The heroines in novels face many horrors along their paths to finding true love and self-actualization. Cheating lovers. Loss of careers. Meddlesome casts of characters. And some of the most memorable ladies on film were tormented by mummies, werewolves and countless creatures who went bump in the night. In my erotic historical romance, TORMENTED, Eve Morneau is thrust into a world rife with mystery and secrets. Her torment is within and without. Eve’s soul and body are stirred by a physician who carries secrets of his own, one of which is that he is a vampire.
In this scene, Eve suspects the man who has promised to heal her wound may embrace the erotic as well as the unconventional.
Charles Galletiére touched his patients to make them better. And she’d certainly forgotten her trials and pain while Charles and she lay on the sofa earlier.
Her thoughts tumbled more, her legs straightened and she glanced in direction of the low growl. Though scarce time had passed since he’d entered, he now stood before the window.
“Again, I’m sorry our time together was interrupted. Lottie Banks dare not show her face around here again. She means nothing to me. Never did.”
His Southern drawl was so sweet. Like Grandmother Ellie’s strawberry jam on toasted bread. But his jaw remained set.
She looked him square in the face. His scowl softened and he approached the tub. Lithe as a jungle tiger he moved, his feet practically skimming the rugs and floorboards.
And the way he watched her. Sticking her hand into a pile of flaming logs wouldn’t burn as much as his gaze when it played over her body.
“Does the bath please you, Eve?” He knelt beside the tub and swirled his hand through the water.
She shifted and the soap skidded past her foot. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t look away. His scent was unlike any other man’s she’d ever met.
“It does, thank you.” Silly chit. Say something more or he’ll know you’re mesmerized.
The amber flecks in his eyes built to a bonfire. Soon he’d touch her. Where? Only near the wound? For how long?
Charles’ right hand plucked the cloth from her breasts. While staring her down, he reached under the water and between her legs. In another heartbeat his hand emerged, bearing the scented bar of tallow.
But how did he manage this feat without touching her?
Especially while watching her face and not what he was doing?
She closed her eyes for a moment before re-opening them.
“You’re still so tired, Eve. But I’m glad you’ve rested some.” His words quieted the clattering in her head. “You’ve had a difficult journey here. Surrender your care to me, dear one. Let me alleviate your suffering tonight.”
His eyes took on a more golden cast.
A strange calmness settled over her. Cloaking her body. So very nice. “Mmmm.” Unseen fingers pressed upon her eyelids and drew them down.
The washcloth skimmed over her upper back. Where wetness lingered, his hot breath hit. Jasmine essence filled the air. Glorious flowers. More pungent with each passing minute.
She jerked upright. Her breasts bobbed above the water. Something soft pressed against the back of her head. His lips kissing her? Charles’ hand glided the cloth over and around her right breast and repeated the cleansing on the left. Each pass of the soapy muslin cloth brought a tingling in her nipples that tracked to her belly and continued to her toes.
But he took no liberties.
Despite the low fire in the hearth, sweat beaded her brow and neckline.
Flames licked between her legs and she pulled them closed. Finished soaping and rinsing her breasts, Charles moved around to the opposite side of the tub. His hand split the surface and headed straight for her belly. Several droplets splashed onto her mouth and she licked them away. As the cloth met with her calf she grabbed the sides of the tub, straightened and opened her legs again.
His touch traveled along the fleshiest part of her thigh and came to rest just below her knee. “Has the water soothed the ache any?”
Her thoughts tangled much the same as a ball of yarn when in the paws of her pet kitten. Which ached more—her whole body for his touch or her leg from the beetle’s bite?
Words refused to come but this time her tongue remained unfettered and stirred some saliva.
She swallowed several times. “A bit but the pain is quite intense at times. And the fluid that seeps out has the most unbearable odor. You can see the seepage for yourself once my leg is out of the water.”
He abandoned the washcloth and his fingers closed around her ankle. Carefully he pulled the afflicted leg out of the water.
After propping her limb against the side of the tub he moved forward and lowered his face to the dripping appendage.
He touched the swelling with the tip of his tongue, pressed his teeth to the wounded flesh and reared back. “The foul work of an Artemis beetle. Most unfortunate.” His breath came hot against her wet skin.
Charles had bitten her. Either that or her mind was playing tricks.
But if he had bitten her, how would that heal her wound? “You can help me?”
He searched her face for a moment before his steely gaze settled on her heaving breasts. “I can rid you of the scourge this bug has cast upon your body.”
His lips puffed warm air over her wound. The soft hiss of breath from his nostrils and mouth dried her damp skin. An invisible but fiery knife tip prodded her belly.
Charles’ mouth played against the putrid wound. Slowly his jaw opened and his teeth again met her calf.
His nostrils flared, almost as a wild beast’s at the scent of its prey. The aroma of crushed spices came in with her next breath. His tongue lashed the sore spot and a dark veil drew over her eyes.
Wishing you many happy reading moments,
Shawna Moore
TO HELE AND BACK AGAIN – Ellora’s Cave
TORMENTED (Recommended Read) – Ellora’s Cave
ROUGHRIDER – Ellora’s Cave
HELLE IN HEELS – Ellora’s Cave
Shawna’s Myspace
Helle’s Myspace
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