The Sinful Art of Revenge Read online

  The place was simply … perfect.

  ‘Ready?’

  Damion had stripped to swimming trunks. What little breath she’d retained immediately evaporated. At her jerky nod, he took her hand and led her down the shallow stone slabs into the water.

  ‘It’s warm!’

  ‘It’s a thermal pool that flows from the mountain. It isn’t always warm. I had special heating rods placed in so it stays warm all year round.’

  He pulled her to him and turned her round, so her back was tucked against his front. He leaned against the side and trailed his lips over her ear. Despite the renewed charge of desire, Reiko could already feel the healing powers of the water working wonders on her body. Relaxing further into him, she sighed with pleasure.

  ‘Thank you for this. It’s just perfect.’

  He kissed her jaw. ‘You’re welcome. But you still have work to do. Put your arms around my neck.’

  She reached back and linked her arms behind his neck. Her exposed position stirred the beginnings of vulnerability. She wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss the sexual power Damion had over her. With a single touch he could make her shed all common sense and more. Already her breasts had grown heavy, and her breath snagged in her chest as his hands drifted down over her thighs.

  But he was all business. He reached down and pulled her knees up to her chest. Immediately the muscles in her back stretched and started to release their tightness. Slowly he repeated the movement, taking instruction from her and expertly putting her through her paces.

  After almost forty-five minutes, she performed her last stretch. He turned her around in his arms.

  ‘Are you okay?’ His face held concern.

  She smiled. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to shed tears all over you.’

  ‘Bien sûr. That is good to know. And before you say it, oui, I’m agitated.’

  He pulled her closer. The evidence of his arousal made a bubble of laughter burst free.

  ‘You think this is funny?’

  ‘Maybe. But it’s definitely sexy.’

  His answer was a deep growl as he hauled her out of the water. With quick, sure strides, he approached the bench and laid her on it. He came down on top of her before she could draw breath.

  Damion’s kiss was fervent to the point of desperation. He kissed her as if he wanted to devour her whole, his hands urgent on her body. When he captured one breast in his hand, she cried out with the pleasure of it. The sound only inflamed him further.

  He muttered dark, throaty words as he settled himself between her legs and recaptured her lips, plunging his tongue into her mouth with a bold stake-claiming move that sent her closer to the edge.

  Demanding hands trailed over her body. He lowered the zipper of the suit and captured one nipple in his mouth.

  Fire exploded through her, scorching her from head to toe in blissful desire. He tugged, teased, sucked and licked before turning his attention to the twin breast.

  Finally he shifted to caress one hand over her stomach. Her newly relaxed muscles immediately clenched. When his hand moved lower and settled between her thighs, she held her breath, feelings of fearful insecurity rising to mingle with desire.

  ‘It’s okay. Trust me,’ he murmured.

  In slow, steady movements, he pressed his hand between her legs and caressed her through the wetsuit. Her head went back, her body arching of its own accord into the powerful play of his hand. Liquid heat oozed through her legs, her clitoris swelling as Damion found and played with the nerve-engorged nub.

  His head descended and his tongue circled one nipple. She cried out at the double sensation, her heart hammering with enough force to make her breaths gush. With an expertly timed sequence, he licked and rubbed, pushing her closer and closer to the edge, all the while murmuring hot, decadent words to her in French.

  Her fingers plunged into his hair, desperately searching for an anchor in the storm of bliss battering her. He showed no mercy. With one final flick of his fingers and a long pull on her nipple, he sent her surging into the stars.

  Reiko was dimly aware of thrashing beneath him, of crying out hoarsely as wave after endless wave of pleasure rolled over her. She even felt him zip up her suit and trail kisses over her face, catch the lone tear that rolled from one eye. But she couldn’t find the words or the strength to do anything but soak in the moment.

  She’d fallen apart, lost control completely … and there’d been no pain, no humiliation. She opened her eyes.

  Was Damion right? Was there really nothing wrong with her? The thought of how it would feel to have him touch her, really touch her, sent a wave of renewed heat through her …

  Until the realisation that she was contemplating making love again with Damion Fortier sent a cold shockwave through her.

  But would it be so wrong? He’s already seen your scars.

  But he hadn’t seen the worst of them. And once he did …

  ‘For a woman who’s just climaxed in my arms, you’re thinking far too hard for my liking.’

  She looked at him. The harsh stamp of desire on his face had deepened, as if giving her satisfaction had fuelled his own needs. Against her stomach, the unabated evidence nudged her. She nudged back.

  His heavy groan echoed over the water. With a deep sigh, he levered himself away from her. She felt bereft at the loss of his warmth and heavy weight.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  He stood and gazed down at her. ‘You’re not ready, and I refuse to resort to wet humping.’

  Excitement loosened her tongue. ‘I don’t know—it has its benefits.

  ‘I fail to see what they are.’

  Her smile was decidedly impish. ‘For a start, there’s no chafing.’

  Despite the dangerous heat in his eyes, he laughed.

  The sound curled inside her, sparking a different set of flames she refused to examine closely. Leaning down, he placed an open-mouthed kiss just above her belly button.

  ‘C’est vrai, I’m saved from chafing.’

  He straightened and headed for the shower. Watching him go, she swallowed against the forceful feelings roiling through her.

  Damion Fortier was still the dangerous and frighteningly ruthless man she’d discovered five years ago. But in the past couple of days, he’d shown her a side of him she hadn’t really seen before. He’d shown her he could be kind, supportive and incredibly generous.

  His ruthless streak wasn’t far from the surface, but these newly discovered traits of his character, coupled with his dangerously intent single-minded determination to go after what he wanted, were … sexy.

  As for his body …

  With the trunks moulded to his rear, she couldn’t miss the hard, mouth-watering shape of it. Or the V-shaped torso that could easily have belonged to a Roman gladiator. Moisture gathered in her mouth and in other places as she kept staring at his back.

  He moved beneath the first of the triple showers lining one side of the pool. At his deep shudder she guessed the temperature of the water was nowhere near the cosy temperature of the thermal pool.

  Reiko swallowed, started to contemplate the wisdom of what she was thinking … and then stopped thinking altogether.

  He tensed at the first touch of her hand. She gasped at how cold the water was.

  Sluicing water out of his eyes, Damion whipped his head towards her. ‘What are you doing?’

  Her gaze fell to the still very much powerful erection, which hadn’t abated despite the freezing cold.

  ‘I was thinking I could … you know … help you out.’ She licked her lips and his eyes gleamed dangerously.

  ‘Five years ago you couldn’t say blow job without blushing. That fact that you still can’t makes me think you shouldn’t be offering, cherie.’

  She reddened even while her chin rose. ‘Is that a dare?’

  He braced one hand against the shower wall, his jaw tightening as he shut his eyes for one split second. ‘It’s a plea to get off this subject.’
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br />   Devilish delight danced through her. ‘Why? Is it too hard for you?’

  The sound he emitted was half groan, half stunned disbelief. ‘Dammit, Reiko, don’t push a desperate man to his limit.’

  ‘But I’m offering the perfect solution.’

  His hands lowered, his eyes turning the darker shade of grey she equated with Serious Damion.

  ‘The next time I seek release with you, I want to be inside you. Nothing else will do.’

  Pain ripped through her, the knowledge that that would never happen forcing a heavy, immovable lump into her chest. ‘And if that never happens?’

  ‘It will.’

  He said it with such unshakeable certainly Reiko allowed herself to believe for a second. For one foolish, desperate second. Then reality crashed through.

  As if he could guess her thoughts, an implacable expression settled on his face. ‘Whatever you think is wrong with you, we’ll overcome it. I’ll accept nothing but success. And neither should you.’

  ‘That’s not what—’

  He placed a long forefinger over her lips. ‘We will make love, you and I. And you will cry out with the power of your release in my arms.’ He stepped closer. ‘For now, though, I’ll take a kiss.’

  ‘Is that wise?’ she ventured.

  ‘No, but that’s what cold showers are for.’

  ‘It doesn’t seem to be working.’ Boldly she let her gaze drop below his waist. ‘If you don’t have any other solution besides turning yourself into an ice sculpture, my offer still stands.’

  ‘That’s enough!’ He snapped shut the water with enough force to break the faucet. Luckily, the cast-iron had no doubt withstood the force of the Fortier ire before. ‘You’re right. This isn’t working.’

  He snagged two towels and handed her one. Briskly he dried himself, then snapped a fresh towel around his waist. ‘You still want a tour of the château?’

  Bemused, she nodded.

  His smile was grim. ‘Bien sûr. We’ll start with the dungeons. There’s a perfectly cosy male girdle there I suspect I’ll need.’

  Her stunned laugh only made his smile grimmer as he all but frogmarched her back to her suite.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  BEING NOBLE SUCKED.

  Damion gritted his teeth as he took another cold shower at dawn.

  His body had attained a life of its own. It craved Reiko Kagawa, and nothing, not even the punishing effects of the treadmill he’d pounded for the past two hours, eased the need.

  Standing under sharp needles of freezing water was the only solution.

  Not the only solution.

  No. He couldn’t take the path he so desperately wanted to. Reiko needed time.

  It didn’t take a genius to work out that her accident had affected her more than just physically. It wasn’t surprising that she flinched every time he went too far with her.

  His time in Arizona with Isadora had taught him the complexity of the human psyche. He’d returned with a grudging understanding of what had made his father and grandfather react the way they had. And it had made him even more determined never to fall into the same trap.

  Isadora’s self-esteem had been battered by one failed relationship by the time he’d met her. His confronting her about her failure as a mother had sent her over the edge.

  If he pushed too hard with Reiko, she’d bolt. His body tensed in rejection of that idea. Standing under the freezing water, it occurred to Damion that this needn’t be the case. There were other, less traumatising ways of bedding a woman.

  He shoved a hand through his soaking hair.

  That was just it. Every woman he could think of suddenly appeared … less.

  The memory of Reiko exploding in his arms replayed in his mind. His body immediately reacted, like to the pull of a siren’s song.

  With a stiff curse, he wrenched the tap shut. It was no use trying to unwrap the enigma of why he wanted Reiko. Five years ago his lust had had no rhyme or reason. It certainly didn’t now, and he was damned if he would spend another moment freezing his balls off trying to wrestle meaning into why he felt the way he did.

  Surely once he’d bedded her she’d lose her allure?

  Returning to his bedroom, he squashed the mocking voice that told him he shouldn’t be so sure.

  ‘So what exactly is this job you have in mind for me?’ Reiko asked Damion over breakfast.

  ‘We’ll get to that in a moment. How did you sleep?’ he asked, his eyes raking her face in a frank, intimate scrutiny that immediately threw her back to last night and what had happened between them at the pool.

  Heat rushed into her face. ‘You can’t do that! ’

  One brow shot up. ‘I can’t ask you how you slept?’

  ‘You’re looking at me knowingly.’

  ‘That is because I’ve known you, ma fleur.’

  She blew an exasperated breath and tried to keep her leaping pulse under control. Truth be told, she’d woken this morning to the sound of trilling birds, bright sunshine and the sinking feeling that keeping Damion at arm’s length would prove harder than she’d imagined.

  Even the thought of him seeing her, seeing her body so different from the one he’d known in the past, hadn’t filled her with as much horror as she’d imagined it would.

  She swallowed. ‘I slept soundly. You?’

  He set his cup down, picked up a fork and speared a plump, perfectly cut peach. ‘I won’t bore you with the intimate details of my restless night, mon amour. Let’s just say my shower has been well exercised.’ He held out the fruit to her.

  Feeling another wave of heat wash through her, she opened her mouth and took the offering. His gaze dropped to her lips, and his grey eyes darkened to almost black.

  ‘I won’t feel guilty just because I slept better than you did.’

  He smiled. ‘On the contrary. I’m glad you did. You’ll need your strength for when the time comes.’

  ‘You’re so sure you’ll succeed, aren’t you?’

  ‘Oui,’ he stated simply, with irritating assurance.

  ‘Saru mo ki kara ochiru.’ She couldn’t help the need to pierce that arrogance.

  His deep laugh struck a chord deep inside her, and before she knew it a smile broke over her face. He held another piece of fruit against her lips.

  She accepted it, deliberately keeping her mouth wrapped around the fork for longer than was necessary. His breath hissed through his teeth.

  ‘You’re right. Even monkeys fall from trees,’ he responded in a serious, deep tone. ‘But I get the feeling this won’t be one of those times. You want to be mine again as much as I want to be yours.’

  The bold statement sobered her up. There was no way in a thousand years she and Damion would ever work. And no amount of arrogance on his part would make the reality of her condition any less palatable.

  She was everything Damion Fortier would never accept in his perfect existence.

  Desperately forcing aside the wave of despair that threatened to wash over her, she brushed a few crumbs from the table. ‘You were about to tell me what my job entails.’

  He frowned at her brisk tone and change of subject, but she breathed a sigh of relief when he set his fork down and nodded.

  ‘For the first two weeks of every March, we open parts of the château to the public. During that time all the museums and galleries that hold Fortier art and paintings on loan are required to return them for exhibition. I’ll provide you with a list, and you’ll liaise with the various houses to co-ordinate the shipping and safe delivery of the pieces. I also have six pieces arriving from Kazakhstan tomorrow. Once you’ve examined them, I’ll decide which ones to include in the exhibition.’

  ‘Damn, I should have asked for double what you’re paying me.’

  He smiled. ‘That’s not all. There’s also a ball at the end of the two weeks. I usually stage a show of the Fortier jewellery collection. You’ll help organise that, too.’

  She frowned. ‘Don’t you have a curat
or-slash-party-planner-type person for this sort of thing? Organising shows isn’t really my thing.’

  Darkness clouded his eyes. ‘This will be my grandfather’s last ball, so I want it to be special. He arrives tomorrow, by the way. Besides, the person I used last year is no longer available and I haven’t found a replacement.’

  His first statement made her insides soften with sympathy. His last hardened the softness immediately. ‘You mean you dumped her.’ It wasn’t a question. ‘I take it she was one of the girl-frogs who didn’t quite make the cut?’

  ‘What can I say? I’m a perfectionist.’

  His words punched a hole through her. Pushing back her chair, she surged to her feet. ‘Then what the hell are you doing with me? I’m very far from perfect.’

  He caught her wrist and pulled her to him before she could escape. Swinging his legs from under the table, he rested both hands on her hips, trapping her between his legs. ‘You’re also a little damaged, wilful and, prone to defensive anger and bad language.’

  ‘Who do you think you are? Freud?’

  ‘I fully intend to cure you of all that.’

  ‘Cure me? What? I’m like some pet project to you?’

  ‘You’re a very beautiful woman over whom I’ve spent several sleepless nights sporting a raging hard-on to end all hardons. My intentions aren’t altogether altruistic, so don’t make me out to be some sort of saint.’

  She snorted despite her pain. ‘Sainthood is the last honour I’d bestow on you.’

  ‘Your trust is all I need, ma fleur.’

  Another surge of despair deflated her hurt and anger. ‘You ask for the impossible, Damion.’

  His gaze darkened. ‘Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu.’ Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

  And for the next week, Damion showed her just now determined he could be. And how utterly he was prepared to trust her. Reiko used her connections to speed up the delivery of pieces of art that were coming in from far-flung places such as Nicaragua and Zanzibar. The pieces from Kazakhstan arrived. Five of them were above board. She phoned through her suspicions over the last piece to Yoshi, then concentrated her efforts on the château opening.