Read Online Linna : Historical Romance (The Brocade Collection, Book 5) by Jackie Ivie - Free Book Online Page B

to know?”
    Her answer was a tight chuckle before the last lamp dimmed . Linna couldn’t see him since the largest pool of light was directly above her head.
    “You’ve never been with a man obviously . Or if you were, he wasn’t much of a man. You’ll learn. I’ll teach you.”
    “Wh —what...does that mean?”  The entire question didn’t make sound, but he seemed to know what it was.
    “That I’m adding a term to yours . That’s what it means.”
    “What is it?”
    “Tonight. All of it. All of you. Every response is mine. Every part of you that I can reach, I get. You give. Willingly. Completely. All night. Every minute, every hour, every breath. You hold nothing back. Nothing.”
    Linna trembled . She couldn’t hide it. “And then...never again?”
    He came back into the light, making Linna’s every conscious thought flee right out of her head . He’d shed his ruffled shirt, and the expanse of chest he’d bared was indescribable. She licked her lips to stall for time, roaming her eyes over every lump, every amazing bulge at his abdomen, and the large muscles of his upper chest. Despite herself, her own breasts tightened at the sight. She’d known what a man looked like, yet nothing would have prepared her for him. Her lower lip dropped. She could only hope he didn’t know why.
    “Never again ? I believe we can come to some sort of arrangement after all, Miss Linna.”
    Her raised eyebrows answered for her .  
    “Unless you want it . Only then. You have to open your mouth to ask for it. I’ll not touch you again unless you do that. You understand what I’m agreeing to?”
    She nodded . He took a step nearer. She slid a corresponding distance away. He smiled and the shadows widened it into a grin.
    “Know this much, too . I’ll not alter the terms. If I sense less than complete and total surrender to me tonight, the deal is off. You have no wedding ring and no promise. Nothing. You understand?”
    “Yes,” she said, although her mouth was too dry to make the sound.
    “I’m afraid I didn’t hear that,” he replied.
    There wasn’t enough moisture in her mouth to swallow. She was forced to nod.
    Raoul reached for her champagne glass and downed the contents with one long draught . Then he set the goblet back with such studied precision, it settled right back into its own moisture ring. He put both hands on the table edge and leaned toward her. He pinned his gaze on her legs, before it traveled over her entwined arms, then he met her open-eyed stare. The solid wood beneath her might as well have been bubbles. Despite herself, Linna swayed backward.
    “You do realize what this means?” he asked, lifting his brows.
    Linna was having a hard time concentrating. Raoul Larroquette must know what a picture he was presenting, yet he acted like it was nothing. One small line furrowed his brow, a lock of dark hair carved to the top of his nose, and eyes that held only a hint of moisture glinted from the shadow created by his eyelashes.
    It was her turn to scan . Massive shoulders and chest flowed into slender hips, and from there to the muscular thighs she’d felt earlier while they’d danced. His old-fashioned breeches weren’t hiding one bit of him. They were defining instead. Everywhere. Her entire body felt flushed and hot.
    “Well?” he asked, when the silence just kept growing.
    “I know what it means,” she answered softly. She had to look away. He was stealing her breath and bringing flutters of nervousness into existence deep in her belly at the same time.
    “I warn you, you’re to find satisfaction with no one else . No one. There is no betraying to be done. You wants, your desires, your release come only from me. You understand that much, too?”
    Satisfaction ? Release? There was nothing like that about the love act. It was brutal, animalistic, and harsh. It was, wasn’t it? There wasn’t anyone she could ask. Rhea never spoke about it, and their own mother had betrayed them all