The possibility made him even more keenly aware of the heavy urgency of his task. He needed to make Julienne as obsessed with him as he was with her.
And yet, Dare realized with a sinking heart, his time with her was running out.
The rain finally ended the following day, and the sun at last reappeared. They spent the morning tramping through the beechwood like young lovers, laughing and sharing kisses beneath the bright canopy of spring leaves that had burst out almost overnight.
Dare displayed his chivalry by finding patches of wildflowers for Julienne, and she made a wreath of them, crowning her flowing hair so that she resembled a pagan goddess. Dare found the sight irresistible, even though it reminded him so painfully of their long-ago summer together.
When he commented on her luscious appearance, however, Julienne shook her head with a provocative smile.
"Not a goddess, a fairy queen. I've always enjoyed playing Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream. But I suppose I will never again have the chance if I remain in London."
The laws governing the thespian world were strict, Dare knew. Only two London theaters held royal patents that permitted them to enact tragedies-Drury Lane and Covent Garden. As a result, it had become common practice for actors to perform in tragedies or comedies, but not both. The public's expectations precluded switching roles.
"You can play Queen Titania if you will allow me to be your King Oberon," Dare said, nuzzling aside her sweet-scented tresses to kiss her nape.
Throwing him an alluring glance over her shoulder, Julienne murmured, "If you can catch me." Then, with a laugh, she ran off into the forest. Dare sprinted after her, eager for the chase.
For the rest of the day, he kept the mood in the same light vein and teased her by promising her a surprise later. Julienne thought his promise fulfilled when on the edge of a meadow they found a picnic prepared by invisible servants, but Dare denied it.
When they returned to the house, he led her to a chamber she had never seen, this one on the first floor.
"Is this my surprise?" Julienne asked as he opened the door.
"In part."
Inside the air was warm and moist-caused by steam rising from the surface of a large, rectangular tiled pool, she saw.
"A Turkish bath?" Julienne said with delight as she moved across the floor. "I have heard of these."
"Heated pipes feed the pool and keep the water hot."
It seemed the height of luxury to Julienne, who was accustomed to cold York winters. The height of decadence as well, knowing Dare as she did. "This seems an ideal place for an orgy," she remarked archly.
His eyes glinted wickedly. "Patience, sweet. We will get to that."
To one side of the room, French doors opened onto a private courtyard, letting in the sweet smell of spring and a flood of sunlight that warmed the room further. It spilled over the lush pile of cushions that were spread beside the pool.
When Dare led her over to the cushions, she gave him a skeptical glance. "What do you have planned, Dare? Are we not to try the bath?"
"All in good time. I mean to introduce you to the pleasures of an oil massage first. You won't be disappointed, I assure you."
Beside the cushions sat a glass flagon of what looked like oil, Julienne saw. Eager to begin, she started to undress, but Dare stopped her by kissing each one of her fingertips.
"No, you aren't to help. Just relax and allow me to perform my duty."
"Your duty?"
"You would agree that it is my duty as your host to keep you properly serviced?"
A streak of heat coursed through Julienne at the thought, a heat that had nothing to do with the elevated temperature of the sunlit room.
Deciding to play along with his seduction, she allowed him to undress her. For once he pinned her hair up instead of taking it down.
"The better to reach all your skin," he said in explanation.
When she was naked, Dare arranged her as he wished, so that she lay in beautiful disarray on the cushions, her dark hair coiled high in a glorious mass.
He gazed down at her, his eyes heavy-lidded, sweeping every curve and hollow of her body. He felt his loins harden. "Titania never looked so tempting."
Julienne felt herself flush at the flames in his eyes. She couldn't look away as he sat beside her and reached for the bottle.
The oil was jasmine-scented, and the sweet fragrance filled the air as Dare poured a small amount on his palms and warmed it between his hands. When he cupped her breasts, she gasped softly at the sensation.
"Do you find that enjoyable?"
"You know I do," she said rather breathlessly.
"The enjoyment is mine as well. You're aware by now that I take great delight in your body."
"You take delight in any female body."
"Not any longer. You have spoiled me for anyone else, my lovely Jewel."
He had spoiled her long ago for any other man, Julienne reflected.
The thought fled her mind, though, as he dragged the oiled tips of his fingers in slow, circular motions over her entire body, arousing her in a way different from anything she had experienced before. Her skin responded with a tingling urgency, while a hard ache flared between her shivering thighs.
Reflexively Julienne caught her lower lip with her teeth. Dare's gaze moved to her mouth with raking leisure, and he dipped his head to kiss her briefly before returning to his task. His hands wandered with deliberate slowness over every detail of her, fondling all her curves… her arms, her shoulders, her nipples, her belly… moving down her legs to her calves, gently kneading. Wherever he touched her, she seemed to burn with fierce heat.
Then slowly he ran his oil-slick hands up her inner thighs, caressing, rubbing. The sensation was exquisite. Julienne felt as if she were melting, even before his thumbs found the dark thatch of curls that hid her feminine folds.
Her breath wedged in her throat, but Dare went on stroking the bud of her sex until she arched and whimpered with the searing swell of heat. Then he bent to her, his lips replacing his hands.
A stabbing pleasure flooded Julienne. He licked deeply with his long, clever tongue while his hands continued to stroke and squeeze her throbbing breasts, filling her with sensations so vibrant they hurt her with their brightness.
The orgasm that suddenly claimed her was so intense, she almost fainted.
Her scream of ecstasy echoed throughout the chamber, dying away as the relentless contractions of her body eased. Weak, boneless, she fell back among the cushions, shutting her eyes.
"You don't mean to fall asleep yet?" Dare murmured, the amused question intruding on the sweet glow of repletion.
"Devil," she retorted weakly.
She no longer had the will to move. She felt luxuriantly, lavishly sated by a man who knew exactly what a woman wanted. She was his now, completely in his power; he could do as he wished with her. Yet in some dazed part of her mind, she wanted Dare to share the tantalizing, pleasure-drenched rapture.
Forcibly Julienne opened her eyes. "You are wearing too many clothes."
A half smile of pure devilry tugged at his enticing mouth. "Do you want to undress me?"
"Yes, but I no longer have the energy. You may do the honors."
He complied and, after a moment, stood over her, his splendid erection blatant. "You look like a woman ready for a lover. Perhaps I should oblige you."
Languidly she spread her legs wide, arching for him. "Perhaps you should."
His luminous eyes sparked with wanting her.
"But not yet," Julienne added in a taunting tone as he started to kneel. "I think I should like to know how your oil feels inside me. You may do those honors as well, since you are such the expert. Arouse yourself while I watch."
He chuckled, a low, rich sound of appreciation. "As you command, your highness."
As his oiled hands glided over his hard, swollen shaft, Julienne moistened her dry lips. Watching his fingers curling around the long, smooth, rigid flesh, she wis
hed she could do the same.
"Do you find that enjoyable?" she asked, her voice edged with huskiness.
Dare's face was flushed with his effort at control. "Not as much as if you were attending me."
"Very well," she said at last. "My turn."
"I thought you would never relent."
She rose to her knees and oiled her hands. Then she curled her fingers around his magnificent length.
Heat coursed through Dare at her erotic touch. Instinctively he thrust his hips toward her, even while trying to stem his mounting arousal.
"I will explode all over you if you keep that up," he warned.
"No, you cannot," Julienne said softly. "You have to wait. I believe I would like to try out the bath now." Releasing him, she stood and moved toward the pool.
Dare's muscles went rigid with sexual frustration. Clamping his jaw, he watched her delectable hips swaying as she crossed to the tiled steps and entered the water. The level was almost chest deep, not quite covering the white globes of her breasts. The sight of her taut, rose-hued nipples bobbing so invitingly tormented him.
"What are you waiting for?"
Her taunting voice slid across his senses and brought him even nearer to bursting. Swiftly Dare followed her into the pool, almost groaning as the heated water flowed over his aching cock.
To his relief, Julienne didn't move away but stood waiting, a challenging half smile on her lips.
Her eyes gleamed dark and slumbrously exotic as he reached for her. Feverish excitement surged in him as he clasped her shoulders. Her oiled body was still sleek and supple under his hands, but he spent only a moment playing with her breasts, molding and shaping the high, firm swells before he grasped her hips and lifted her up, pressing between her thighs.
Gritting his teeth, he fondled her buttocks until he felt Julienne glide lusciously around him. His mouth found hers as she locked her legs around his flanks and returned his kiss.
Their tongues entwining like their limbs, they swayed in their erotic dance for a dozen heartbeats, moving and pulsing with pleasure in the rippling water.
Just when Dare thought he could hold back no longer, Julienne contracted the inner muscles of her feminine core, clasping him even more tightly while her hands slipped downward over his hard, flexing buttocks.
Dare groaned raggedly, his face contorted in a grimace of ecstasy as his seed erupted in a white-hot stream. Julienne convulsed around him almost at once, shuddering against him. With her own groan, she buried her face in his neck, raking her teeth over his shoulder.
His breath jagged, his legs weak, Dare sank farther down into the water and leaned back against the pool's edge. An exquisite peace came over him as the heated waves lapped gently around their joined bodies.
"Are you falling asleep?" he heard Julienne whisper hoarsely after a moment.
"Mmmm. I was having dreams. Erotic dreams."
"Of me?"
"Who else?"
She stirred her hips in provocative answer. "What if I am not yet satisfied?"
"I fear you will have to wait, love. I couldn't possibly move. You've depleted all my reserves of strength."
Julienne raked her teeth over his skin again. "You cannot be exhausted just yet. We have one more night together."
Her teasing remark made Dare's exhaustion suddenly fade. He drew back to regard her solemnly. "We can have more than just a single night together."
"I have to return to London by Saturday if I hope to have a career. But I admit," she added softly, echoing his thoughts as she laid her head on his shoulder again, "I almost don't want this to end."
He reached up to fondle a sweetly-rounded breast. "It doesn't have to end, Julienne. You can remain here with me."
"If I did, I would no longer be employed."
"Your employment would be to provide me companionship."
She smiled wryly against his shoulder. "Become your mistress, you mean. But then you would win the wager."
"So?"
Her laughter was muted, shielding the wistful train of her thoughts.
After this magical time with Dare, it would be incredibly difficult to return to her daily life, she knew. During the past few days, as pleasure played upon pleasure, she had found herself pretending that nothing had ever come between them. Worse, she'd found herself thinking of what might have been, dreaming of what the future could hold.
For so long she had refused to dream. But locked in Dare's arms like this, their heartbeats mingling, she could let her imagination wander freely. She could picture herself staying with him, sharing this sweet ecstasy, lovers forever.
For a moment, Julienne closed her eyes, letting that vision fill the emptiness within her. Dare was the only man she had ever wanted, ever loved. The only man to bring her happiness. She had loved him so deeply…
But that happiness had been shattered long ago. And this magical interlude had to end.
It was foolish to think it could go on. Foolish to hope for anything more. They had even less of a future together now than they'd had seven years ago. The obstacles for an exalted nobleman and a simple shopkeeper were now magnified a dozen times over. Dare could never take her for his wife. She was a notorious actress, no longer the virginal innocent she'd been when she first met him. And after all that had happened between them, the bitterness and pain…
Dare wanted her for his mistress, she had no doubt, but she would never agree to that role. It would give him too much power over her. Financially and, even more damning, emotionally. In such a dependent relationship, she would be too defenseless; it would be too easy to let herself fall in love with him again.
Julienne silently shook her head. She understood clearly the lunacy of handing her heart to a gazetted rake who was relentlessly set on breaking it.
Even so, she thought wistfully as her lips nuzzled Dare's sleek, wet skin, she still wanted to dream.
Chapter Thirteen
Returning to London proved to be a dose of cold reality for Julienne. Indeed, if not for her career, she might have remained away a good deal longer. She worried that in his determination to continue the search for Caliban, Dare would make himself a target and put himself in grave danger.
Moreover, it required all of her acting skills to resume her public game of seduction with him and pretend to be unaffected by the passionate interlude they had shared.
The current gossip about them in the scandal sheets was even more pronounced. Their disappearance from Newmarket had been particularly noted, since one of Dare's colts had won the 2000 Guineas race and he was nowhere to be found. The speculation that he had gone into seclusion with London's brightest Jewel was the talk of the town.
Julienne refused to confirm or deny the reports with her sulking admirers, but she was required to satisfy Solange's curiosity when her friend called at her lodgings immediately after her return.
"And so?" the Frenchwoman demanded, settling herself in a chair in the cheerless parlor. "Was the Prince of Pleasure as marvelously wicked as legend holds?"
Absurdly Julienne felt herself flushing. "The tales of his prowess were not exaggerated, I admit."
"Tiens! Does that mean you will agree to be his chere amie?"
"Not at all. I have no intention of letting him win our wager."
Solange frowned. "Perhaps you are wise. Wolverton is such a prime catch. How do the anglais say it… if you ?play your cards well'? I begin to wonder if you should hold out for marriage."
Julienne's eyebrows shot up scornfully at the mere suggestion. "A marquess would never in this world wed a mere actress."
"It has been done before. And I should think a nobleman of his scandalous ilk would not be put off by a bride with a trifle notoriety of her own."
But not one he despised for betraying him, Julienne reflected silently.
"If he truly wished to wed you-"
"It is out of the question," Julienne declared, dismissing the subject altogether. She was reluctant to reveal even to her friend h
er former association with Dare. She would rather forget everything about that devastating summer.
Regrettably, however, Julienne feared that was beyond her ability now, for she had encountered the nightmare from her past at Newmarket.
Ivers. She dreaded the very thought of him. But she suspected she would be forced to deal with him sooner or later. He was in London, she knew, for Lord Ridingham had spotted him at one of the popular sporting gentlemen's hotels.
Everywhere she went she kept a nervous watch out for Ivers, involuntarily starting at shadows despite her determination to conquer her fear. She kept her knife near to hand, strapped to her wrist. And when she returned home from the theater late at night, she always made certain she had an escort, either the footman Dare had provided for her physical protection or one of her admirers.
She stayed close to Riddingham in particular, for she felt safest with him. And Riddingham wasn't inclined to ask unwanted questions.
Oddly she found herself relieved that Dare had made himself scarce following their return from Berkshire. She couldn't possibly ask him to defend her from Ivers for fear of his explosive jealousy.
It would have surprised her to learn that Dare was keeping his distance because he thought it wiser. After their intense interlude at his pleasure house, he needed to determine how best to deal with Julienne. For weeks now his feelings for her had taken on the dark strains of obsession, and he was struggling with the problem of how to extricate himself-if that was even possible.
In his more rational moments, Dare understood what course he should take: he needed to relinquish this haunting fantasy of love, the intense need simply to have Julienne near.
Loving her defied all reason, he knew. The only way to master his craving for her was to absent himself.
He was considering leaving town when he received an urgent summons from Lucian. Even though it was barely noon, Dare immediately called at the Wycliff residence and found his friend at work in his study.
"Why," Lucian asked at once, "did you send me that cryptic message all the way from Newmarket last week to ask about the Earl of Ivers?"
Dare settled himself on the couch. "Because I hadn't seen him in well over a year, and I thought it odd that he showed up on my heels so soon after I advertised my search for Caliban."
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