Black Diaries

62. In the Dictionary, under "S"

"Y-you don't say."

"Secondly," he continued, and suddenly his lips were even lower, kissing my skin right at the edge of my neckline, "I'm much more wicked—and more handsome, by the way—than any fictional lord could ever be."

"I-indeed?" I tried to raise my hands, tried to grasp his head, to push it away, or pull it closer, or just do anything at all instead of just lie there, a willing slave to his skillful touch—but his hands took a firmer hold on my wrists, holding me down.

"Oh yes, Indeed. And, finally, third..." Suddenly, his hands let go of my arms. For a moment I didn't understand what he was doing—then I felt his fingers at the neckline of my blouse, undoing the top button. "Third, I'm not going to charm you. I'm going to seduce you, which is much more intriguing."

My heart made a leap. "Seduce me?"

"Are you not familiar with that word, Miss McKinney?" The first button slipped open, and his lips caressed the skin revealed. I writhed, the soft grass around me tickling me through the thin fabric of my summer clothes. "My, my... Your colonial education leaves a lot to be desired."

"A-American," I protested, weakly.

"Seduce," he continued in a low, hot whisper, ignoring my protest completely. "Verb. Two syllables. From the Latin seducere, meaning to lead (ducere) aside (se-)." Another button popped open. Leisurely, his fingers caressed the lacy edge of the bra underneath.

"Meanings: Firstly – To draw aside from the path of rectitude; to entice to evil; to lead astray."

Another button slid open. By this point, I could hardly feel anything of the world around me anymore, except his fingers and lips, diving further into forbidden territory. But I still heard his devious voice, so soft, and yet so hard and commanding.

"Secondly – Specifically, to induce to surrender chastity; to rob the virtue of a maiden and tempt her into sin."

When he said "sin", the next button gave way, and so did a part of me. God in heaven... how had I ever resisted this man? How had I ever been able to hate him?

"Synonyms," he growled into my ear, while his fingers slid to the very last button. "To allure; to entice, to tempt, to attract, to mislead, to charm, to enamor. See 'allure', for further examples."

The last button opened. I lay there, weak-limbed, languid and defenseless, waiting for him, silently screaming for him to continue. But he didn't.

"Well," he whispered into my ear, his hands not doing anything to continue, just gently stroking my belly, driving me insane. "Have we learned something today, Miss McKinney?"

"Y-yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Very good. Let's see if you're telling the truth to your lord. Repeat the synonyms back to me."

"The w-what?"

"The synonyms of 'to seduce', of course," he murmured, wicked delight in his voice. "Surely, considering the circumstances—" he stroked a finger gently down my belly, making me whimper and writhe, "you remember the synonyms of 'to seduce'?"

"S-synonyms... to... to..." My voice trailed off into nothingness, my mind blank, and hot, and wanting.

"Now that's disappointing," he sighed, moving his fingers to my sides, stroking up and down in a leisurely manner.

"It might be able to remember better if you stopped doing that, you ass!"

An evil chuckle reached my ear. "But where would that leave the fun of it?" His questing fingers found the spot on my side that was most sensitive to touch, and played on my skin like on a concert piano, eliciting a concerto of bliss. "And that's no way to address your Lord, my dear, is it?"