He couldn’t allow her to leave just yet, not before he began his campaign to vanquish her fear of him and to win her trust. Once out of his presence, she would only torment herself with dark imaginings, build him up in her mind till he was an evil monster.

No, first he wanted her to sample a taste of the pleasure he could give her, so she could begin to see he wasn’t really so fearsome.

The sweet scent of her rose up to tease his nostrils, but with iron-willed control, he forced his desire to remain in check.

“Will you look at me, sweeting?” When she acceded reluctantly, he went on, keeping his tone disarming. “You think me a libertine, I know, but am I such an ogre?”

“I… don’t know you well enough to make such a judgment.”

He smiled. “True. And like you, I have never faced this particular circumstance before. We shall just have to improvise.”

Vanessa couldn’t look away; there was something warm and tender in his eyes that allayed her panic.

“I should like to kiss you again, Vanessa. Will you deny me a kiss?”

She felt her heart beating a wild pulse in her throat. “Are you giving me a choice, my lord?”

“Indeed. The choice will always be yours.”

She searched his face, looking for signs of deception, finding none. He had promised he wouldn’t take her against her will. Perhaps he truly meant it.

When she made no reply, he raised his hand again to her cheek. “You have such lovely silken skin.”

His thumb stroked her jaw, his touch lingering and provocative. She wanted to move, to flee his disturbing nearness, yet she was held captive by the intensity of his gaze, by the raw, powerful sexuality emanating from him.

His knuckles brushed over her moist, parted lips. A frisson of fiery sensation sparked from his fingers to her skin.

“Your answer, sweet Vanessa?” He tilted her face up to his. “Will you kiss me?”

His voice stroked her senses like velvet, weakening her defenses. The need to protect herself from this man was strong. And yet… she didn’t want him to stop touching her.

“Yes…” she murmured, her voice a whisper of sound.

It was enough. His palm cradled her face gently, with infinite tenderness. Vanessa watched, spellbound, as his ebony lashes lowered to shadow his sensual eyes. His breath fanned warm against her lips, before his mouth settled on hers with the slow, sure pressure of experience.

A heated rush of feeling assaulted her. His kiss was a languid, intimate knowing of her mouth, one that stole her breath away. When she made no protest, his tongue penetrated her lips in a sensual invasion. The taste of him was arresting. Her hands rose to press lightly against his chest, yet she didn’t really want to push away. She could feel the hardness of his corded muscles beneath her fingers, the heat of his powerful torso, smell the arousing scent of him, warm and faintly musky.

His tongue played in a leisurely, erotic dance while he continued his tender assault with his fingers. Vaguely Vanessa realized he was caressing her again, stroking with hushed delicacy the column of her throat, her bare collarbone, her shoulder…

Some moments later his long fingers curved over the square neckline of her gown. She tensed when he drew down the bodice to reveal the full, rounded contours of her breasts above her chemise and corset. As if from a great distance, she heard him whisper.

“Don’t be afraid, angel…”

The insinuating murmur of his husky voice quieted her alarm.

Slowly he bent his head, his lips following the path his fingers had taken, his soft caresses holding her entranced. A tremor shook her as he tugged on the edge of her chemise. She felt the soft brush of his breath on the ripe swells… and suddenly went rigid. He meant to kiss her bare breasts!

Her breath fled, not so much from his shocking intentions as from the primitive sensations he aroused in her. A whimper escaped her lips when he freed her bosom. She couldn’t prevent the shameful tingling of her breasts, the brazen heat that coiled inside her, and yet… The appalling realization struck her that she wanted him to kiss her there.

She flinched when he grazed the aching tip of her nipple with his tongue, but not with pain; the responsive arousal that pulsed between her thighs startled her and made her tremble. With expert skill he drew the soft, swollen flesh between his lips, capturing the pouting crest. Vanessa shuddered at the blatant carnality of it.

He went on arousing her, teasing the furled bud with his velvet-rough tongue, sucking gently with his warm mouth. Stunned, she arched toward him, wanting the searing pleasure he ignited in her.

A soft moan escaped her at his tantalizing devil’s sorcery. At the sound, he left off tasting her nipple and took her mouth again, his kiss turning suddenly hot and hungry. The unexpected fierceness of it dredged a raw whimper from deep in her throat.

Involuntarily her hands rose to press against his shoulders. Then, suddenly, the spell between them shattered. Lord Sin abruptly seemed to recollect himself and inexplicably broke off his kiss.

Brusquely, he pressed his forehead against hers and gave a ragged laugh, as if straining for willpower. A wave of disappointment crushed Vanessa. She hadn’t wanted his embrace to end-nor had he, it seemed.

He drew a measured breath, but his husky voice held a raw edge when he spoke. “Forgive me. I momentarily forgot myself.”

His beautiful, chiseled face came into soft focus. Vanessa stared at him, torn between dismay and desire. Never had she had such a primal reaction to a mere kiss.

“I think you vastly underestimate your charms, sweeting. If you can inflame me without trying, I have no doubt you will make an apt pupil.”

Vanessa felt a surge of shame at the unnerving, inexplicable response he’d drawn from her. Only a wanton would desire such a man.

It was impossible to recover her dazed senses abruptly, but she made an effort to collect herself. She couldn’t look at Lord Sinclair as she fumbled with her disheveled bodice, or when he gently pushed her hands aside and solicitously aided her in covering her bare breasts.

Vanessa accepted his assistance grudgingly. She should be grateful he had ended his embrace before it went too far, for she’d been helpless to resist. She would have let him have his way with her, given him whatever he demanded.

He must have sensed her discomfort, however, for he rose from the chaise and moved an easy distance away.

“Perhaps we should discuss the particulars of our arrangement,” he said casually. “I hope to leave for the country within the week, just as soon as I can employ a companion for my sister. I should like you to accompany me.”

With effort, Vanessa dragged her attention back to the matter between them. She had agreed to be Lord Sinclair’s mistress.

“Where do you plan for me to live?” she asked in a low voice, although loath to contemplate such an irrevocable step.

“I can set you up in a house not an inconvenient distance from my estate.” When she hesitated, his mouth curved cynically. “I shall, of course, provide a carriage and horses for you and assume any other expenses.”

He thought she was bargaining for greater remuneration, Vanessa realized. “Having a carriage was not my concern, my lord.”

“No?”

“I was thinking of appearances. If you furnish me a house and carriage, the world will know I am your mistress.”

“I imagine so,” he murmured guardedly. “That is the usual way of things. But if you have a better suggestion, I am willing to listen.”

“It is not only my reputation I must consider, but my sisters’ as well. They will only suffer, perhaps irreparably, because of my… relationship with you.”

When he glanced at her, the gray eyes had lost warmth. “You wish to renege on our bargain already, angel? If so, it is still not too late to change your mind. You have only to walk out that door.”

“I have no intention of reneging, my lord. But I should like to repeat my original offer. I am willing to serve as companion to your sister. It will provide an excuse, however thin, for my presence in your district. And I believe I could truly be of help to her.”

Damien frowned, but he repressed his first inclination to dismiss her offer out of hand. He’d been urgently searching for a companion for Olivia, it was true. But he hoped to hush the scandal of her aborted elopement as much as possible. With that end in mind, he’d planned on hiring the strictest, most respectable governess he could find, one with an unimpeachable reputation. Yet a more worldly woman might be more sympathetic and accepting of Olivia’s circumstances. And Vanessa Wyndham was already privy to the sordid details.

“I’m not sure you comprehend the difficulties you would face,” he said skeptically. “Olivia is completely bedridden. She suffers from despondency as well as paralysis. To act as her companion would require the patience of a saint.”

“I understand, my lord, and I assure you, I’ve learned to cultivate patience over the years. As I said, I have experience caring for my invalid mother as well as my sisters. And,” she added quietly, “while it might prove little consolation to you, I should like to try to make amends for my brother’s vile actions.”

Damien walked over to the window, where he stood staring down at the elegant thoroughfare that ran in front of his London mansion. His sister was the one truly good thing in his jaded world. Yet he had failed her, leaving her upbringing to the tender mercies of servants. He intended to try to make up for the years of neglect. And he would do anything-anything-to help her recover from her paralyzing accident.