The Devil's Match (The Devil DeVere #4)(35)

When she returned her attention to his jutting rod, he closed his hand tightly about her wrist. “You will remove your veils now, Didem,” he commanded.

“Please, no, Efendi,” she answered.

“But I wish to see your face when you pleasure me.”

“But I must not.”

“Must not show your face? Or must not finish what you started? For I believe that was our bargain...Diana.”

***

He knew! The bastard knew all along! “How?” She gasped, pulling from his grasp to rip off the veils. “How did you know it was me?”

“Your carriage, your form...your scent,” he answered. “They are all imprinted upon my brain. I would know you among a hundred women, Diana. Every time.”

His unexpected answer took her breath away, but she was quick to recompose. She refused to let him rattle her. “Then why did you allow me to proceed?” she demanded.

“Because inhibitions are greatly lessened when one is incognito. I wanted you to be relaxed and unreserved. I also wanted to see how bold you would become, how far you would take this little game of subterfuge with no urging from me. I confess you surprise me. Greatly.”

“Do I?” She couldn’t help a sly smile. “I told you I would come to you when I was ready.”

“You are more than ready, my dear.” His eyes narrowed. “Might I ask how you came by this knowledge? How are you acquainted with Salime?”

“She first came to me, my lord. It seems she harbors an inordinate amount of affection for you.”

“She merely feels a strong sense of obligation for her manumission. It is not unusual.”

“It’s more than that. Can’t you see? She’s in love with you, Ludovic.”

“Then she mistakes her feelings,” he said dismissively and sat up.

“You are wrong,” Diana protested. “And if you cannot reciprocate, you should not encourage her. It is cruel.” I know well the agony of unrequited feeling.

“I do not encourage her,” he insisted. “Salime is not, nor has she ever been, my lover. Not in the true sense.”

“No?” Diana laughed her skepticism. “Then what do you call all this?” She gestured to the hammam.

“You do not understand how it is in the East, Diana. She is merely a servant. She attends me here because she has the skills to do so, but I have never asked her for sexual gratification.”

“Yet you have received it at her hand?” she accused.

“Yes. Upon occasion. And she has been very well compensated.”

“And you do not call her your lover?”

“Absolutely not. For I have never encouraged her nor reciprocated in kind. Do you not understand the difference, Diana? I am no martyr. I have physical needs that I refuse to deny, but I have not shared my bed with any other woman since you. I have not spilled my seed inside any other woman’s body.”

Once more, Diana was shocked to silence. “You really expect me to believe that?” she asked when she found her tongue.

“Why should I lie? I have no need to do so. You are already here, and if you intend to uphold your word, you are mine, regardless. I still desire you, Diana, above any other woman. It’s beyond my comprehension. I travelled extensively, hoping to find an end to this restlessness that incessantly plagues me, but to no avail. I wonder now if it was really you I needed all along. The only peace I have ever experienced was briefly, evanescently, with you. And now that you are here, I intend to lie with you and f*ck you senseless day and night in countless ways, until you are either purged from my system completely or branded on my very soul.”

***

He didn’t know where it had come from. He had never spoken of private needs to anyone. Part of him was horrified, as if he suddenly and uncontrollably sputtered nonsense, but the words were out and not to be taken back.

He studied her for what seemed an endless beat, his chest painfully contracting as he watched her face, her green eyes wide with hope, apprehension, and then doubt. It was clear she didn’t trust him, but he had said all there was to say. The rest was only to be proven by deed.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked. “I thought we had a simple bargain. I would come to you and gratify you physically. I have come. I am willing to do as you wish. Why do play with my emotions like this?”

“Do I?” he asked innocently.

“Yes! You can never leave well enough alone. You must always be the master manipulator, Ludovic, the ultimate puppeteer, making everyone dance to your tune. It’s all about you, isn’t it? But I refuse to dance this time. You can take me all you like and in as many ways as you please, but just know this, when this time is over, it’s over. Whether purged or branded, I will leave you and never look back.”

***

“All I like and in as many ways as I please?” he repeated. “You make me an offer I cannot refuse. But contrary to your belief, this is not all about me, Diana. No, it’s very much about you; for I can and will give you mindless, bone-melting, heart-sundering pleasure. And if after that, you find you can still walk away or that you can still walk at all”—he paused with a smirk—”so be it.”

He reached for the neckline of her shift. “As I said before, you wear far too many clothes.” A simple tug released the fabric. He lowered it by inches, first revealing her creamy white shoulders. He skirted his knuckles along her exposed skin, watching gooseflesh form in their wake. “You cannot claim to be cold this time, my dear.” He lowered the garment to her elbows, trapped her lower arms in her sleeves, confining them to her sides. He captured her breast with his mouth, nipping and sucking on her tender, white flesh, feasting as if ravenous.