Jasper drew back, feeling a little dazed as he broke the kiss.
“Where are your spectacles?” he asked, touching his finger to the bridge of her nose.
“I left them in my room,” she said, blinking up at him. “I assumed I would not require them.”
“That depends,” he said, a stupid smile curving over his mouth. “Can you see me?”
Harriet rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not totally blind, you know.”
“I know. I just don’t want you to miss anything.” Jasper’s smile widened with delight as she blushed scarlet. “Besides, I adore your spectacles.”
“Oh, please,” she said, and he knew she was dying to roll her eyes once more. “No one loves a girl in glasses.”
“I do,” he murmured, ducking his head to press a kiss to the side of her neck and loving the sound of her breathing hitch as he did so. “I always have.”
“Don’t,” she said, pushing him away. “Don’t do that.”
Jasper frowned, staring back at her. “Do what?”
“Don’t… make love to me, or say things that aren’t true. I’ve said I’ll go to bed with you, but… but it’s physical. Nothing more. We just need to get it out of our systems, that’s all.”
He stared at her for a long moment, wondering if his heart could stand much more of this jolting back and forth between happiness and misery.
“Go, then,” he said, the words not entirely steady. He turned away from her, knowing he couldn’t stand to watch her leave.
“But….” Harriet said, so obviously perplexed that he wanted to cry.
“I can’t do it, Harry,” he said, too much emotion in his voice to hide it as he turned back to her. “You tell me not to say what isn’t true and to keep it purely physical, but I can’t do both. The truth is that I love you, and if I take you to bed, I’m going to make love to you because I can’t do anything else. That would be a lie, Harry, and there have been too many of those between us.”
He stared at her, seeing the confusion in her eyes, knowing that she didn’t believe him.
“Very well,” she said, her voice not entirely steady. “Do that. Make me believe it.”
Jasper’s breath caught. Now, that he could do.
He closed the distance between them and hauled her back into his arms, the tension leaving him as her fingers wound into his hair and she melted into him. Jasper smiled against her mouth as her hands slid down his neck and chest, to the belt on his dressing gown, tugging it free before she reached up and pushed it from his shoulders. He released his hold on her to allow it to fall to the ground. There was nothing beneath the robe and he held himself still, giving Harry the time to look him over.
Her eyes widened and her breath caught, and every nerve ending in his body leapt to attention as she reached out a tentative hand and touched his bare skin.
“You’ve seen me before,” he reminded her. “Twice, apparently.”
She blushed and gave him a pert look. “Once from a distance and the second time is a little… hazy,” she admitted.
“Well, you’d best take a good look this time. I’d like to leave a lasting impression,” he said, though he had no intention of giving her the slightest opportunity to forget him.
“Like David,” she murmured, trailing a finger through the coarse hair on his chest.
“You’ve never seen David,” he replied, the words breathless.
“I’ve seen pictures, and a life size copy,” she said, somewhat defiantly. “Though there are… some differences,” she allowed.
Jasper smirked. “Yes, I always thought him rather poorly endowed myself.”
“You might be right,” Harriet murmured, staring down at the part of him that was clamouring for her attention. “But other than that….” Her finger traced a path down his abdomen, making the muscles twitch and leap until she reached his hip bone. She looked up at him. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Jasper’s throat tightened. He knew he was handsome, of course he did. Women had told him often enough, and behaved shockingly to get him into their beds, but never had the words meant anything to him. He couldn’t hold a candle to Harriet’s mind, could never entertain her with his cleverness, but this… he could give her this, as shallow as that might seem in comparison.
“I think that’s supposed to be my line,” he said, trying to smile but finding he was too overcome to manage it.
She huffed out a little laugh at that. “We said the truth only, remember.”
He frowned and reached out, capturing her face in his hands. “I don’t know what you see in the mirror, love, nor what anyone else sees, but I see you, Harriet, and you are beautiful.”
Harriet stared up at him, her eyes misty with tears, with the longing to believe him, though he knew she didn’t. Not yet, but she would. If it took him a lifetime, she would come to believe she was beautiful and loved, by him.
He moved closer, touching his mouth to hers, softly, tenderly, putting all his hopes and dreams into the touch of his lips against hers. Harriet sighed and reached for him, pressing against him and desire flamed again, stronger than ever. It was the hardest thing to hold himself back, to keep his touch slow and gentle.
Reaching for the ties she’d half undone, he finished the job, pushing the wrap to the ground before undoing the neck of her nightgown and pulling it open until it slid down to the generous curve of her hips.
His breath hitched as he pulled back to look at her and he caught her hands when she would have covered herself.
“You’ve seen me before, too,” she complained as he held her hands out of the way.
“And yet you still take my breath away,” he said, meaning it. “Oh, love.”
He bent his head and kissed first one breast, then the other, returning to toy with the tightly puckered nipple, circling it with his tongue before sucking gently. Harriet gasped and clutched at his hair, holding him in place.
“Lovely,” he murmured. “So perfect.”
He stood and looked at her, finding her eyes darker than ever, her cheeks flushed. He smiled and kissed her nose before pushing the nightgown from her hips.
“Come to bed with me, Harry. Please,” he added, still a little uncertain despite the look in her eyes.
She nodded and moved ahead of him, climbing onto the mattress and lying down, stiff as a board. Jasper lay beside her, his head propped on his arm and a ridiculous smile on his face.
“What?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” he said, still smiling like an idiot. “I’m just happy, that’s all. You make me happy.”
“No, I don’t,” she countered, looking away from him. “I make you angry.”
“Only because I provoke you and you retaliate. Then I get angry.”
She huffed out a breath. “True. So, why must you provoke me?”
“Because it’s better than being ignored, Harry. If you don’t see me, I… I feel like I might disappear entirely.”
Harriet’s gaze snapped back to his, intent and questioning, that fierce brain turning over his words and weighing each one. She looked away again, still quizzical, but he knew she’d not ask whatever questions were burning inside her. If she couldn’t puzzle it out herself, she’d leave it unanswered, too proud to ask him to explain.
“Shouldn’t you… do something?” she asked, sounding rather impatient.
“Perhaps,” he said, lying on his back, his hands behind his head. “But I think you should go first this time.”
“What?” Harriet sat up and stared down at him.
“Come on, Harry. You always loved a puzzle.” He swept a hand down the length of his body. “Figure me out.”
Her brows rose but he could see the flicker of interest in her eyes.
“How…?”
“However you want,” he said, his voice huskier now. “Touch me wherever you want, however you want.”
She swallowed, and he waited, the anticipation killing him. After what seemed an eternity, she shuffled c
loser and put her hand flat on his chest, over his heart. It thudded beneath her palm, fast and erratic.
“Not dead, then,” she said, the glimmer of a smile at her lips.
“Very much not dead,” he murmured.
Harriet licked her lips and moved her hand to touch his nipple, her fingers brushing the sensitive skin until it was a hard little nub. “I like these,” she said. “They’re so neat.”
Jasper snorted.
“When… when I do what you did to me, with your mouth… does it feel the same?”
“You’ve done it before.”
“Yes, but you never told me how it felt, and I can’t remember….”
He tutted. “You are never to come to bed drunk again,” he muttered. “Why don’t you try it and find out?” At the determined look that flared in her eyes Jasper wondered how much he could endure of her investigation, thinking he might have made an error in judgement. No. She was fascinated, and he’d deny her nothing, even if it killed him.
Harriet bent, looking a little awkward and frowning with concentration as she ran her tongue over his nipple. Jasper’s breath caught, and she looked up, a glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes. She did it again, harder this time, circling with her tongue before closing her mouth over him and sucking a little.
Jasper let out a little huff of breath as she repeated the action on the other side.
Harriet sat up.
“It does feel the same,” she said, sounding rather smug.
He closed his eyes and laughed. “Oh, yes, it does.”
When he opened his eyes again, she was looking him over, her gaze travelling to his cock, which glistened at the tip, wet with anticipation. Jasper held his breath as she shifted down the bed and ran an experimental fingertip down the length of him.
His cock leapt beneath her touch and Jasper cursed under his breath.
Harriet snatched her hand away.
“Don’t stop,” he ground out. “Do it again.”
She did and his breathing grew ragged, which was ridiculous, she’d barely touched him, but this was Harriet, and he’d wanted this for so long, for a bloody eternity.
“Can I kiss you here too?” she asked, her tone so matter of fact, Jasper was momentarily stunned into silence.
“Yes,” he croaked, before covering his face with his hands. “Oh, God, yes. Yes, please.”
He couldn’t watch her, afraid he’d spend the moment she touched him with her mouth if he saw her do it. Instead he screwed his eyes shut and held his breath and nearly died with wanting at the first warm flutter of her breath against his belly.
There was nothing for a moment, just the soft susurration of her breathing rushing over him and he was on the brink of pleading for mercy when he felt the flicker of her tongue against his cock. She trailed over the length of him and Jasper groaned, the sound deep and heartfelt. Harriet must have taken it for the sound of approval it most definitely was as she repeated the action and then pressed damp little kisses along the path her tongue had taken. She reached the head and her tongue swept over him again. Then he heard a sound of surprise.
“Salty,” she said, and her fingers caressed the sleek head, smoothing the moisture there over him. “What is this?” she asked, her question not the least bit self-conscious, only curious. “I know conception is caused by the male ejaculation of sperm, but this isn’t the same, or is it?”
Jasper made a choked sound somewhere between amusement and despair. “No, love,” he said, his voice strangled. “N-Not the same. It’s my body telling you that you’re driving me out of my mind, and it wants to be inside you, very badly indeed.” He dared to look up at her and found her nodding, her expression still serious.
“This is physical evidence of desire, then?”
She looked back at him and Jasper nodded.
“There’s something similar isn’t there?” she asked, her gaze direct. “For me?”
Jasper nodded again, beyond giving an explanation. “Lay back.”
She did as he asked and Jasper turned onto his side again, sliding a hand up the outside of her thigh. Harriet watched him and he leaned down and kissed her, pleased when she sighed and opened to him at once. As they kissed, he gently parted her thighs and returned to stroking up and down, aware of the quickening of her breath. He broke the kiss as his fingers sought the feathery patch of curls, wanting to watch her, needing to be certain of her approval.
“Here is your evidence, love,” he said, parting the delicate folds and seeking the wet heat within as he dipped a fingertip inside her.
Harriet’s breath caught. “Yes,” she said. “Oh, yes.”
Jasper bent his head and kissed her again as he continued to caress her, his finger sliding a little deeper as his thumb circled over the little hidden bud with care. Harriet arched, a soft cry torn from her that made his body tighten with need.
“D-Do I…?” Harriet began before his touch made her arch again and the words were lost.
“Do you what?” Jasper asked, nuzzling at her neck and tugging gently at her earlobe with his teeth.
“D-Do I…?” she began again, and he looked up watching her as she asked with typical solemnity. “Do I taste salty too?”
Jasper stared down at her, wondering for a frantic moment if she was doing it on purpose, for she was shredding his self-control. He swallowed and tried to find his voice.
“Why don’t we find out?”
He moved down the bed, delighted and astonished when she parted her legs wider for him, giving him access. She sat up, propped on her elbows and staring down at him.
“Do you want to?” she asked, frowning a little. “I never thought to ask if—”
Jasper gave a slightly hysterical laugh. “Yes. Yes, I do want to. More than anything.”
“Good,” she said, apparently satisfied as she lay down again.
His lips quirked. God, she was wonderful. Utterly unique, truly herself. There was not another woman in the world like her, and he could not afford to let her go. With that in mind he settled to his work, determined to please her, to bring her such pleasure that she’d never be able to forget it, or to forget him.
The sound she made as he parted her curls and licked would certainly be burned into his mind until the day he died. It was at once wanton and all surprised innocence and, when he did it again, there was such approval in the breathless gasp she gave, he’d have purred if he was capable of it.
“Oh,” she cried, reaching down to tangle her finger in his hair, arching her hips to give herself more fully into his reach. “Oh, Jasper.”
The sound of his name spoken with such husky desire sent a bolt of need straight to his groin and it took every ounce of concentration not to give into the desire to sink into her there and then. He’d not be selfish in this. Though he’d never bedded a virgin before, he knew that her first time might not be everything he wanted for her, but there was no way she’d leave his bed without knowing how much pleasure there was to be found there.
“How do I taste, Jasper?”
Jasper chuckled against her skin, amused she still wanted to know. “Sweeter than honey,” he murmured. “Sweet and tart and utterly delicious.”
She sighed, satisfied, and gave herself over to the pleasure he gave on her. To his relief, it didn’t take long before he sensed her climax at hand. Not that he wanted to stop, far from it, but he didn’t think he could wait much longer. Beneath him he was aware of her body growing taut, of the tightening of her fingers in his hair and her stuttering breath as she grew closer to the edge.
Jasper hummed with approval as he sucked gently on the delicate bud of her sex and she shattered, her cry loud and raw enough to make him extremely glad his rooms were far from anyone else’s. Pleasure thrummed through him as he guided her, easing every ounce of delight to be had from her body before he finally moved to take his place between her thighs. He couldn’t wait any longer. It would kill him.
“Harriet,” he said, staring down at her as she blin
ked hazily up at him. “Please,” he added, wondering if that was coherent enough as he was beyond words now. He slid his cock over her slick flesh and she gasped and then wrapped her legs about his hips, arching to meet him.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes.”
That was all he’d needed, and he pushed inside, watching her face for any sign of pain or distress.
“Is it…?”
“Yes.”
He bent his head, resting his forehead against hers and sliding deeper, closing his eyes as the exquisite heat of her engulfed him like a velvet glove.
“How does it feel?” she asked.
Jasper forced his eyes open again and stared at her, dazed with pleasure. “Like heaven. Like nothing on earth but you, Harry.” He thrust deeper, and she gave a startled little cry. He stopped at once. “It hurts?”
Harriet shook her head. “No, at least… only for a moment. It’s… strange, that’s all.”
“And now?” he asked, withdrawing and sliding inside her again.
“It’s fine,” she said, closing her eyes as he did it again. “Fine…. Oh.”
He smiled at that little oh of pleasure and kissed her forehead as he slid a hand between them and found the secret place that had loved his tongue so very much.
“And now?” he asked, touching her so very gently.
“Oh, yes,” she said, sighing and wrapping her arms about him, pulling his head down and seeking his mouth. “Yes, yes,” she whispered.
From the point of view of a man who believed himself an experienced lover, it was an embarrassingly short time before Jasper felt his own body tighten.
“Harry,” he said, staring down at her.
“Yes,” she said, staring up at him and smiling, actually smiling at him, such a soft look in her eyes that his heart soared. “Oh, yes.”
He shuddered as waves of pleasure crashed over him, holding Harriet to him and crying out, unable to contain his joy in the moment as he said her name.
“Harry, oh, yes, Harry. I love you. I love you.”
Chapter 11
My dear Miss Hunt,
I do hope that you are well and no worse the wear for your exposure to the inclement weather this morning. I should be glad to have my physician attend you should you have need of him.
To Wager with Love (Girls Who Dare Book 5) Page 11