by Wendy Stone
Alyssa smiled, wetting her lips with her tongue and watching his eyes follow the motion. He did his best to seem disinterested, but a long, hard part of his anatomy was denying the look upon his face, standing tall and throbbing. “It is no concern of yours what I wish,” she stated, her voice firm. “You’re here for my pleasure.”
Jason’s blood pumped like fire through his veins. His cock hurt, it was so hard. And the sound of her voice and the words she chose were making it worse. He’d play her games, for they were his games too.
But he still almost jumped from his skin when she lay next to him, bending over his cock and blowing a long stream of warm air over the turgid shaft. He couldn’t control the shiver or the groan that followed, clenching his teeth to keep from reaching for her and pushing her head down until her mouth was around him.
Another long stream of air followed and then she looked up at him. “Close your eyes, husband. Don’t open them unless I say you may.”
He gave her an inquisitive look. A raised eyebrow was her only response and he sighed, closing his eyes. His reward swiftly followed as her slick little tongue swiped up the side of his cock, circling the tip and then dipping into the tiny crevice, mining for the taste of his pre-cum. She hummed her appreciation of his taste, the vibrations sliding around his cock and making his hips jerk.
Then the heat of her mouth around him, her tongue licking flaming circles just under the head of his cock, finding any area that evoked erotic sensations and stimulating them mercilessly. With his eyes closed, he was lost in the dark, with only her mouth and her hands to guide the way, teasing him closer to the steep cliffs of passion, to that treacherous drop. His breathing grew raspy and harsh, his eyes fluttered, lashes trembling as he fought to keep them closed. His muscles stood out in rigid relief, his arms locked for all he wanted was to drag her up his body, to ruthlessly plunder her passion, ravish the raging need she’d provoked and lose himself between her sweet thighs.
She pushed him further, bobbing her head and cupping the hard, aching spheres of his balls in her soft palm. Squeezing them gently, she quickened her pace, wanting to bring him the ultimate in pleasure, to show him how much he meant to her.
“Alyssa,” he moaned, “please love, I want to be inside you.”
He heard her moan, felt her reluctantly loose his cock from her mouth. The cool air of the room swirled around the long shaft, making him shiver more. Then her words came, freeing him from her game. “Make love to me, Jason. I need you.”
His eyes opened in a flash, his arms reaching for her soft body, carefully rolling with her, his hands finding the full curve of her breasts. His lips brushed a pebbled nipple, drew it in, suckling upon it fiercely.
She cried out as the furious tugging at her breast brought spasms of profound bliss, her legs clenching as she felt them deep inside her womb. She cried out again when his fingers slipped between those clenched thighs, pushing them apart, his hand resting against the fiery curls of her mound.
Her hands dug into his hair, her body arching under him, undulating against his hand as his fingers dipped between her swollen lips, finding the wet heat of her pink cunt. “More,” she begged, her voice husky. “I want more.”
With a groan, he rose over her, his thighs pressing hers open, his cock finding the portal of her tight sheath. Pushing with a gentleness hard won when he wanted to thrust and take, he opened her slowly, feeling her velvety soft muscles part for him, laving him in steamy heat. He kept pushing until he could go no further, buried in her, feeling as if he’d come home.
He stayed there, propped on his elbows, his weight mostly off her until she looked up at him, opening her eyes, confusion upon her face. “Jason? Is anything wrong?”
“No, love.” His voice was husky and he cleared it. “I…need you to know how much I love you, Alyssa. You know that, don’t you?”
He watched as she smiled, radiant despite the bruises. “And I love you, my darling Duke.” Her lips were ready when he bent to kiss her, melding his mouth to hers.
Long, slow strokes, short, hard thrusts; she craved them and him, wrapping her legs around his waist and holding onto him tightly. She loved the way he plundered her depths, pleasuring her with his entire body. His lips were hot, fierce upon her own and he clutched her close, his hands roaming over her with no other purpose but to give her pleasure.
And he did. Spasms of ecstasy tore at her breath and flooded her body with waves of heated bliss, almost too much to bear. Her body clamped around his, her cunt greedily milking his cock. He shouted with her, pushed over the edge and convulsing in her arms.
His fingers curled in her hair, his lips softly and gently kissing her when she managed to rouse from the pleasure-induced daze. He held her still, kissing her with no thought but the love in his heart, clinging to her lips with tenderness and devotion. It brought a tear to her eyes, that he could feel such for her. She returned the kiss, her palm against his cheek.
“Are you all right, Jason?”
He squeezed his eyes tight for a second and then lifted himself off her, throwing himself on his back next to her. She turned to her side, scooting closer to him, concerned. He seemed to be trying to come to a decision.
“Jason?” she asked again, her hand upon his chest.
He put his hand over the top of hers and took a deep breath, opening his eyes to meet her smoky gray gaze. “Alyssa, there is something I need to tell you.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Right now?” Fear crept into her voice.
“I can’t not tell you, Alyssa,” he said gently. “It’s the reason we fought, the reason you fell down the stairs. But I need your promise…”
“What?” she asked, reaching out for his hand, knowing in her heart that she didn’t want to hear his words. The fight had to have been terrible for her to have run from him the way they said she did. It had to be something utterly horrible. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.
“You must promise that you won’t run this time. If you can’t stand seeing me, I’ll leave. But I will not risk you or our baby being hurt.” He tipped her chin up, seeing the fear in her eyes and knowing they echoed his own. “Promise me, love?”
“I…I promise, but—God, Jason, must we do it now?” The fear was overwhelming. She had never seen him show this kind of emotion.
“I’ve lived in fear since you woke that you’d wake or turn your head and I would see that same look of hatred you had the day you ran out of here. I can’t live with that fear any longer, Alyssa, not after tonight. I love you with everything I am, I will love you like this the rest of my life. I don’t think I’m capable of not loving you.” He leaned down, kissing her lips gently, feeling her hands coming up and cupping his head, holding him there. He gladly complied, finally ending the kiss with a sigh.
He tilted his head, looking at her as if he were memorizing the way she looked; the curve of her chin, the hollow of her cheek, the way her fiery curls framed her beautiful face. And then he sighed again, sitting up with his back to her.
“Do you remember the day we met, out in the park?” He laughed, sort of a hollow chuckle. “I’ll never forget it. You were beautiful on that damned horse. And I thought you’d lost control. I risked my damn neck chasing you down, only to end up getting bitten.”
“What does that have to do with the fight, Jason?” she asked, her hand reaching out and touching his back, letting her fingers rest against his skin, needing some connection to him.
“You’ll see, love, give me a moment. My mother had sent round a note, asking me to meet her at a gala later that week, Lady M’s Gala. I saw you there, dressed in a gown of silver. You were exquisite, like a goddess rising from the mist. And I couldn’t even get close to you. Your admirers were swarmed that tightly around you. I saw one of them get fresh and lost my temper. Teddy was laughing at me, which made matters worse, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I’ve never had that problem before.”
He turned his head, looking
down at her. “I’ve never thought about a woman more in my life. You sneak your way in, no matter what is on my mind. Teddy has even come close to beating me in the ring due to thoughts of you, love.”
Alyssa sat up, her hand holding the sheet to her breasts. She brought her knees in, resting her arm across them. “A fact he no doubt rubbed in your face,” she said, smiling at him.
“Of course. As I do him when he goes all fuzzy eyed over Cat,” he answered, kissing her gently. He sighed, taking a deep breath and letting it out in another sigh. “Do you remember the gardens at Lady M’s, Alyssa?”
“Yes. I snuck out. I was overly warm and Lady M’s punch was ghastly. I walked in the garden and then I…I met Jamie.” She looked up at him, her face suddenly pale.
“You met me, love. It was me in the garden and that rescued you from the highwaymen. It was me that snuck into your room and made love to you. I was the reason you fell down the stairs. You found that damnable mask and ran from me.” His hand raised to her cheek, lingered just a breath from touching it before falling to the sheet. “I’d like to tell you why, if you will listen.”
Alyssa felt her head spin and her stomach flip as she thought of the things she’d said, the things she’d done and worse, those that he’d said and done. There was a roaring in her ears and she stared at him, unable to control her thoughts.
Finally she nodded, feeling as if her world had been torn apart.
“When I met you in the garden, it was a lark. I got to kiss the girl I couldn’t get out of my mind, a girl who thought that the real me was an absolute beast at best. I wanted to see if I could change your mind, make you think about me the way I couldn’t stop thinking about you. So I kissed you.” He stopped talking, looking down at his hands.
She was just about to speak when he started speaking again, closing his eyes, his head up, with a look of pain on his handsome face.
“I can remember everything of that evening, the soft sound of the music in the background, the scent of your perfume mixing with the spring flowers, the way you felt in my arms. I can even remember the soft sigh you made when my lips touched yours the first time. It was enchanting, a magical moment out of time. It was then that I knew without a doubt that I had to have you in my life. But I was stupid, I was arrogant and told myself I didn’t want to marry, not even you.”
“Then Cat called for you and you left me. I couldn’t go back into that ball and watch as those men held you as I wished to, or danced with you when I wanted to be the only man in your life. I left. I went home and changed and then went for a ride in the moonlight to think.” He laughed ruefully. “I mostly thought of how you’d felt against me, wondering how I would ever find a way to get you there again.”
“I heard your voice through the mist. At first I thought I was just hearing things, my mind playing cruel tricks. Then I heard you again, loud and angry, telling the highwaymen off. I knew you’d rile them, love. And I knew you’d find your way into disaster. So I grabbed a mask from a dead man, hid my horse and became Jamie, your rescuer.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alyssa managed to say. “Why did you let me believe that I had slept with another man? Why didn’t you tell me when I told you I was pregnant?”
“And what would you have done if I’d whipped off my mask and showed you my true identity? Had a good laugh and welcomed me with open arms? I was terrified that you’d leave me, especially after finding out about the baby.” He turned and faced her. “I was a coward. I took the easy way out of a situation when I should have stepped forward and been a man. But I was so frozen in fear by the thought of you leaving me, I couldn’t do it. I tried, you don’t know how many times I opened my mouth to tell you, only to back out at the last moment, too afraid, too much of a coward.”
He took her hand in his, not letting go when she tried to pull away. “I love you, I love our baby and the life that we both want to live together. But I could no longer live with myself and the lies. I was jealous of myself, can you believe that? I was jealous because Jamie had your love. I wanted your love. And when I came to you before our wedding, I didn’t know what to do. You told me, so gallantly, so selflessly, about your affair, and about the baby. And I opened my mouth to tell you the truth and it wouldn’t come out. I kept thinking that you didn’t need to know, you could fall in love with me and we would forget about that time.”
“But I kept the mask. I think I did it on purpose. I wanted you to know, Alyssa. God, I wanted the lies to end. I wanted to be able to look at you and be with you and not have those secrets hanging over my head any longer.”
“You found it and you ran. You wouldn’t even let me talk to you. You’d just told me you loved me. Me…Jason. Not Jamie. And then you found the mask and your eyes turned dark as if everything that was light had been extinguished all at once. You were leaving to go to your father’s. You ran out and I was getting ready to come after you when I heard you scream. I got to the stairs, and there you were, down at the bottom, splayed like a discarded doll.”
Alyssa grew still as she watched him. His eyes were dark and wet with emotion, his face rigid with pain as he relived that moment. A tear swept down his cheek to drip unnoticed to the sheet, another one quickly following. He didn’t try to hide them. He didn’t try to hold them in check. He was letting her see every emotion he felt now.
She felt a little thrill go through her. It had been him in the barn. Jason had taken her virginity, not some faceless man. No, it was her husband who had stood up to those highwaymen, risking his life to save hers, making her a woman in the most wonderful of ways. He’d been the one to sneak to her room, to steal her heart in the dark of the night.
Looking at him now, she wondered how she had ever been fooled. He had the same strong jaw, the same dark hair. His voice, though Jamie spoke mostly in hushed tones, was the same. And his kisses, how could she ever not have known those kisses?
She pushed the covers aside, rising from the bed to go over to the table and pick up the glass of water left there for her. Sipping it, she stared into the fire, feeling his seed slipping down her thighs.
Jason watched her, glad when she reached for the water and not for a gown. He worried that in her rage she would forget her promise and try to rush out once more. Only…she didn’t seem angry so much as thoughtful. In that moment, he found hope.
“You lied to me,” she said softly.
“Yes, I did.”
“You played me false and let me think that I loved two men.”
“Yes, I did.”
“And you did it all because you feared losing me? Why does that make sense?” She set down the glass and turned back towards the bed.
He shrugged his shoulders, pushing his hair back from his face with one hand.
For a moment, she stood there, taking in the image of the man she’d wed. He was so incredibly handsome, a rugged face and strong body that took away her breath, but his eyes showed an intelligence and a softness when they looked upon her. And love, how could she forget the love he felt for her? He’d been punished. She could still see the dark shadows from the lack of sleep and he still had the hollow look from going without food while she was unconscious. Yes, he’d been punished. But was it enough?
“I should leave you.” she said, putting her knee upon the bed and pulling herself up on the tall mattress, “You know I could. My father would take me back in an instant.”
“You could, but I’d be there everyday, Alyssa. I’d make fuzzy eyes at you and fill your room with flowers and anything else I could think of to make you think of me.”
She settled back against the head board, pulling the covers to her waist, cupping her chin in her hand. “That would almost make it worthwhile, seeing what gifts you could come up with that you think would woo away my anger.”
“We could make it easier and I could just give them to you here?” he offered tentatively.
“We could. It would save me from having to pack. Of course I’d have to do the whole thing all
over again when I finally realized that I can’t do without you. So much trouble for a few lies,” she mused, tapping her finger upon her lips.
“Yes, so much trouble when you could stay here and make me regret those lies the rest of my life. Wouldn’t that be better love?”
“Oh, does that mean special treatment?” she asked archly. “It had better be worthwhile, love. I mean, all those lies.”
He pulled the covers away and knelt at her feet, kissing her toes. She shrieked with laughter as he took her feet in his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, dropping kisses over her tiny feet. “Forgive me and I’ll worship the ground you walk on.”
He peeked up at her through his dark lashes, seeing her smile and feeling his heart beat quicken. Was he forgiven? Was she really going to be this lenient on him?
“Come here,” she said, holding out her arms.
He went joyfully, holding her so close that for a moment she forgot how to breathe. But she didn’t care. When he finally loosened his hold, he stared into her eyes. “You forgive me?” he asked hopefully.
“What happened to the mask?” she asked him instead of answering.
His eyes clouded. “I burned it that night. I found it where you had dropped it and threw it into the flames. I couldn’t stand to see it anymore.”
“Too bad,” she said with a loud sigh. He stared at her in confusion.
“What?! I would have thought you’d never want to see it again.”
Her smile was swift and irresistible. “Well, you know, there was something really exhilarating about those midnight visits from the handsome masked stranger.”
“You’re incorrigible,” he stated, though he couldn’t keep the smile from his face either. “Besides, you’re a happily married woman now, and you’re going to be a mother soon. You’ll have to be circumspect and ladylike, and only have relations with your husband once a month, and then with the candles blown out and under the covers.”
