and a devious brain.

She stroked his blond hair away from his brow.

“Don’t stop,” he murmured.

She snatched her hand away as he opened his eyes and she stared down into their intriguing blue depths.

“Ben.”

He smiled at her.

The shock of it made her smile back. She set the candle beside the bed and turned to him. “Are you feeling any better?”

“A lot better, ma’am, thank you.” He stretched carefully, displacing the covers and displaying the muscled beauty of his upper body. “Even my shoulder has stopped hurting.”

“I’m very pleased to hear it.” She fought to keep her gaze on his face as he rubbed a casual hand over his chest. “Have you remembered anything else about yourself since we last spoke?”

He frowned and shoved his fingers through his already disordered hair. “I’m not sure my name is Ben.”

“Oh, really?”

“I think it might be Benedict.”

Her heart gave a little jump, but when he didn’t immediately denounce her, she continued to look interested. “Well, Ben is a derivative of that name.” She hesitated. “Perhaps you only use Ben for your
professional
activities.”

“That might be true.” He sighed. “I haven’t remembered anything else yet.”

He was either a skilled liar, or truly at a loss. “I’m sure you will.” She leaned over him and checked the bandage on his shoulder. “Your wound appears to be healing quite well now. In another week or so, you should be healthy enough to leave.” She straightened. “I will send you on your way with as much money as I can muster.” She heaved a martyred sigh. “Although it won’t be a large sum, as I’d already devoted rather too much to my original investment.”

“Why choose this route? Why haven’t you remarried?”

“I’ve never met another man who matches up to my husband.” She met his gaze and realized that was the truth. How humiliating to discover that fact right now. “And this region doesn’t exactly overflow with wealthy men.”

“Then why don’t you move?”

“This is my home.” She summoned another smile. “I don’t have the funds to set myself up in style in London and chase after the eligible bachelors.”

He shifted back on the pillows, his face positively angelic in the candlelight with his high cheekbones, blue eyes, and the glints of gold in his ash-blond hair. But his eyes were cold. At least she knew the truth. The beautiful façade concealed a devious mind. His long fingers toyed with the covers as he surveyed her.

“What time is it?”

“Just after midnight, why?”

“I thought the house was quiet.”

“This is the first moment I’ve had to visit you all day. It’s harvesttime. I’ve been busy putting apples away for the winter.”

He picked up her hand and brought it to his face. “That explains why you smell so sweet.” She shivered as he turned her palm upward and kissed it. “I
am
willing to fulfill my part of the bargain, ma’am.”

“I beg your pardon?”

He kissed each of her fingers and drew her thumb into his mouth. “I’m offering you my . . . services.”

“But you’re still unwell and you don’t think your name is Ben and—” Her knees wobbled as he kissed his way up to her wrist. Damnation, he’d called her bluff. Why was she stopping him? Did she really
want
him to remember who she was and end everything? Doris would say she should stick with the plan; her traitorous body yearned to find out exactly
how
Lord Keyes intended to service her.

He let go of her hand and pushed back the covers, displaying himself to her gaze. His cock was already erect and was, indeed, a goodly size. He wrapped his hand around it and stroked himself.

“You’re not well.” She sounded far too unsure for her own liking.

He smiled at her. “I’m well enough to lie on my back while you ride me and take your pleasure. I’d hate to be considered a waste of money.”

Malinda couldn’t stop staring at his cock, her own sex softening and throbbing as a glint of pre-cum appeared on the tip of his crown. He gathered it on his thumb and smoothed it over his swollen head, murmuring with pleasure.

“Please use me.”

She took two steps toward him before she halted and considered what she was about to do. His right ankle was still tethered, and his left shoulder was vulnerable. If she
did
take up his invitation, would she be safe if he was pretending?

He groaned softly as wetness trickled down over his working fingers. With a deep, wrenching sigh, Malinda sat on the side of the bed.

“I think I should just watch you this first time—to see if you are well enough to perform without further injury to yourself.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You want to watch me come?”

“Yes.” She wanted to climb on him and ride him hard until he screamed, but that might happen later. She couldn’t afford to ruin his recovery. Doris would be so proud.

“Then watch.”

He eased his left hand down to cup his balls and used his right to play with his thick shaft. His fingers toyed with his crown, sliding through the gathering wetness, to push down his foreskin, circling and probing the slit until his back arched into each pull of his demanding hand. He planted his feet flat on the bed, freeing the motion of his hips, his buttocks clenching with every thrust.

It was like watching a scandalous nude Greek statue in motion. Malinda couldn’t look away. She wished she was as naked as he was and could at least touch her needy sex and join him when he climaxed. He licked his lips and groaned with each stroke, his gaze now fixed on her as his hand moved faster and faster on his stiff shaft.

“Do I satisfy you, ma’am?” His words were guttural with lust. “Is my rod big enough for your pleasure? Will I fill you and make you scream?” His mouth twisted into a grimace. “Damnation, I want to please you. I want you to see this.”

He closed his eyes as with one last savage yank on his cock he started to come in thick endless waves that drenched his hand and made Malinda want to lean forward and lick him clean. He subsided against the sheets, his breathing uneven, his gaze fastened on her.

Malinda offered him a tepid smile. “That was very pleasant to watch, Ben. Thank you.” She went to get the jug of water and basin that stood next to the door. She soaked one of the cloths and rubbed it over his flat stomach, which was covered in his seed. His cock jerked as she washed him.

“Do you wish to finish cleaning yourself, or shall I continue?”

“Be my guest.”

She carefully cleaned his half-erect cock and patted his balls dry before returning her attention to the rest of him.

“Is there any reason why you can’t release me from my shackles now, ma’am?” he murmured. “Surely I’ve proved I’m no danger to you or the inhabitants of this house?”

She continued drying his skin, her mind desperately seeking a way to deny his perfectly reasonable request.

“I’d rather you remain chained, Ben.” She didn’t need to fake her heightened color. “That was one of the original requests in my letter to Madame, that my lover wouldn’t object to such a thing. I
assumed
—”

He tensed as the bedroom door opened. Malinda looked over her shoulder and smiled in relief to see her cousin.

“Ah, Gwen, you missed such a treat.”

“And what was that?”

Gwen had already changed into her night robe and brushed out her hair.

“Ben is feeling much better and offered to provide his services to me.” She turned back to her patient, who was lying motionless on the bed. “I think he is recovering quite nicely. Would you like to see?”

Benedict blinked as his captor cordially invited her cousin to view not only his naked body, but also the remains of his arousal. She was obviously a lot more clever than he’d anticipated. For a while there, he’d thought she was going to mount him, and he’d have her in more ways than one. But she’d proved her mettle and insisted on him proving his. The sight of her watching him pleasure himself had proven remarkably stimulating. Her refusal to release him from his chains only heightened his sense that all was not as it seemed.

He shifted on the bed. With two females now staring at his manly parts, it was no surprise that his cock started to grow again.

“Oh, he is rather large, isn’t he?” Gwen whispered.

“He’s not even fully erect yet.” She studied his groin. “Wait until you see the rest of it.”

He shivered as Gwen touched his cock and circled the wetness at the crown. “May I?” She leaned over him and licked him very delicately. His gaze flew to his tormentor, who was watching approvingly.

“Did I forget to mention that Gwen and I both paid for you? If you are well enough to service me, I hope you are well enough to help her too.”

Gwen sighed and gave him one last, lingering kiss. “But probably not tonight. He needs to recover his strength. I’ll make sure he gets a good breakfast so that he’ll be ready and eager for more tomorrow night.”

The women covered him up and tucked him in like a child. Gwen patted him on the head, and they both withdrew, leaving him without even the candle. He glared at the locked door, wondering desperately if he was still unconscious and merely dreaming he was in the middle of this rather ridiculous farce. The scent of sex and the slight soreness of his cock made it all too clear that he was awake. Anger battled amusement as he considered who else might have contributed to the fund for his prostitution skills. Would Jim be next, or Ellen, or the timid young woman who hadn’t returned to his bedside since he’d woken up?

Exhaustion won out and he finally fell asleep.

B
enedict opened his eyes to discover three women studying him. It was becoming quite usual to be gawped at as if he were an exhibit at the county fair. Two of them he recognized, the third looked very young and ready to burst into tears, her handkerchief clutched in her hand, her expression aghast.

“You can’t be serious, Mally!”

His captor’s name was
Mally?

“I’m afraid that it’s true. I shot the wrong man. This is Ben. He came highly recommended from Madame Delornay.”

“That woman who runs a brothel?”

“It’s not a brothel, Doris, it’s a private club. And I believe, since her elevation by marriage to the peerage, her son Christian runs it now.”

Benedict considered that information, which sounded vaguely familiar. An image of a supercilious blond flashed across the tatters of his memory. Had he met Christian Delornay? He had a suspicion that he had. Perhaps he really was a prostitute after all.

“You’ll have to send him back.”

“I can’t send him anywhere at the moment; he’s still recovering.”

Was there a hint of amusement in his captor’s voice? What had Doris called her? Mally? That was an unusual name. If he could recall Christian, why not the redheaded vixen who’d allegedly bought his services?

“Then send him by carriage!”

“Where? He can’t remember anything except his first name. His calling card wasn’t amongst his possessions. I can’t send him out into the world like that.” She finally looked down at him and smiled. “The
least
I can do is keep him comfortable until he remembers who he is, and can be returned safely home.”

He didn’t believe a word of it. She was still keeping him tethered to the bed like a wild animal.

They were talking about him as if he were a stray dog, or something that had no will of its own. Was that what they thought of him? That because they’d purchased his services, he was somehow beneath them—even lower than a servant? He wasn’t even sure why he was so annoyed. Men treated whores like this all the time. Perhaps he hadn’t expected women to be so callous.

He cleared his throat, and the smallest of the three women, Doris, gave a guilty start and started backing away from the bed.

“Oh my goodness, he’s awake.” She practically ran toward the door. “I’ll go and check with Cook about dinner.”

It was good to see that at least one of the inhabitants of his prison had some scruples. The other two harpies stayed put and continued to study him.

“I think you scared her off, Ben.” Gwen smiled at him.

“I think that was me.” Mally shrugged. “She insisted on knowing what was going on, and I had to tell her.” She lit another candle and placed it on the right side of Ben’s bed. “I knew she wouldn’t like it. Her constitution is not as strong as mine.”

“She seemed like a nice, virtuous young lady,” Ben said.

“Are you implying that I’m not?”

He opened his eyes wide, his gaze lingering deliberately on her mouth. “Not at all, ma’am. Any woman who has the nerve to buy a man’s services and then shoot him in her own driveway has my admiration and respect.”

The lies tripped easily off his tongue. Despite his inconvenient memory loss, he was good at this verbal fencing. It felt quite natural. Who
was
he?

She moved closer and he held his breath.

“I don’t mind if you think I’m not ladylike, Ben. I certainly wasn’t brought up to be a ‘lady.’ Perhaps it still shows.” She glanced over at Gwen. “Shall we begin?”

He tensed as Gwen pulled the covers away from his naked form.

“Do you think we should make sure he’s secured before we try anything?”

His tormentor studied him carefully. “He is rather big and strong.” She touched his left shoulder, which was still bandaged. “Whatever we do, we’ll have to be careful not to open up his old wound. What if we do this?”

She climbed onto the bed and made him sit forward. He didn’t stop her, his mind at war with his body again. Should he play along? Was he even playing? Being naked and vulnerable in front of two women was curiously arousing. When was the last time he’d not been in control of a sexual encounter? He had a strange sense of freedom mingled with fear, which made him acutely aware of everything, the soft pulse at the base of his jailer’s throat, Gwen’s hand stroking his knee....

“Do you have the silk scarves, Gwen?”

“Yes.”

She took his hands and tied them together at the wrists, then gently eased him back onto the pillows stacked behind his head and shoulders. “I think this should suffice. Can you bring your hands up, Ben, or does it pain your shoulder too badly?”

“It’s fine, ma’am.”

She helped him raise his hands over his head. He was so intent on what she was trying to accomplish that he hardly noticed the jab of pain as the damaged muscle in his upper arm protested being moved at all. He cautiously relaxed his arms, and the pillows instantly supported them. She tied the ends of the scarves to the headboard without pulling on his wrists at all.

He looked down at his nakedness: the metal shackle on his right ankle and the already hard length of his erect cock. She touched his knee and he obediently spread his legs. Gwen climbed onto the bed, too, and stroked his hip.

“He is
so
beautiful, Mally.”

“Let’s just play with him for a while then, shall we?”

Her hands moved over his body as did Gwen’s, touching and stroking every inch of him. He felt as if he was being devoured. She circled the base of his cock with her finger and thumb.

“He’s so big, Gwen, I can barely grasp all of him.”

Pride swelled in him along with his cock. If he was just a thing, a whore to be used, shouldn’t he be gratified that he could satisfy them? Was he worth their money? Did he want to be? He groaned as Gwen licked his nipple and then sucked on it until it throbbed in time to the heat of his cock. He looked down over Gwen’s head as something tickled the inside of his thigh. His chief tormentor was now between his thighs. Holding his gaze and still grasping his shaft, she lowered her head and licked a slow, circular path around the wet crown of his cock. The tip of her tongue flashed red as she probed his slit and then spread the wetness she found there all over his now throbbing head.

He groaned as she pursed her lips and hovered over him, fighting not to lift his hips and press his aching cock against that slick warmth and beg to be let inside.

“Taste him, Mally,” Gwen murmured and turned to watch. Benedict was simply grateful that she’d said it before he started to plead. His breath hissed out as she took him deep, the head of his cock hitting the back of her throat before she swallowed him even deeper.

“God . . .”

His hand fisted. He wanted to plunge his fingers into her hair to hold her exactly where she was now and keep her there forever. Sensation hummed through him as Gwen’s clever fingers stroked his chest and hips and then pinched his nipples hard. He almost moaned when Mally released her ferocious grip on his cock, leaving him caught almost at climax, but not quite there.

“Please.” This time he did beg.

Gwen took her place and started to suck him, shorter and harder pulls driving him higher until she, too, stopped, her fingers tight around the base of his cock.

“Both of us, Mal?”

They knelt on either side of his hips and leaned in, giving him the perfect view of their profiles. Two tongues on him now, his shaft wet, his balls tight and more than ready to come. He moaned as their lips met on his throbbing crown, moving over him, kissing his needy flesh, licking up his pre-cum, kissing each other....

It was too much. He climaxed and as Gwen released her iron grip on the base of his shaft, his seed shot out of his beleaguered cock into the willing mouths of his seducers. He closed his eyes and just lay there, aware of the ache in his shoulder and the bite of the iron in his flesh.

Whoever he was, no man could’ve resisted that temptation....

Even after watching Lord Keyes come like that, Malinda still shook with lust. She wanted that big cock inside her so badly. His body, bathed in a faint sheen of sweat, glowed in the candlelight. She wanted to lick him clean, keep him tied up, and convince him he was really Ben, her personal sex slave.

She looked over at Gwen, who was panting and had one hand down the front of her bodice, her fingers moving over her nipple.

“More, Gwen?”

She reached over Benedict’s body and cupped Gwen’s breast until it flowed over the top of her corset. With a soft sound she sucked Gwen’s nipple into her mouth, felt her cousin shudder. She slid her hand beneath the hem of Gwen’s nightgown and found her way to the apex of her thighs and her wet, throbbing sex. As she continued to suck on her nipple, she slid two fingers inside and pumped them slowly back and forth.

“Oh, God,” Gwen breathed. “Don’t stop, Mally, please, I—”

Malinda looked from her cousin to her captive, whose gaze was fixed on the movement of her hand. With deliberate slowness, she pulled Gwen’s nightgown over her head, leaving her naked, and angled her slightly toward Benedict.

“Look, Gwen, he’s watching me have you. Do you like that, Ben? Is she not beautiful?”

He licked his lips as Malinda thrust another finger into Gwen, her thumb pressing on her cousin’s clit with every inward stroke.

“Would you like to see my mouth on her?”

His body stiffened, his cock rising.

“Oh yes, I think he’d like to see that very much.” Malinda smiled at Gwen. “Would you like that, love?” Gwen nodded. She arranged Benedict’s legs so that his knees were drawn up and helped Gwen straddle him and lean back against his knees, facing him, her legs spread, her sex on view.

For a few moments, she just used her fingers, drawing them in and out of Gwen’s throbbing wetness until her cousin was moaning for release. Kneeling beside Benedict’s hips, she added her tongue to her fingers, flicking Gwen’s clit to a tight, throbbing bud until she was climaxing hard.

She looked at Benedict. “Do you want to lick me while I finish Gwen?”

He nodded once and she straddled his chest, raising her bottom until her sex was level with his face and pushing back until she found his mouth and the press of his tongue and teeth against her softness. Reaching forward, she held Gwen’s hips and brought her mouth to her cousin’s cunt and thrust her tongue deep.

God, she wanted to scream as he pleasured her, his mouth everywhere, the rasp of his teeth, the way he sucked her clit hard into his mouth. Gwen bucked her hips and climaxed with a cry and Malinda followed her, undulating her hips against Benedict’s working mouth until she’d probably drowned him.

When they’d both recovered and climbed off him, they studied their wounded captive, who had his eyes closed, his breathing as harried as theirs. His face was wet with Malinda’s juices and his cock was already showing signs of recovery.

“He looks capable,” Gwen murmured. “But we don’t want to tire him out.”

A muscle twitched in his cheek. Malinda guessed the mighty Lord Keyes didn’t appreciate being talked about as though he wasn’t there. Even though he claimed not to know who he was, arrogance was bred into his very bones. For an aristocrat, it was probably a new experience to be treated as nothing. She couldn’t help but enjoy it.

“I’ll leave him to you, Mally, and take myself off to bed.” Gwen crawled toward the edge of the bed.

“Are you sure?”

Gwen’s amused brown eyes met hers. “He’s all yours, love. When we can trust him enough to use his hands on us, I’ll be back.” She blew them both a kiss. “Thank you, Ben. You are definitely worth the money, I’ll make sure to write a hearty recommendation to Madame Helene to take with you when you leave.”

Malinda followed Gwen to the door, kissed her cheek, and ushered her out. Jim was asleep in a chair against the wall and snoring loudly. She could only hope he’d wake if she screamed for help. She went back into the crimson bedchamber, locked the door behind her, and leaned against it. Bathed in candlelight, Lord Keyes was sprawled on the bed, his wrists tied over his head and his legs spread to reveal his thick cock. Still watching him, she reached behind her back to loosen the buttons of her gown and wiggled her way out of it. She also removed her petticoats and returned to him dressed only in her stockings, corset, and thin undershift.

She sensed he was observing her through his lowered eyes, so she took her time climbing onto the bed and knelt between his thighs.

“Madame Helene said you bed men. Is that true?” She cupped his balls and slid her finger behind them to stroke the soft skin of his taint. Tension shuddered through him as she played with him.

“I—I don’t remember.”

She leaned forward, easing her finger toward the pucker of his arsehole, watching the surge of his cock and the flush of renewed arousal on his face.

“You seem to like this.”

He swallowed hard and moved restlessly against her. “I—don’t know.”

She removed her hand and licked her middle finger. His gaze fixed on her hand as she returned to cupping his balls, her thumb at the base of his cock, her longest finger now pressing for admittance against his hole. His cock was fully erect now, and she licked at it, sucking him occasionally as she pushed deeper, watching him as she did it for signs of discomfort. But there were none. Whatever Lord Keyes did in his private life, he was no stranger to another man’s cock, but then any aristocrat who’d attended one of the great public schools could claim the same.