His Mistress Read Free Page B

mine,” he said quietly.
    “And those are?”
    Anger flashed across her face as she studied him with an imperious tilt of her head. In the space of a heartbeat, his body tightened with anticipation. She was a natural. What he wouldn’t give to have her exerting her will over him in their bedroom. His jaw tightened as he tried to redirect his thoughts. He failed.
    “You’re to buy several dresses that are more colorful than this depressing gray you seem so fond of.” He waved his hand at her gown in a sweeping gesture.
    “I don’t understand.” A startled look crossed her features, and she looked down at her dress then back up at him in puzzlement. “My gowns are quite serviceable.”
    “Nonetheless they are drab. Despite our leading separate lives, it will be impossible to avoid seeing each other while sharing the same house. I see enough dark colors in my daily work. I have no wish to see more when I come home.”
    He pushed aside the fact that there was more to his demand than he was willing to admit as she slowly nodded. From the wary expression on her face, he had no doubt she would balk at his next condition. There was only a small risk tied to his demand, but an image of her hovering naked over him with her dark hair loose about her shoulders compelled him to name the additional price.
    “As for our martial relations, you will agree to welcome me into your bed for at least one night before our first anniversary. The time shall be of your choosing, and you shall have complete control of your pleasure.”
    “ No .” It was a staccato beat that echoed loudly in the room despite her soft voice. Cheeks flushed with a dark pink, she eyed him with righteous indignation.
    “Then I shall bid you good day, my lady.”
    Tobias kept his features unreadable as he turned away and walked toward the door. The fact that he was pushing her deeper into the corner her father had penned her into made Tobias’ gut clench. He was just as much a bastard as Culverstone.
    “ Stop .”
    It was a firm, simple command that tightened his gut with an inexplicable emotion. He slowly turned around, and his gaze focused on her rebellious expression. In a split second, pure, dark lust unleashed its fury inside him. His unexpected reaction to her made his muscles grow taut as he forced himself to rein in the anticipation coursing its way through him. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn’t like him to be moved by a woman outside of his dark world.
    “Yes?” He cocked his head in a display of nonchalant curiosity, while desperately fighting off the urge not to tug at the shirt collar that had suddenly become quite snug against his throat.
    “Like my father, you leave me with no choice but to accept your conditions, Mr. Lynsted.”
    Like a proud Amazon princess, she studied him with contempt. The strength in her tugged the dark lust back to the surface as his gaze met her challenging one. He crushed the rising tide of desire, but with greater difficulty than before. Bloody hell, he’d gone too long without sexual release. What else could explain the intensity of his base reaction to Jane?
    “Then we are in agreement,” he said through clenched teeth and extended his hand to her.
    “We are.” Jane stepped forward to shake his hand.
    The moment her hand slipped into his, a jolt of electricity streaked up Tobias’ arm and spread its heat through every inch of him. Like a fire out of control, it stirred his blood until he craved even the smallest taste of her. Citrus and the subtle hint of vanilla filled his nostrils, and he barely managed to let her hand go after sealing their bargain with a handshake.
    Disappointment slashed at him the instant she withdrew her hand from his. Almost as if she knew the effect she had on him, a small smile touched her lovely mouth as she met his gaze. God, but she would be magnificent if she were ever to learn how to exert that incredible feminine power dwelling just beneath the surface.
    Desire