Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [56]
"I'll leave you," Amarante said. "If there's trouble…”
"I'll send my Eglantine adept to you," Sidonie said. She smiled into my eyes. "We'll say I wearied of my gift and chose to share it.”
As plans went, it was no better than the first one. Still, it would have to serve. I didn't care. I reckoned it was worth the risk. Whatever else happened, I wanted this. I wanted it as much as Sidonie did. An entire night…Elua!
After Amarante departed through the adjoining door, Sidonie took my hand and led me through her salon, which was heaped with gifts, to the bedchamber beyond. I stopped in the doorway, swallowing.
The room was ablaze with candlelight. It held a massive four-posted bed, spread with a coverlet of rich maroon velvet. For a moment, I had a dizzying flash of Claudia's bedchamber. There was one difference, though. Coiled in the center of the bed was a length of silken rope.
I looked at Sidonie.
"Only that," she said gravely. "Only if you truly want to.”
My blood throbbed in my veins. I took a deep breath and smelled only beeswax and the spicy fragrance of a pomander ball on the bedside table. Love was here and Daršanga was far, far away. "Yes," I said, gathering Sidonie in my arms. "Oh, yes.”
She laughed and kissed me. "Let me take out your ribbons first.”
I did. We undressed one another slowly. After so many stolen hours and rushed encounters, there was an unspeakable luxury in taking our time. The shadows gathered in the corners of the room, the vast expanse of the bed, made everything new and strange.
"You look different by candlelight," I murmured.
"So do you," Sidonie whispered.
I trailed one tasselled end of the rope over her bare skin. "You're sure?”
Her back arched. "Imriel…”
"Because I will make you beg," I breathed into her ear. Ah, Elua! There was a thrill in speaking the words aloud, a thrill in her inarticulate reply. I knelt over her and stretched her arms above her head, pinning her shoulders between my knees. I kissed the insides of her wrists, tasting her rapid pulse. When I tied the first knot with a hard jerk, Sidonie gave a small cry. I glanced down at her. Her eyes were wide and excited.
"Go on," she whispered.
I learned to tie knots aboard a felucca sailing the Nahar River. I lashed one wrist to a bedpost, threaded the rope around the other bedpost and lashed the other wrist. Hard and tight, her arms splayed wide. The sight of her when I'd finished was beautiful beyond words.
Patience, Phèdre had said.
I found patience in myself that night, although I daresay it wasn't the kind she'd had in mind. Then again, mayhap it was. One never knew for a surety. I made love to Sidonie with my lips and tongue and hands, with endless patience. Again and again, I brought her near the crest of desire and abandoned her there. Her hips jerked in helpless frustration when I took my mouth away, hands above her bound wrists clenching and opening. And ah, Elua! It felt so good.
"Imriel…" Sidonie writhed, almost in tears. "Please!”
"Is it this what you want?" Between her thighs, I sat back on my heels, caressing my erect shaft. It throbbed pleasantly in my hand. "Tell me.
She did, ragged and gasping.
"All right," I whispered.
I spread her thighs wider, pushing her knees toward her straining shoulders. No more teasing. I fit myself inside her; deep, deeper than I'd ever gone. Her loins rocked against mine and I felt her climax, over and over. I wanted it to last forever. Patience. I held off for what seemed like hours, stroking her long and slow, until a driving urgency overtook me. Deep, deeper, deepest. I buried myself in her, groaning, and spent my seed with a shudder that ran from the crown of my skull to the base of my spine.
We lay there for a long time, panting.
"Imriel." Sidonie's voice at my ear, low and resonant. "You could untie me now.”
"I'll try." I rolled off her,