Passion sluiced over her like honey, slow and tantalizing, sweet and delicious. “What do I do to you, Jesse?” Feeling brave, she ran her tongue along the seam of his gorgeous mouth.
He opened, sucking her tongue. Another growl sounded low in his throat. Their kiss became wet, downright voracious. “My darling, I cannot stay away.”
“I don’t want you to stay away from me,” she murmured, wrapping her bare leg around his trouser-clad one. She didn’t care if she was a wanton. He brought it out in her, and she had ever been one to be open, honest and free. Despite what the dowager and finishing school had instilled in her.
“You don’t?” He framed her face in his large, strong hands. His calloused fingertips were a welcome abrasion on her cheeks.
They were teasing one another, and Bella had to admit the prolonging heightened her desire. “No indeed, sir.” She turned her head to kiss his fingers. “On the contrary, I want you to be very, very near.”
“Mmm.” He brushed his thumb over her lower lip once, twice. His handsome countenance was tantalizingly close. “How near?”
Ah, so he was encouraging her boldness in their lovemaking. Awareness swept through her. Did she dare? There was so much she wanted, so much for which she longed. She’d never before even considered it, but with Jesse, her desires seemed natural.
She reached for his hand and slid it, ever so slowly, inside the gaping vee of her dressing gown. His warm hand settled upon her bare breast. Her nipple tightened instantly into his palm. Their gazes clashed, his astoundingly blue. “Would this near do, Mr. Whitney?”
She found the pretense of formality added an element of excitement to their dangerous, sensual taunts. There was no mistaking this encounter. It wasn’t an innocent garden maze in which they met. No, indeed. This was her bedchamber. His hand cupped her naked breast. His leg slid between hers, his muscular thigh creating an intense and pleasurable pressure upon her mound. She wanted him to make her his, to possess her. Their mouths were a kiss apart. The entire affair was naughty, forbidden, and utterly heavenly.
He swallowed, the only outward suggestion he was moved as much as she by their banter. “Perhaps nearer would do, my dear.”
“Pray forgive me,” she whispered. “What would you have me do, sir?”
“Do you love me?” His voice was nearly guttural, desire evident in the intensity of his blue gaze.
She kissed him. “And if I do?”
“I don’t deserve it, my darling.” With his free hand, he pulled her dressing gown away from her shoulders. It pooled at her waist, snagged by her belt, leaving both her breasts bared for his appreciative gaze. He cupped her with his hands, sending a wave of sensation skittering through her. She adored the feeling of his skin upon hers.
“But if I do love you,” she persisted, knowing somehow that they were not so much playing as revealing. She was not well-versed in the art of seduction, but neither was she an insipid miss. After all, she prided herself upon the knowledge she’d collected through the many novels she’d read. Though she was a neophyte, she was not entirely ignorant, thanks to him. “What then?”
His gaze darkened upon hers, his intent clear. “Then I am at your mercy. What would you have me do, my lady?”
Oh dear. She very much wanted to tantalize him as he did her, but she hadn’t an inkling what to say next. Best, she reckoned through her passion-addled mind, to allow him to be the one to direct. “What would you like, sir?” As she asked him, her fingers sought the belt at her waist. She undid the knot and pulled the sash free. Her dressing gown fell to the carpeted floor in a whisper of fabric.
She was completely naked.
“I would very much like if you kissed me,” he said, his voice soft. “I have been looking upon you all evening, wishing you were mine. I should like nothing more than to believe you are.”
“I am yours,” she confirmed. “I have been, from the moment you caught me in the library at Marleigh Manor with my spectacles beneath my bustle.” She smiled, reveling in the wonder of how quickly, yet how imperceptibly, life could alter. She had never dared to dream Jesse Whitney would ever come to her like this, hold her in his arms, make love to her.
“You are more beautiful than I deserve.”
“Never,” she denied, bestowing another kiss upon his lips. “By far, sir, you are the most handsome suitor upon whom I have ever laid eyes.” And she wanted him as naked as she. Her hands went to his shirt, undoing the line of buttons.
“Bella, are you utterly certain, my darling girl? I fear this is the last time I can ask you with any hope of putting an end to this madness.”
“I am completely certain in every way. I love you so very much.” She kissed his neck, inhaling deeply of his scent. How she wanted him. She felt it possible that he loved her, even if he couldn’t put words to the emotions he felt. She was certain she knew Jesse well enough to know he would never be familiar with his best friend’s sister unless theirs was an inescapable attraction. He was, after all, an honorable man. Was he not?
She hadn’t long to consider the question her dowager-forged conscience asked, for in the next instant, he had whisked away his shirt. Her fingers went to the fastening of his trousers. Nudity was a lonesome state.
“Is it love?” He kissed her again, his tongue going inside her mouth to tease and taste, to own. “How can you be certain?”
“I’ve never known anything comparing to the emotions I feel for you.” She kissed him back with all the fervor in her soul. Their tongues tangled. Desire was a heated thing snaking through her body. How she needed this man. Perhaps she still didn’t know entirely what that meant since he had not fully taken her before, but she needed him regardless, whatever may come.
He nipped her full lower lip and simultaneously rubbed his thumbs over her hard nipples. “Do you want me, darling?”
Did she want him? Good heavens, did she want to breathe in the air that gave her life? She sighed again, arching into his strong body. He wore only his trousers now. “Oh yes.”
He dropped a path of kisses beginning from her mouth and trailing down her neck, to her collarbone. Then lower still. He kissed his way to her breasts. “I have wanted you ever since the first moment I saw you in the library at Marleigh Manor. But I knew I could never have you.”
She was fascinated to know he too had wanted her even then. She’d thought herself too young, too awkward. He had been older, wiser, unbearably handsome. How could he have ever been attracted to her quiet self?
Bella couldn’t quite squelch a moan when he sucked a nipple into his knowing mouth. “Why did you think you could not have me?” she asked, almost unable to string a proper sentence with the naughty things he was doing to her.
Jesse raked the sensitive bud with his teeth before releasing it and looking up to meet her gaze. “You are far too good for the likes of me. I’ve seen too much of the world. Be certain you want me, Bella, with your mind and not just your pretty body.”
“Of course I want you.” She finally opened his trousers. Perhaps she wasn’t thinking with her reasonable mind, but even when she wasn’t in his arms, she always longed for him. “It is only your honor that says I don’t.”
Bella took him into her palm, loving the velvety, warm feel of him. She had very much wanted to touch him before, but he had separated himself from her before it was possible. He was rigid and long, and holding him made the ache in her all the more potent. She wanted to feel him inside her. Now.
His breath hissed from his lungs as she tightened her fingers around his arousal. She didn’t care that he was older than she, that there had been other women he had loved before her. All that mattered was that she had found in him a heart to answer hers. She wasn’t about to let him to turn away from her again this night as he had before. No indeed, this night, he was to make her his in every sense.
“You must be very sure,” he urged again, his voice sounding strained. He cupped her face in his large, rough hands. His golden beauty awed her. “There can be no rever
sal.”
She knew he was giving her every opportunity to save her innocence. He had done so once before, introducing her to pleasure without ruining her. But there was no other man for whom she would save herself. He almost appeared vulnerable, naked and towering over her. She had never loved him more.
“I know my own mind, Jesse.” She reached up and wound her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“Christ.” He lowered his mouth to hers for a crushing kiss. His tongue slid against hers, dipping in to taste and tantalize. “I can’t wait any longer,” he whispered before taking her up in his arms.
Startled, she let out a squeak, tightening her grip on him. “No one has ever carried me before.”
He strode across the chamber with her and then deposited her upon the bed. His eyes were dark with desire as he joined her, his strong, naked body equally hot at her side. “Then this is a night of many firsts.” He dragged one hand gently through her unbound black curls and caressed her cheek with the other, kissing her again.
It began slowly, almost tentatively, as he molded his lips to hers. Bella turned into him, wanting to feel him against her. Her breasts grazed his chest, his arousal pressing into the soft swell of her stomach. She rested her palms on his brawny shoulders, arching into him. Everything felt right. Perfect. She never wanted the evening to end.
He dragged his sinful mouth down over her throat to her breasts, leaving behind a trail of fire on her sensitive skin. The slight roughness of his golden stubble scraped her in the most delicious way. When he took her nipple into his mouth, she moaned again, unhinged by the sensation on the tight bud.
“Hush, darling,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her breast. He looked up at her and grinned, his dimple flashing for a moment. “You must be as quiet as you can or else we’ll have the dowager storming in to rescue you from this horrid American.”
He was gorgeous, her horrid American, and she almost couldn’t fathom he was lying with her. “I don’t need rescuing,” she told him with an answering smile at his levity. “I shall endeavor to be as quiet as possible.”
“Good.” He took her other nipple in his mouth, delivering the same bold torture to it. “Because I’m about to do this.” Jesse kissed a path down over her belly, pulling her legs apart as he did so.
She was open to him once more, but this time she wasn’t embarrassed. She knew all too well the pleasure awaiting her. Her heart kicking into a gallop, she ran her fingers through his thick golden hair. He kissed her slowly, his tongue darting out against her. She pressed the back of her right hand to her mouth, stifling another moan as best she could. Dear heavens, it was the most glorious feeling, entirely scandalous, completely sinful. And she loved every second.
He sucked and toyed with his tongue, bringing her the same powerful ecstasy she’d felt before. She moaned, closing her eyes to relish the powerful desire rocking through her. He teased her with a maddening rhythm, using his thumb on the nub of her sex until she was shuddering against him. She reached her pinnacle, twisting against him as she felt herself coming, the pleasure so intense she didn’t know if she wanted to push him away or keep him there forever. He held her still against him, absorbing the ripples of her pleasure against his mouth.
Her breath left her in heaving gasps. Somehow, it was even more intense this time than the last. She realized through the haze of passion fogging her mind that she had forever crossed the line from girlhood to womanhood. There was no reversal, as he’d said, and neither did she want one.
He looked up at her and pressed a kiss to the inside of her thigh. “Do you like my mouth on you, Bella?”
She swallowed as another wave of desire crashed over her. There was more to this heady dance, and she wanted to know it. “You know I do.”
With a groan, he rose, pressing his big body over hers. Her legs fell apart easily, welcoming him as if it were the most natural position in the world. His cock was between them, prodding her hungry entrance. She wanted him inside her so badly. Longing swept through her. Bella wriggled beneath him, restless with the wait. She had waited so very long for him to make her his.
He kissed her, again, propping himself up with his large hands splayed on either side of her head. “Be still, darling. I want to go slowly.”
“I can’t help it.” Bella ran her hands down the sleek planes of his shoulders, feeling the corded muscle beneath. “I need you, Jesse.”
He nipped her lower lip and reached down to position himself at her throbbing sheath. “I don’t want to hurt you. There will be pain the first time.”
She wasn’t afraid. Indeed, she was quite certain she would explode if he didn’t soon ease the ache building within her. She wanted to say as much, but she couldn’t speak beyond one monosyllabic word. “Please.”
Jesse’s hips moved as he claimed her mouth, his tongue teasing hers. Her body stretched to accommodate him. She felt at once pleasure and a bit of discomfort, almost like a bee sting. Until he thrust into her again, and the sheer size of him sent a raw shot of pain through her. She stiffened, startled. For some reason, she hadn’t expected it to hurt this much.
He stopped moving, tearing his mouth from hers to meet her gaze, his expression one of concern. “Have I hurt you?”
“A bit,” she admitted, trying to stanch the tears threatening her vision.
“Do you want me to stop, darling?”
“No,” she denied quickly. It was too late now, and she had no regrets.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. After you grow accustomed to me, the pleasure will return.” He thrust a little farther inside her.
She tilted her hips up, easing the entry. One more thrust, and he was buried deep within her. The pain remained, a dull, burning ache, but as he gradually slid almost completely out of her again, the pleasure began to return just as he’d promised. He lowered his mouth to hers, giving her a soothing kiss that said more than mere words could. Jesse thrust inside her again, then out, then in again, starting up a rhythm that she did her best to match. With each stroke, the pain lessened, until she was once more caught up in the throes of passion.
Their kisses grew more intense, tongues tangling as he made love to her in truth. Her body was already on edge, ready to come undone again. Small, breathy sounds of bliss escaped her. Jesse continued pumping into her, his pace increasing until the frenzy he’d built within her reached yet another crescendo. She tightened around him, spasms racking her body as extreme pleasure washed over her again.
Suddenly, he tore his mouth from hers and pushed into her again, grinding their hips together. He threw his head back and moaned as she felt him change. A hot spurt shot inside her, giving her another sharp spear of pleasure. Bella held him against her tightly, loving the feeling of him atop her, within her. Finally, he collapsed against her, breathing heavily.
He lay that way for a few heartbeats before rolling to his side, his body slipping away from hers. “My God,” he said at last.
She turned to admire him, committing to memory every line of his beautiful body. She feared she’d lost her ability to speak entirely. Her body throbbed in odd places, but she had never been happier. She dropped a kiss on his chest and rested her head there.
“Are you in pain, darling?” He stroked her hair.
She shook her head, still incapable of intelligent conversation.
He kissed the top of her head as an easy silence descended. He had been right. There was no turning back now. Jesse had made her into a woman in the ancient sense. Perhaps she would pay for her sins later, but she relished them for the moment. Some time passed without either of them speaking. Bella was content to listen to his breathing, tucked to his beloved side.
She must have fallen asleep, for Bella woke to realize she was alone in the bed, the covers pulled carefully around her. Startled, she sat up, scanning the chamber for Jesse. He was in the middle of the room, collecting his garments, his back to her.
“Where are you going?” she asked, disappointed that h
e would disappear on her without saying goodbye.
He spun about at her voice with a start, clearly thinking her still asleep. “I cannot remain here, Bella. We risk your reputation.”
“The servants won’t be about for hours yet.” She disliked the idea that their idyll must be over so soon. “You needn’t leave so soon.”
“I don’t want to fall asleep, my dear.”
“I’m a dreadfully light sleeper,” she countered. “I’ll wake you long before Smith comes in with my chocolate and no one will ever be the wiser.”
“I cannot.”
His tone was suddenly distant. Bella didn’t like it, not one bit. She watched him beginning to dress before rising also. She was keenly aware of her nudity now that the flaming intensity of their lovemaking had died to a low fire in the grate.
She placed a palm on his strong shoulder, troubled when he flinched away from her. “Jesse? What is it?”
“It’s nothing. It is merely time to return to my own chamber. I wouldn’t have you hurt for the world, Bella.” He fastened his trousers around his lean hips.
Bella wasn’t having it. “There’s something you don’t want to tell me,” she guessed. “Pray be honest with me. What can be the matter? Have I disappointed you? Do you regret making love to me?”
“Never that. You could never disappoint me, darling.” He sighed and raked a hand through his already mussed hair. His expression hardened. “Since the war, I’ve been plagued by nightmares. I wake sometimes screaming in the night, convinced I’m in the midst of battle. I cannot take the chance of someone hearing me here in your chamber. Nor would I want to burden you with my demons.”
She ached for him. How unspeakable the war must have been to still have a pronounced effect on such a strong man all these years later. She closed the distance between them, drawing him into an embrace. Bella laid her head against the steady thrum of his heart, savoring the familiar scent of him for a few moments. She never wanted to let him go. It seemed terribly unfair that in the morning they must go through their day as strangers once more. It seemed even more unfair that perhaps she would never see him again. The very idea broke her heart.
Heart’s Temptation Books 1–3 Page 39