No hesitance. “I’m not asking for true love. I’m just asking for your love, for one night, this night.”
Ah, hellfire.
Never in his wildest, most erotic musings had he imagined that Leonora would ever offer him such a gift. The gift to taste her. To love her. To pleasure her. It had always just been a distant whisper, and unspoken desire.
They were never supposed to become friends.
They weren’t supposed to become lovers.
But for this night, she was his. He would love her. For this night only. As for the rest...
That was for tomorrow to decide.
Chapter Seventeen
Amoment torule all moments.
This was what she’d wanted from the very start. And if ever there were a moment to rule all moments, bringing this man to a trembling mess was it.
If I rule this moment, then I rule him.Not in the way of chains or commands, but in the way that left him breathless beneath her touch, that made him look at her as though she were both his temptation and his undoing. His doom and deliverance.
He, who commanded the gaze of countless women with a mere smile. Who had no intention of ever being shackled. He was here, unguarded in ways that had nothing to do with flesh—exposed in a manner she had never seen before. It was in the way his breath trembled slightly whenever he spoke, in the fleeting spark that danced in his eyes. Even in the way his fingers lingered on her skin, hesitant yet bold.
And she had done that.
The knowledge sent a thrill through her, a heady rush that ignited her blood. To bring him—this unrepentant rake—to such a state was intoxicating. To see him as he truly was. Stripped bare of his defenses, he was no longer the Earl of Dare, the infamous rake, but simply a man.
And tonight, he was her man.
Yes, this moment was hers to rule.
Her breath caught when Dare stepped back, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it over the chair at the desk. His hands movedto the buttons of his waistcoat, and in one swift motion, it joined the jacket—and was seconds later followed by his shirt.
The man didn’t play about.
He grinned at her. “Are you enjoying the view?”
Lord, yes. No mental pictures could compete withthis. This was... not quite perfection, but not quitenotperfection. She had seen a muscled chest before—but never like this. Never with all that strength, all that power, directed at conquering, directed ather.
She nodded, and he chuckled.
His body was no overly chiseled sculpture, but it was a body that might have inspired one. A masterpiece in its own right.
It inspired her—to take action.
She reached back to tug at the laces of her gown, then slowly pulled the sleeves from her shoulders. She’d dressed smartly for tonight. No complicated dress with complicated strappings.
Instead, a gown to aid in her ruin.
She must have done right, for his eyes shot flames across her skin. She grinned and tugged the sleeves lower.
“What are you doing?” he asked, tone raw.
She smile widened. “Oh, my apologies. Didyouwant to do the undressing?”
He cursed but didn’t move an inch. “Have you always been such a tease?”
“You know I have been.” Her gaze tracked over his muscles to his trousers. “You should remove them, too.”
