by Jenna Jaxon
Standing still, he raised his arms. “I’m all yours. Do with me what you will.” With his eyes, he beseeched her to do everything.
With a moaning growl, she pulled the belt loose.
The robe parted and he shrugged out of it. Not in the teasing manner she’d used, but one quick push that left him fully naked to her hungry gaze.
Her color brightened, her body flushing all over, turning her a pretty shade of pink. Pinker still when her gaze strayed down to his cock, standing stiff as a walking stick. What would it feel like if she grasped it like one? He shivered and had to hold his breath, think of something else quickly.
When he’d caught his breath, she grasped his hand, twining their fingers and urging him toward her. “Show me, Jack. Show me how I’m supposed to feel in bed.”
Crawling forward, he settled himself beside her, pushed her back on the pillows, and leaning over, kissed her long and hard. This time, however, Alethea grabbed his head, thrust her tongue into his mouth and hung on. She stabbed in and out of his mouth fiercely, and the tension he’d kept carefully under control wound tighter in his groin. God, he didn’t want to pull away from her, but if she kept this up, things were going to go much quicker than he’d planned.
To distract her, he slid his hand inside the filmy crimson and gold gown to her nipple, sitting perky and hard atop the soft bodice. Carefully, he took the nipple in his fingers and rolled it gently. Not too much pressure, just enough to give her a new sensation she might like.
“Ooh, Jack.” She ended the kiss with a moan of delight, her bottom writhing on the sheets.
Breathing a sigh of relief as his own tension abated a bit, he lowered his mouth to the other nipple, kissing it, licking it, sucking it until she lay panting and moaning beneath him.
Grasping the lower edge of the chemisette, he pulled it up to her breasts and draped it just beneath them, leaving her exquisite body completely exposed to his hungry gaze.
Moving lower, he trailed his tongue down the creamy white length of her stomach to her navel, that fascinating little dip. Almost as if made for his tongue to explore. But her sharp intake of breath as he delved in made his cock insist it was time.
Sliding his fingers down through her curls, he discovered the wetness he sought and rose to his knees. “I need you now, Alethea. God, how I need you.”
“Yes, I’m fine. Please, do it.” Her head was back, her eyes closed.
He couldn’t tell if she was afraid or hated what he was doing. But he had to. His body had taken over and must be satisfied. Pushing her thighs apart, he positioned himself at her entrance, fumbling a bit, then finding what he sought and thrust forward. He tried to go slowly, but her body was so warm and wet and inviting, he slid in all the way before he could stop himself.
“Ah, Christ.” He stopped, panting, afraid to move. “Did I hurt you?”
Startled, she looked up at him. “No. It doesn’t hurt at all.” She smiled. “Eithne told me it didn’t hurt after the first time.” Lifting her hand, she cupped his cheek. “It actually feels quite good.”
“Yes, it does.” He groaned again. Her heat urged him on, so he pulled back and thrust again and again. Until on one final thrust he exploded inside the heat.
Every inch of him screamed silently with a pleasure so intense he thought he might die of it. But God, if he died, it had been worth it. Nothing he had ever experienced came close to the raw passion that spread all through him. The intense sensations began to fade, every limb now leaden. His heart, almost beating out of his chest before, had slowed again to an almost normal thump. Still, the best part had been knowing that, in the moment of his release, he had sent his seed into her. Claiming her as forever his.
* * * *
The sight of Jack’s sweaty face above her, suffused with astonishment, almost brought a smile to Alethea’s lips. She smothered it though. She didn’t wish him to think her laughing at him.
A moment later he sagged on top of her, his warm flesh covered in a fine sheen of sweat. She liked the warmth of him. Even the weight of him made her feel wanted. Where they were still joined was best, however. He was inside her, part of her, in a way she couldn’t explain. Connected in an indescribable way. She didn’t want it to end. Didn’t want him to get out of her bed and return to his own. If they could only stay this way forever.
But even now, he was withdrawing from her. The normal way of things, of course, but after waiting so long for this moment, it seemed unfair for it to be over so quickly. It had been lovely, though. He had been passionate and gentle. And afraid he had hurt her. He’d been so sweet. But now he was done. She would have to wait until tomorrow or the next day perhaps, to steal more of these precious moments with him.
Jack rolled off her, to her side, the look of astonishment still on his face.
“Are you all right?” She rolled on her side, facing him, allowing her smile to peek out.
“Well, at one point I thought I’d died, but then I didn’t care. I just enjoyed it.” He grinned into her face, then pulled her down and into a swift kiss. “Did you enjoy it too?”
“Yes, of course I did.” Enjoyed being joined with him. Enjoyed that kiss, though it was too damned brief. Enjoyed this time together. Perhaps she could make it last. “You look cold. Maybe we should get under the covers for a while.”
“Wonderful suggestion.” He scooted the covers up over them, pulling her closer to him until her head snuggled against his bare shoulder.
She could lie like this forever. “So you liked your first time?”
“Somewhat more than liked. I’ve been an idiot to have missed out on this all these years.” He kissed her forehead. “But then I would have been a different person, and we might not have been here together at all. So…” he rolled until she lay beneath him once more. “We will simply have to make up the time.”
“Make up the time?” He didn’t want to leave? He wanted to bed her again?
“Unless you have an objection?” He buried his face in her neck.
“No, no objection at all.” She grasped his head and pressed him tighter to her. The tingles all over her body were back. His mouth seemed to be everywhere. First one nipple, then the other, sucking them until she throbbed below.
“You like that?” he paused to ask.
“Yes. I like everything you’re doing.” She tried to guide him back to her breasts, but he threw off the covers and grasped her chemisette.
“I think we need to dispense with your gown.” With a great pull, he tore the creation in two. “As seductive as it was, I’d prefer to see all of you. Right now.”
She laughed and he buried his head between her breasts, then scattered kisses all down her front. His enthusiasm was endearing. The feelings he aroused as his lips dipped lower, more urgent, making her edgy and achy all over. He darted his tongue into her navel and her hips bucked, a coil of tension beginning deep inside her. When he slid his hands back to her breasts, rolling her nipples again, she moaned aloud with the sudden pleasure of it all. She must tell him what a stellar pupil he was. When she could speak again.
Trailing his lips below her stomach, he brushed the thicket of curls and she found her voice.
“Jack!” Springing up, she stared at his golden head bent over her most intimate place, shocked into silence again.
He raised innocent eyes to her. “You don’t like that? Are you sure?” Lowering his head quickly, he touched his tongue to her flesh, searching until he brushed a part of her that sent a shock deep into her core.
Gasping, she fell back on the bed. What was happening? What was he doing? Shocks and sparks shot everywhere as he licked and licked. She writhed as the tension coiled tighter deep inside her. When would it stop? She hoped never.
He traced a finger down the side of her entrance, his mouth still busy.
Oh, God, what was he doing now? The coil within tighte
ned another notch.
Gently, he slid the finger inside, then back and forth.
“Ahhh.” No holding back her moan. It filled the room as she shuddered. She’d never felt anything so wonderful before.
“You don’t like—”
“Don’t stop! Don’t stop.” Frenzied to keep her center coiling, she squirmed until he lowered his mouth to her once more and slid in two fingers.
Hands clenched on the covers, she moaned louder, almost sobbing as he drove her body to the brink of some abyss and tipped her over. Her core exploded, pulsing wildly around him as he continued to pump into her, continued to lick and suck. On and on, until she almost couldn’t breathe for the trembling of her every fiber.
At last, her flesh spent out, he gathered her in his arms.
A limp rag doll had more ability to move, but the contentment that flowed through her gave her a peace she had never known.
“That didn’t happen before, did it?” He kissed her sweaty brow and pulled the covers around them both.
“Hmm. What?” So sleepy she could scarcely hold her eyes open, she tried to understand what he had said.
“Just now. Inside, you grasped my fingers. During your release.” He stroked her arm, pulling her closer.
“That’s what that was?” Seemed she was learning new things about being bedded too. “No, I’ve never felt anything like that before. So incredibly good.” She snuggled against him, her eyes closing.
“I want to see if you can do that with me inside you.”
Her eyelids flew open. “Now?”
He grinned and kissed her mouth. “You have something you’d rather be doing?”
“No.” Alethea grinned back at him. “Nothing at all.”
“Well, then. Here, let’s get rid of the rest of your surprise.”
She sat up and he stripped the tattered garment from her and tossed it on the floor. “Now, come here.” He threw back the covers completely. “One of the most interesting things I learned was that there are lots of different things to do in bed, and different ways to do them.” Sliding to the floor, he pulled her after him, until her legs hung over the edge of the mattress. He grabbed her head and kissed her again, more deeply, exploring her with his tongue until she began to throb again.
“Umm. You taste so sweet. Everywhere.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed and blushed. “Now turn over and lean over the bed.”
As she turned, she glimpsed his shaft, once more enlarged, straight and stiff, and the throbbing increased.
He positioned her with her legs apart, her bottom up in the air, her upper torso lying across the bed. Running his hands up her spine, then down to cup her buttocks, he growled deep in his throat. “You have such a beautiful body, Alethea. A body made for pleasure, and the pleasure will be all mine.” He pulled her back toward him and his shaft nudged between her legs.
Her breathing sped up and she shifted on her toes, waiting for him, wanting him to fill her once more.
A sudden push and he slid into her, thick and long. He pressed down on her back, grabbed on to her hips and flowed forward, all the way inside.
“God, that’s sweet.” Jack’s eager, husky voice made all her muscles clench around him. “Ahhlethea.” He withdrew and pumped in again, slowly. And again. And again. Each glide and withdraw a little faster.
Her core began to coil again, more like their first time, less like the one that had sent her over the moon. Oh, how she wanted that release again. Together with him. But how?
Suddenly his hand left her hip and curled around to the front of her, searching below until he found that place. He brushed it lightly with his fingers and the jolt that streaked through her took her breath away.
Little mewing cries burst from her lips as the coil sprang to life within her. The smooth, thick glide coupled with the gentle strokes sent her spiraling upward so fast she cried out, “Yes, yes,” for fear he would stop.
His breathing rasped in her ears as he sped up, urging her closer and closer to the abyss of before. He cried out, straining against her and she tumbled over the edge, her flesh pulsing around him as they shuddered together.
He sprawled on top of her, his glorious weight pressing her into the mattress, boneless as her flesh still pulsed around him.
They lay there for some minutes, as the world came back into focus. With a groan, he pulled away and flopped on his back beside her. “Are you all right?”
“No.” It took an effort to raise her head and look at him. “I’ve died, but I don’t mind either.” She smiled and he laughed. “I think I’m too weak to crawl back into the bed.”
“Let’s give it a minute. I can’t move either.” But he reached over and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I think that may be a good sign for this part of our marriage.” With a grunt he sat up, then helped her into the bed.
Her eyelids closed almost as her head hit the pillow and she roused only when he climbed in beside her, kissing her neck and wrapping her in his strong arms.
“Sleep now, my love,” he whispered. “This is just the beginning.”
Chapter 26
The pre-dawn darkness saw Jack dressed in his most elegant suit of gray silk, tying his cravat and whistling a tune he’d picked up in a tavern years ago in Virginia. He’d awakened in Alethea’s bed with the melody in his head, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Slipping quietly out of her room, he’d woken Thompson and started his ablutions, cheerful despite the coming duel.
Who would not be cheerful after the night he’d spent with Alethea? He’d scarcely begun exploring all the ways they could pleasure one another. If not for this duel, he’d be in her bed still, although probably not asleep. He’d woken several times during the night, his cock stiff and hard and aching for her warmth. Out of deference to her exhausted slumber, he’d not awakened her, but when he got home after this affair, he’d see if he could entice her back into her chamber for the afternoon.
“My hat and I think my stick, Thompson. We must be as formal as possible when meeting this popinjay.” Finishing the knot with a flourish, Jack looked up into the frightened eyes of his wife, standing in the open doorway.
“Don’t go, Jack.” Trembling in her robe, pulled closely around her, dark circles beneath her eyes, her hair disheveled and flowing around her shoulders, she was a vision of loveliness to his eyes.
“Thompson?”
“Very good, my lord.” The valet eased past Alethea and hurried down the hall.
“Jack.” With uncertain steps, she entered the room and paced toward him.
“My dear, I understand your worry.” He took her hands, so cold to the touch, and kissed them. “You are frozen. Go back to bed and I will seek you out when I return.”
“You think I can rest when you’re out in the park about to be shot at? Do you think I’m made of steel?” Even her frown was endearing this morning.
“Yes, a tempered blade capable of withstanding anything.” Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her head, inhaling the faint rose scent she always used.
“Not anything, Jack. If something were to happen to you…I don’t even want to speak it.” She shook her head violently. “I can’t lose you now.”
“And you’re not going to. I will be fine. But I must go.” He turned her face up to his. “I issued the challenge, for God’s sake. To not show up would brand me the basest coward imaginable.”
“I don’t care. I would love you anyway.” Tears splashed down her cheeks.
“But I could not live with myself, Alethea.” He had to make her understand this crucial element of his character. “A man’s honor is most precious to him. You cannot ask me to give it up. It would be like giving up myself.”
“I knew this would happen if you found him out.” She continued to cry, every tear cutting his heart.
“You fear for me, I know, but als
o have faith in me, my love.” So lovely, despite the tears. A strong woman who would be the best life’s companion he could ever have hoped for. “Send me off with a smile and a kiss. And I will promise more when I return.” He lifted her face and found her lips. In sudden urgency, he pressed her mouth open, sent his tongue to ravish a little then gentled himself and ended in a sweet kiss. “That will see me through.”
“You must come back, Jack.” Wringing her hands, she tried to manage a smile for him.
“I promise, my dear.” He stared into her sweet worried eyes. “I love you, Alethea.” If he stayed he might say too much, and it was time to go. It would not do to be late. One last long look at the beautiful face, and he strode out of the room to defend the honor of the woman he loved.
* * * *
The rising temperatures of March and the recent rain had turned the edges of the duck pond into a quagmire. Hardly the best place for the duel to take place. Jack stood on the bank staring at the ducks swimming industriously around the pond. One saving grace was he did not have to fence in this mess.
“If I’d known this, I’d have suggested the Nursery in Hyde Park,” Lord Trevor commented as he approached Jack.
“I should have thought about how wet it’s been.” Jack turned toward his second. “But this has always been the usual spot.” He’d been a second in several duels since he’d arrived in London and all but one had been fought here.
“Perhaps Fitch could be persuaded to concede and we could all go home instead.” Reginald Matthews joined them, looking grave. “I never used to lose sleep in such a way before your arrival in London, Manning. You and your sister and friends have kept me busy these past months.” He nodded to Trevor. “Lord Trevor. We meet again over pistols. I only hope my superiors do not catch wind of all these duels.”
“As do I, Matthews. Thank you for coming.” Jack clapped his relation on the back. “I hardly need to be arrested. My wife is awaiting me at home and I dare not keep her long.”
