“Vivianna, at all costs you must protect your heart!”
This time Aphrodite was adamant, her dark eyes echoing Vivianna’s passion.
After a moment Vivianna nodded, suddenly deflated. The advice was good, but it was also unaccountably depressing. She had been so looking forward to her next encounter with him. Since Oliver Montegomery had come into her life, everything had become brighter and warmer and a great deal more colorful. Now the world appeared monochrome once more.
“Yes, I see. I understand. Thank you, Aphrodite.”
“Good.”
The other woman finally seemed satisfied with the seriousness of Vivianna’s response. “Now, what happened? And do not play games with me, for I will know if you are. Tell me, from the moment you said good morning, what happened between Oliver and yourself.”
Vivianna shifted nervously in her seat.
“Come, mon chou, think of me as a very old relative who has seen everything and is shocked by nothing!”
Vivianna smiled. She supposed it was silly to be self-conscious; Aphrodite must have seen and experienced a great deal and she would not be shocked by anything that Vivianna said. This was business, she reminded herself, and she must treat it so.
“I did as you said, Madame. While we were riding in the coach I played at ignoring him, and soon I had drawn his attention to me. And then I touched myself and I leaned towards him and I—I licked my lips. It was quite simple, really; I enjoyed it. But then he…well, he began to kiss me—kiss me and touch me—and I forgot what I was doing. I’m sorry….”
“Touch you where?”
Vivianna felt her face heat, but the fact that Aphrodite was so matter-of-fact about it helped her to be so, too. “He put his hand under my—my petticoats and touched me…in an intimate manner. I felt…it was very nice. And then I…it was…I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven,” she finished in a rush. It was the only way in which she could explain the sensation Oliver had caused within her.
“You experienced the petite mort,” Aphrodite said quietly into the silence. “The little death. The climax to your love play.” She tapped one finger on her chair arm and Vivianna noticed with dazed eyes that the rests were shaped like Egyptian sphinxes. With her dark hair and eyes, Aphrodite could well pass for Cleopatra.
“That he could bring an innocent to such a point so quickly and in such a situation says much for his skill. I did not realize….” Aphrodite tapped the sphinx’s head once more. “To be blunt, he has your scent now, Vivianna. He will be difficult to control.”
I have your scent. You’re mine.
Vivianna felt her eyes grow wider, and yet something inside her thrilled to the thought that Oliver wanted her like that.
“So, he believes himself to be the seducer, he thinks he is in charge of the situation. You must not let that happen. You, mon chou, must become his seducer.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “I want to do it.” She looked into Aphrodite’s carefully expressionless face. “Tell me what I must do.”
Aphrodite smiled. “Your lessons grow more interesting, Vivianna. We are playing for high stakes now, but if you are willing to play deep then so am I.”
Vivianna nodded. “I am willing. Tell me, Madame. Please.”
“Very well, but it may not be what you expect to hear. The secret to seducing Oliver is inside yourself, Vivianna. Ah, non, quiet now, and listen to me,” as Vivianna tried to protest. “The seductress you seek is within your own body, it is just that you have never sought her out, you have ignored her. Now she has been aroused, and if you are brave enough you must allow her to take command.”
“I don’t think—” Vivi
anna began doubtfully.
“That is your trouble, mon chou. You think too much. Your mind is your enemy when it comes to seducing Oliver. You allow that little voice in your head to talk you out of what you should be doing. Do not listen to your mind. It is your body you must heed. It is the seductress inside you, inside your body, who will help you most now.”
Vivianna did not entirely understand—had she been listening to the seductress within when she had been in the coach with Oliver? She had enjoyed herself, until she lost control of the situation, and even then she had enjoyed it. But she had agreed to be tutored by the courtesan and so she must listen.
“Now that he has had so much, he will want more of you,” Aphrodite said bluntly. “You must make certain that he is grateful for each new favor, grateful enough to give a little bit of himself into your keeping. He will think he is the master, that he is taking what he wants, but in truth, each time he takes, you will own him a little more, and a little more, until he is yours entirely.”
“It sounds simple, Madame, and I understand what you are saying, but can’t you tell me something more…more practical? Something I can do next time we are together?”
“Of course,” Aphrodite said quite gently. “I go too fast and you are new to this. I think, next time you are together and he holds you and kisses you, you must tell him what you would like him to do. What pleases you. Say to him, ‘I like it when your tongue touches mine.’ Or, ‘I like it when you kiss me there, or there, or there!’ Set him to do your bidding. I am not telling you to speak like a coquette; he does not want that. He is attracted to you because you are not of the demimonde. Men like Oliver want to be the first to awaken the woman of their choice to passion. He is like a hunter seeking his prey, but at the same time he will be very pleased to know that you are enjoying his attentions.”
“Should I touch him?” Vivianna asked, trying to sound as practical as the courtesan, but still feeling rather light-headed.
“Do you want to?”