"Heated pipes feed the pool and keep the water hot."
It seemed the height of luxury to Julienne, who was accustomed to cold York winters. The height of decadence as well, knowing Dare as she did. "This seems an ideal place for an orgy," she remarked archly.
His eyes glinted wickedly. "Patience, sweet. We will get to that."
To one side of the room, French doors opened onto a private courtyard, letting in the sweet smell of spring and a flood of sunlight that warmed the room further. It spilled over the lush pile of cushions that were spread beside the pool.
When Dare led her over to the cushions, she gave him a skeptical glance. "What do you have planned, Dare? Are we not to try the bath?"
"All in good time. I mean to introduce you to the pleasures of an oil massage first. You won't be disappointed, I assure you."
Beside the cushions sat a glass flagon of what looked like oil, Julienne saw. Eager to begin, she started to undress, but Dare stopped her by kissing each one of her fingertips.
"No, you aren't to help. Just relax and allow me to perform my duty."
"Your duty?"
"You would agree that it is my duty as your host to keep you properly serviced?"
A streak of heat coursed through Julienne at the thought, a heat that had nothing to do with the elevated temperature of the sunlit room.
Deciding to play along with his seduction, she allowed him to undress her. For once he pinned her hair up instead of taking it down.
"The better to reach all your skin," he said in explanation.
When she was naked, Dare arranged her as he wished, so that she lay in beautiful disarray on the cushions, her dark hair coiled high in a glorious mass.
He gazed down at her, his eyes heavy-lidded, sweeping every curve and hollow of her body. He felt his loins harden. "Titania never looked so tempting."
Julienne felt herself flush at the flames in his eyes. She couldn't look away as he sat beside her and reached for the bottle.
The oil was jasmine-scented, and the sweet fragrance filled the air as Dare poured a small amount on his palms and warmed it between his hands. When he cupped her breasts, she gasped softly at the sensation.
"Do you find that enjoyable?"
"You know I do," she said rather breathlessly.
"The enjoyment is mine as well. You're aware by now that I take great delight in your body."
"You take delight in any female body."
"Not any longer. You have spoiled me for anyone else, my lovely Jewel."
He had spoiled her long ago for any other man, Julienne reflected.
The thought fled her mind, though, as he dragged the oiled tips of his fingers in slow, circular motions over her entire body, arousing her in a way different from anything she had experienced before. Her skin responded with a tingling urgency, while a hard ache flared between her shivering thighs.
Reflexively Julienne caught her lower lip with her teeth. Dare's gaze moved to her mouth with raking leisure, and he dipped his head to kiss her briefly before returning to his task. His hands wandered with deliberate slowness over every detail of her, fondling all her curves… her arms, her shoulders, her nipples, her belly… moving down her legs to her calves, gently kneading. Wherever he touched her, she seemed to burn with fierce heat.
Then slowly he ran his oil-slick hands up her inner thighs, caressing, rubbing. The sensation was exquisite. Julienne felt as if she were melting, even before his thumbs found the dark thatch of curls that hid her feminine folds.
Her breath wedged in her throat, but Dare went on stroking the bud of her sex until she arched and whimpered with the searing swell of heat. Then he bent to her, his lips replacing his hands.
A stabbing pleasure flooded Julienne. He licked deeply with his long, clever tongue while his hands continued to stroke and squeeze her throbbing breasts, filling her with sensations so vibrant they hurt her with their brightness.
The orgasm that suddenly claimed her was so intense, she almost fainted.
Her scream of ecstasy echoed throughout the chamber, dying away as the relentless contractions of her body eased. Weak, boneless, she fell back among the cushions, shutting her eyes.