The Perfect Concubine Read Online Free PDF

the linen tunic fell about her curves. Then he methodically began to strip off his evening robes and put them in a neat pile, pausing between each motion to see her reaction.
    He’d undone his sandals when her hesitant voice filled the room. ‘What are you doing?’
    He raised an eyebrow, beginning to enjoy himself. ‘Somebody has to bathe you.’

Chapter Four
    â€˜There, my face is clean,’ Valeria said, turning back from the basin that stood at the entrance to the cold room where she had retreated while Piso took off his clothes. Her face now tingled instead of itching. ‘You’ve made your point. We can return to the party. I’m fit for your company.’
    Piso still stood, completely naked, watching her. His magnificent chest was crisscrossed in a network of scars. She kept her gaze from going any lower. ‘What makes you think we are going back? You began this, Valeria. I will finish it. The guests will make their own way home without us.’
    â€˜Everyone will know.’ Her voice sounded thick and husky to her ears. Her entire body tingled from his nearness. Every particle was aware of him and his nakedness. She wanted to touch his skin and see if it was still as warm and pliant as her memory of him. And her lack of control made her furious. She had planned it differently and now everything had gone wrong. ‘Is that why did you it?’
    â€˜No, I wanted to do this without becoming a spectacle.’
    He bent his head and captured her mouth. The kiss was carnality personified. His hand came around her waist and held her. And she knew that this was Piso all grown up, rather than the youth of her memory. A master of seduction. He knew how to provoke a woman’s response, but each touch seemed especially designed with her in mind and her body craved more. She had thought she’d be immune but primitive desire rampaged through her. She concentrated on breathing and tried desperately to block out her emotions.
    The thin material of her tunic provided no barrier to the heat from his body. The fine material slid between them, heightening her awareness of how his hard muscles moved against her body. She opened her mouth and allowed her tongue to tangle with his. His hands roamed down her back, cupping her bottom, pulling her firmly against his arousal.
    â€˜You see,’ he rasped in her ear. ‘You see what you’re doing to me.’
    His lips traced a fiery trail down her neck to the hollow of her throat where his tongue lapped. Slowly, his mouth descended lower. He cupped her breasts and pulled the material tight over them. His tongue traced their outline, turning the material translucent, showing the dark rose of her nipples. The cooling sensation of the fabric warred with the heat of his mouth, causing the pulsating ache within her to grow. And she remembered how long ago he had given her pleasure.
    She arched her hips forward seeking relief, craving his touch. He pulled her more firmly against him and ground his hips into her, teasing her with expert skill, and she found she no longer missed her boy lover. She wanted the man, far more than she had considered possible only a few hours ago.
    A moan came from her throat as his hips drove forward again, demanding her surrender.
    He scooped her up and, within a few steps, he had reached the raised marble platform in the caldaria and placed her down. The marble retained the heat from earlier in the day. Above her a faint light shone through the star pattern in the ceiling, reminding her of the stars on their last night. She had to take it as a good omen that she’d succeed in her quest.
    Piso drew in his breath as inch by inch he lifted the tunic to reveal her limbs. His body ached to finish it but he retained the narrowest leash on his passion. He had waited a long time for this and he intended to enjoy her to the full.
    He closed his eyes, remembering how he had once tasted her skin. He had tried to block