by Alice Gaines
“I think you owe me a favor,” she said finally.
“I owe you everything, Lady Rushford.”
“Then you must promise me to say nothing about your brother’s and my confession.”
For a moment, Lily didn’t answer. She seemed to be considering her options. Finally, she sighed.
“And you must do nothing to interfere with Jason marrying Miss Swan,” Bess went on. “He’ll get over his infatuation with me—”
Lily’s head snapped up. “He won’t.”
“He will. He’ll have a long and happy life with Miss Swan. That’s the way life works,” Bess said. “Now, promise me.”
This time, Lily gazed down at her feet. “I promise.”
Bess lifted the girl’s chin, forcing Lily to face her. “Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Thank you. Everything’s fixed now. Leave it alone.”
*
Lily turned out to be easier to handle than Anna and Rose. They were both waiting for Bess when she arrived back at Carlton House. Right inside the front door where she’d have to pry her way between them to get to anywhere private.
“How is he?” Anna asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Bess answered.
“And you?” Anna said.
“Fine too.”
Rose looped her arm through Bess’s. She took quite a firm grip on it, actually, and guided Bess into the sitting room whether she wanted to go or not. Once Rose had deposited her on the settee, Anna went to the sideboard, poured a glass of sherry, and held it out to her.
“It’s rather early, don’t you think?” Bess said.
“All right then, I’ll drink it.” Anna downed the amber liquid in one gulp. “Talk.”
“Must I?” Suddenly, all the energy drained out of her. She’d managed thus far on little more than fear, and now that she’d seen Jason and could believe he wasn’t in any danger, she had nothing left inside except for a dull ache. They’d confessed their love in front of a witness in the bright light of day. That made it all the more real and all the sadder. They were going to break each other’s hearts, and doing the breaking held no more appeal than being broken.
“Maybe you’d better give me some of that, after all,” Bess said.
Rose sat beside Bess. “Is it true he fought a duel for your honor?”
“As ridiculous as that sounds, it appears he did.”
“He must truly love you,” Rose said.
Anna handed Bess a glass of sherry and took a chair on her other side. “As ridiculous as Rose can be about romance, I have to agree with her this time.”
“Lieutenant Weston says Montgomery got drunk at the inn and made outrageous statements about me.” Bess took a gulp of the sherry. “People make outrageous statements about me all the time.”
“Not like that,” Anna said.
“And what do you know about this, pray tell?” Bess asked.
“And how did you learn it?” Rose added.
“Lieutenant Weston mentioned a few of those statements in passing.” Anna picked at invisible lint on her skirt, avoiding eye contact. “He told me Montgomery said things that no gentleman could ignore.”
“In any case, Captain Northcross took offense on my behalf and actually challenged Montgomery,” Bess said. “Can you imagine?”
“Oh, I can. If I were a man, I’d have challenged him, too,” Rose said. “Some things cannot be tolerated.”
“What I don’t understand . . .” Anna tapped her lips with her index finger. “How could Montgomery have bested Captain Northcross, a military man? Is he a better shot?”
“I don’t see how he could be,” Rose said. “Montgomery didn’t join in the hunt that day. If he enjoyed shooting, he would have taken part, I would think.”
A good question. She’d have to ask him that. Clearly, she hadn’t heard the entire story.
“Well, Montgomery’s gone, and we have Captain Northcross to thank,” Rose said. “You owe him a great deal, Bess.”
“We all do, Rose. We were going to have to live with that man.” Anna shuddered. “I’ve never been so happy to unpack things in my life.”
“We certainly need a way to thank the captain,” Rose said.
Bess studied first Rose and then Anna. They had something in mind, no doubt something that would put her together with Jason, if only in their imaginations. Had every woman she knew taken leave of their senses? Had they all forgotten that the man was engaged? Dreaming was one thing, but she had to live in the real world. She downed the rest of her sherry.
“We should all visit him. We can bring him beef tea, fluff his pillows, that sort of thing,” Rose said.
“Of course!” Anna declared. She was starting to sound like Rose, who had already started to sound like Lily. Heaven help her if the three of them were putting their heads together.
“We’ll nurse him back to health,” Anna went on. “We’ll take turns. Bess went today. I’ll go tomorrow and Rose the day after. The next day will be for Bess again.”
“I’ll read to him. Perhaps some sonnets,” Rose said.
“He doesn’t impress me as a lover of poetry,” Bess said. “Why not a Jack Sterling story?”
The other two burst out laughing. They had no idea, of course, that Jason Northcross knew they were Jack Sterling. They wouldn’t find out.
Rose clapped her hands together. “It’s a wonderful plan, a splendid plan.”
“We’ll begin tomorrow,” Anna said.
“You two are starting to sound like each other,” Bess said.
Anna and Rose glanced at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing again.
“That’s because we’re both right,” Anna said.
“And you can’t dispute it,” Rose added.
“I would never dispute anything one of you said,” Bess said. “What would be the point?”
So, she had three days before she’d have to face Jason again. From now until then, she’d have to learn to live with the fact that she loved him with all her heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Bess knocked on Jason’s door before entering. Someone else might be inside, and it would appear more than odd if she let herself in without an invitation. Her stomach fluttered even more than it had the day she’d first learned of the duel and his injury. She could hardly escape the fact that every time she’d been alone with him in the presence of a bed, something very interesting had happened. Very, very interesting.
“Come in,” was the answer. His voice sounded strong. The Jason she knew.
She inched the door open and peered inside. Alone in the room, he sat upright against some pillows. His face broke into a smile when he saw her. A smile that warmed her heart.
“Bess?”
“None other.” She let herself in and closed the door behind her, making sure she heard the latch click.
“Mrs. Thornton told me to expect you,” he said. “So did Miss Pembroke the day before.”
“I’m sure they’ve filled you with all sorts of expectations for my visit.”
“They weren’t as delightful as the expectations that occurred to me on my own,” he said.
“We really shouldn’t speak in that manner with each other,” she said. “You’re to marry another woman.”
“At least you’re not promised to Montgomery any longer.”
“I have you to thank for that.”
He patted the bed beside him. “Then you’d better come over here and thank me.”
He had the devilish smile on his face that made him look delicious beyond her meager powers to resist. The last place she should sit was on that bed next to that man, but of course, she went directly there and perched on the edge. “I hope my friends have been taking good care of you.”
“Excellent. Miss Pembroke brought me some delicious scones.”
“Cook made them, of course.”
“And Mrs. Thornton hopes to give me an education in poetry,” he said.
“I’m s
orry,” she said. “I tried to stop her.”
“I survived.” He lifted a book laying at his side. “I prefer this.”
She took the volume from him and read the spine. One of Jack Sterling’s classics, The Possession on Crow’s Foot Island. She groaned. “Where did you get this?”
“Lily,” he said. “It’s quite engrossing.”
“I doubt she understood what the possession actually was. We were careful about that when we wrote it.”
“Ah, but I recognized it,” he said. “Foul Walter is really and truly foul where young girls are involved, isn’t he?”
“The foulest.”
“Did you write the part where Walter keelhauls the rebellious ensign?”
“Not I. Rose is the bloodthirsty one,” she answered.
He tsked a few times. “And she seems like such a sweet thing.”
“She is in reality, but her imagination . . . She wanted to behead someone recently.”
He set the book aside. “You shouldn’t have involved my sister, you know.”
“I‘m sorry,” she said. “She discovered us by chance. She seemed so eager. You can’t stifle her dreams, you know.”
“I’m glad at least that she told me the truth. Otherwise, I would never have understood why you were willing to marry Montgomery.” He reached up and touched the side of her face. So gentle. So dear. She only needed to turn her head to place a kiss on his palm. Under different circumstances, she would have.
“I thank you for ridding me of him,” she said. “I can’t say I approve of the way you did it.”
“It was the first chance I had, so I took it.”
“One thing I don’t understand, though,” she said. “How is it he managed to wound you without you landing your shot?”
“I didn’t shoot.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“I let him waste his shot and then threatened to use mine on him if he ever bothered you again.”
She could only gape at him in disbelief. “You stood there and let him shoot at you?”
He shrugged and then winced. “He didn’t know one end of a pistol from another. I felt sure he’d miss whatever he aimed at.”
“That’s insanity,” she said. “What if he’d aimed at your shoulder and hit your head? He might have killed you.”
“As you can see, he didn’t.” He took her hand and tugged her closer. “Now then, what will you treat me to today? Beef tea? Poetry? Some more . . . um . . . delicious way of thanking me?”
“I can’t imagine what you mean, Captain Northcross.”
“I think you can, Lady Rushford.” He continued pulling on her arms until she had no choice but to move toward him. When she was nearly sitting on his lap, he placed her hands on either side of him. Then he parted his lips in the most tempting way possible.
“Thank you,” she whispered before she kissed him. His lips were soft and dry against hers. She tasted him more deeply and became intoxicated immediately, as she always did with this man. The first time they’d touched each other should have warned her that she’d always want him with a hunger that stole every scrap of her reason.
“Thank you,” she repeated, kissing him again. Soon she was taking him over and over, whispering her thanks between each caress.
He put his arms around her and immediately stiffened with a sharp “ah” of pain.
“What are we thinking?” she said, her voice already husky with desire. “You’re injured.”
“My shoulder is. The rest of me works just fine.”
“I don’t want to open your wound,” she said.
“We’ll be careful.”
“Someone might come in.”
“Go prop a chair under the door,” he said.
“This is madness.”
“I want you, Bess. Please.”
“Oh, very well. I can’t say no to you.” She did as he’d asked, finding a straight-backed chair and securing it under the doorknob. She’d never done anything like this, and the sheer naughtiness made her breath catch. The most handsome man in the world wanted her so badly, he’d risk injuring himself in order to have her in the middle of the day when someone in his household might discover them. If someone came along, they might not be able to get into the room, but they’d have to wonder why the door had been blocked.
“You’d best remove your drawers, too,” he said. “I don’t have the use of both of my hands.”
She bent, reached under her skirts and pulled down the linen garment that covered her sex. When it pooled at her feet, she stepped out of it.
“Good girl,” he said. “Now, come here.”
She went to him and snuggled up against him, taking care not to brush his bad shoulder. His chest was as wide and firm as usual, and she rested against it as if coming home. Now, her nose brushed the angle of his jaw, and she nibbled gently, even dipping lower to taste the skin of his neck. His valet would have shaved him earlier in the day, but he already had stubble that brushed pleasantly at her lips.
“You are absolutely delicious,” she murmured. “I can’t seem to get enough.”
“Take whatever you want. You’ll have to do most of the work this time.”
“I’m more than willing,” she said. “It’s the least I can do to thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
She moved lower, letting her lips trail to his shoulder. As she did, she untied the fastenings of his nightshirt so that she could slide her hand inside and savor the feel of his skin under her palm. He was warm and oddly soft for a soldier so brave he’d taken a ball from a pistol for her. Not a hair marred his perfection.
“I can do some things, you know,” he said.
She tipped her head up. “What would you like?”
“I can kiss you.”
“That would be divine.”
She kept her eyes open so that she could watch his face lean into hers. He took his time doing it, as though he wanted the moment to stretch out as much as she did. When his lips touched hers, she lost herself in the kiss, letting her lids drift downward. With a soft moan, he tipped his head, fitting their mouths together. Now he urged her lips apart and tested the inside surfaces with his tongue. So like what he’d done with the lips of her sex to drive her wild.
Down below, between her legs, she’d already begun to ache, remembering how his tongue had felt as he’d teased her past endurance. He couldn’t do that now, but the memory came back as an animal hunger. She would feel his hardness inside her in a few minutes, and that would be glorious in its own way.
He released her mouth and burrowed his nose into her hair, near the temple. His breath grazed her ear and whispered inside, sending another shock of excitement through her. She whimpered and searched for his mouth again, this time holding his face in her hands as she kissed him with every bit of longing in her. No matter how much of him she had, she’d never get enough. Sweeter than sherry and more intoxicating than whiskey, he made her drunk with passion. Soon, he’d satisfy her, the way he always did.
“Lady Rushford,” he whispered against her lips. “I do believe you’re becoming aroused.”
“And you, Captain Northcross?”
“I’ve been fully erect since you entered the room.”
“Shall I check and see?”
He gave her a wicked smile. “You’re rushing things.”
“Then how shall we proceed?” She bit her lip in her best imitation of flirting. She’d never felt like a seductive woman before. Jason had given her that, too.
“I haven’t seen your beautiful breasts for . . . oh . . . days,” he said. “Do you suppose you might free one from all of your clothing?”
“For you, anything.” She had to unbutton the bodice of her dress and reach into her corset. When she released the breast, the nipple stood erect, waiting for his touch. He lifted it in the palm of his good hand and brought it to his mouth, where he circled the tip with his tongue. That contact also sent signals along her nerves to her sex, wher
e she’d begun to become moist.
To have even more pressure against the sensitive flesh, she rose up on her knees to bring herself to his mouth. Carefully, so that she didn’t jostle his bad shoulder. As she held his head against her, sliding her fingers into his hair, he sucked her nipple into his mouth, bathing it in heat and wetness.
Her breath turned ragged as her excitement mounted. His good arm went around her, pulling her to him. Now they were locked in an embrace, clinging together as they approached the moment when they wouldn’t be able to hold off any longer and she’d take him into her body.
The space around them filled with the sounds of love and sex. The soft sucking of his mouth on her breast, the sighs and moans. Their voices melded in a duet of lust and need.
“Jason?” she whispered.
“Hm?”
“May I touch you?” Of course, she was really asking for permission to join them together, but after she’d played with him for a bit.
He groaned. “I’m heavily aroused.”
“I want to see.”
“I can’t deny you any more than you can me.”
She pulled away from him and tugged at the blankets covering him. Sure enough, he’d tented his nightshirt away from his body. He hadn’t exaggerated his state. With his good arm, he pushed himself upward to help her lift the hem, and she had a good view of him.
They’d always made love at night, but now the light of day showed his beauty. Now, she could brush her fingertips over the velvet of his sac and watch his answering shudder.
“Too rough?” she asked.
“Just right,” he gritted between clenched teeth. “You’ll kill me. I swear you will.”
“We’ll both die in a few minutes.” She released the sac and wrapped her fingers around his shaft. With a tool so big and hard in her hand, she could almost feel the rush of blood in the vein that ran along the underside. As she stroked him, his flesh turned a livid crimson. Still, she couldn’t resist pumping him and gazing into his face as his eyes closed with pleasure.
“Ride me,” he said.
“Such a fine stallion,” she said. “I’m not sure I can control him.”
“Mount me and see.”
What a delicious invitation. She’d never have a better one. She only needed to raise her skirts and take him between her thighs. Again with care, she lifted one leg over him and rose to bring the lips of her sex to the tip of his. Gripping it with one hand, she guided him to her entrance. Once she had him in place, she lowered herself onto him slowly, memorizing every inch of him as he entered her.