Her eyes flashed, but she turned silently to present her back for him to unfasten the buttons of her gown. When she faced him again, their gazes locked, two passionate people determined not to give way.
Her mouth curved in a half smile then, and she stripped off her garments slowly, one by one, her movements deliberately provocative.
Her erotic performance held Dare's gaze riveted. He didn't understand the brittle anger that gripped her, the icy disdain, but he fully fathomed the effect her meagerly clad body had on him. Heat burned through him, making his blood pulse with need.
When her tongue slowly licked her lips in carnal invitation, excitement flared through his senses. It was all he could do to feign indifference when Julienne drew her chemise over her head and stood garbed in nothing more than silk stockings held up by strips of ribbon.
Bending, she untied the knots of her garters and rolled the silk down her long slender legs, the ripe, full globes of her breasts dangling like luscious fruit.
Dare felt sweat break out over his skin. God, but he wanted to taste those sweet breasts, to suck on those taut nipples until she was as feverish and aching with need as she had made him.
She stood again, and the sultry, glittering light in her eyes told him clearly she knew how much her nude body captivated him.
Against his will, his gaze traveled the length of her… her flawless bosom, her narrow waist, her rounded hips, the dark curls shielding her feminine mound… Julienne ravished his senses, even as jaded as they were. It was a struggle to keep from reaching out and hauling her into his arms and putting a swift end to her teasing.
But she wasn't done making him suffer, apparently. He watched as she went to her dressing table and withdrew a small coffer, recognizing the contents instantly: sponges and vials of liquid-no doubt vinegar or brandy-to guard against pregnancy. Absurdly he felt a twinge of regret at her making certain she would not conceive his child.
Julienne wet a sponge and made a great show of inserting it between her legs, deep within her feminine passage. Then she let down her hair, shaking her head so that the shining sable mass spilled over her bare shoulders to curl around her naked breasts.
For Dare it was a siren's call. He nearly groaned out loud as all the muscles of his body clenched in torment. Julienne damn well knew what her silken hair did to him, how fiercely it aroused him. Knew that one of his greatest pleasures was the feel of her dragging the soft skeins over his body. He could lie for hours with her torturing him that way.
Dare knew he was vanquished. He might have been strong enough to fight himself, but he couldn't fight Julienne when she was like this, a temptress bent on seduction.
He locked his jaw as he strove for control, but there was no resisting her. Not when she sauntered toward him and reached down to cup the sac of his testicles. Already his cock was lifting and jerking helplessly in response to her skilled caresses.
Her stroking fingertips sent fire racing through him. Dare shut his eyes, but the scent of her heat filled his nostrils.
Leaning closer, she pressed her loins against his cramping erection while rubbing her stiffened nipples against the wall of his chest.
Dare did groan then. He wanted to throw her down on the bed and sink himself into her, but she was in command, a wild creature of fire and moonlight. And he was in thrall to her.
His breath fled as she parted her legs to straddle his thigh and slid her already slick cleft against his leg, grinding down hungrily. His senses reeled, rawly frenzied. His hands tightened on her waist, but she pulled away.
"No," Julienne warned with a taunting glance before she bent to him again.
Her mouth pressed hot, open kisses against his chest, and lower, trailing fire over his muscles. It was almost more than he could bear.
Talons of passion clutched at him, raking him with need. When she knelt before him, he shuddered, anticipating her erotic intentions.
He wasn't mistaken. Delirious sensation ripped through him as she attended him, running her tongue around the head of his shaft… wetting the sensitive tip… blowing a tender, hot breath that aroused him wildly.
His entire body clenched.
And that was before she fastened her lush mouth around him.
"Sweet Christ," Dare ground out harshly.
She showed him no mercy, though. His engorged shaft jutted out blatantly now, throbbing with a relentless ache. Every inch of his skin burned with fever for her. But her tongue and lips and teeth continued their sensual assault, forcing his surrender to the exquisite torment.
Dare gritted his teeth at the incredible onslaught of pleasure. He felt his sanity slipping away as she suckled him, drawing him into a vortex of fire. It was only moments before his rigid control broke.
Grating out her name, he dug his fingers into her shoulders and pulled her upright. Her beguiling mouth was moist and triumphant, but he felt the coiled tension in her body, saw the smoldering flames of desire in her eyes, and knew she was trapped in her need, as he was.
His hands clasping under her buttocks, he lifted her off her feet and spread her thighs, prepared to take her. A charge of bright lightning arced between them as their eyes met.
Dare held her stormy gaze as he slid upward into her molten, silky sweetness with a violent, thrusting need.
The stunning heat of her nearly made him explode. And Julienne's gasping moan told him she was at the point of climax, as did the way she sank her fingers into his hair and arched against him.