“I have missed you,” he murmured against her skin. “Did you think of me?”
With both hands encircling his right upper arm, Juliana let her lashes flutter downward as she leaned against him. What harm was there in enjoying Sin’s kiss?
Plenty, she silently argued with herself. The man was a rake and rather unapologetic about it, which explained all the former and current mistresses who seemed to be in his life. A sensible lady would remind him of his manners and demand that he drive her home.
And yet . . .
Juliana could not deny the spark of desire between them. When Sin looked at her, her body tingled and warmed under his unguarded perusal. The night they had been alone in Lord Kempe’s mineral specimen room, Sin had vowed to make her burn. Since then, his words and the memory of his unyielding body against hers had haunted her until she ached for his touch. Each night, before she had drifted off to sleep, she had thought about his promise that he would not be a gentleman the next time they met and wondered if she truly wanted him to be.
As if sensing she was on the cusp of surrendering, the marquess growled against her mouth, deepening the kiss. His thumb brushed her lower lip, gently parting her lips. She smiled, feeling his tongue against her teeth. It was such an odd sensation, and wholly unexpected. Sin ruthlessly used her surprise to deepen the intimate caress. His tongue swept past her teeth and teased her tongue. Their tongues tangled and danced. The sensation was delightful.
Juliana mumbled her approval.
Wordlessly the marquess coaxed her into tasting him. She advanced when he retreated. Juliana edged closer. Breathless, Sin pulled away. His lips had reddened from their kiss. His charming grin gave her heart a sharp twist.
“I have something for you.”
The delicate curve of her right eyebrow lifted in surprise. “What is it?”
He reached within his damp coat and removed a small leather pouch from an inner pocket. “A small token of friendship.” His eyes glinted with a hint of mischief. “And affection.”
She brought her hand to her mouth as he retrieved a long string of pearls from the leather pouch. Even in the dim interior, the pearls, larger than spring peas, gleamed like moonlight in his large hands. “What have you done? Oh no, this is entirely inappropriate. And expensive,” she fussed, though she was privately thrilled that he had thought her worthy of such a present.
“I cannot accept.”
Sin was amused by her feeble admonishment. “A pearl necklace will not send me to debtors’ prison, my lady.” His gift laced between his fingers, he held up his hand.
Tantalizing her.
“No,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Do not be childish, Juliana,” Sin scolded, his soft mocking words straightening her spine. “The pearls are simply a gift from one friend to another. You have no reason to fear them.”
Blast him, Juliana thought uncharitably. He knew just the right thing to say to nudge her into accepting the pearl necklace.
She glared at him. “I am not afraid of you or your pearls.”
Sin grinned at her rebellious tone. “Reach out and take my gift. Then you can show me how grateful you are.”
Her mouth quivered at the slight edge to his words. Although he seemed eager for her to accept his gift, she could not shake the feeling that there was some hidden meaning to his invitation.
“So there is a price, my lord.” She fought to hide her disappointment from him. “What do you require?”
“Such the timid mouse. It does not suit you, lybbestre,” he chided, and then sighed at her distrust. “A proper kiss will suffice.”
A proper kiss.
His request was reasonable.
Juliana closed her eyes.
“Oh, it is not quite so simple.” He laughed when her eyes snapped open, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You must initiate the kiss. I want to taste your passion again.”
The coach shuddered as a gust of wind shook the compartment.
Whether she liked it or not, she was trapped in the coach with Sin.
She was also beginning to believe that the marquess was toying with her. She crossed her arms and gave him a contemplative look. “Perhaps I no longer want the pearls.”
His beautiful hazel eyes gleamed with confidence.
“Liar.”
Juliana’s lips parted in shock. “Of all the rude, arrogant—” She struggled to find the right word to hurl at him. “I am not some greedy miss who will grovel for trinkets—”
“I never said that you were, Juliana,” he replied, unperturbed by her flash of temper. The pearls softly clicked together as he admired them. “I merely called you a liar because you will want me to give you these pearls. As a matter of fact, I predict that you will beg me.”
“Ridiculous.”
There was an unspoken challenge in his eyes when his gaze shifted to her face. “Then kiss me, and prove me wrong.”
Although the outing had not gone according to plan, Alexius was willing to indulge his impulsive nature. Nor was he disappointed in the results. The unexpected downpour had driven Lady Juliana into his coach and straight into his arms. It was precisely where he wanted her to be. With the string of pearls clutched in his fist, he wondered how far he could push her and not have her bolt from the dry compartment. It would be tiresome if he had to pursue his lovely quarry down the muddied road.
“What game are you playing at, Sinclair?”
The pearls were indeed a game. One of many he had played with countless women. Unbeknownst to Lady Juliana, his gift of pearls was a source of amusement for certain members of the ton. Former lovers flaunted his gifts in front of current lovers, and husbands never revealed the naughty games Sin had played with them.
A game he was determined to play with her.
“Just ‘Sin,’ ” he entreated, faintly smiling at what he viewed as a private joke.
Lady Juliana laughed nervously. She wrinkled her nose in a manner that Alexius found charming. “Oh, I do not think so, my lord.”
“And why not?” he countered. “All of my friends call me Sin.”
Unconvinced, she nibbled her lower lip. “I prefer ‘Sinclair.’ ”
As a sign of his growing impatience, Alexius passed the string of pearls from one hand to the next. He could hardly explain to the lady he intended to seduce that he had utterly earned the sobriquet in a dastardly fashion. “My father was the Sinclair. The abbreviation of the title suited me.”
Lady Juliana’s Cupid’s bow mouth curved upward as amusement twinkled in her eyes. “Somehow I am not surprised.”
Her saucy comment added a rosy pink to her cheeks. Damp from the rain, the lady beside him was a vision of loveliness. Limp curls of gold and brown uncoiled loosely around her face as she stared at him through clear green eyes. Minutes earlier, he had glimpsed desire in her eyes when he had pulled away from their kiss. It was gone now, replaced by feminine wariness. However, Alexius was confident that he could rekindle the unspoken invitation once he put his hands on her again.
“Be bold, Juliana,” he dared her, noticing her eyes flared at his informality. He leaned closer, enticing her. “Kiss me.”
“Close your eyes.”
Alexius promptly lowered his eyelids to prevent Lady Juliana from glimpsing his excitement. The soggy hem of her skirts slapped against the bench as she shifted her body so her knees brushed against his. Her warm breath teased his face. Anticipation thrummed through his body. Lady Juliana erroneously believed that she was in control, and that would be her downfall. Alexius was confident in his skills as a lover. Soon his companion would surrender to his tender ministrations. When he was finished, both of them would be well pleasured.
His sister would also be appeased that her rival for Lord Kyd’s affections had been vanquished. If the baron had any pride, he would cease to consort with a lady who thoughtlessly offered her favors to another.
When Lady Juliana’s lips tentatively brushed against his, Alexius was no longer
thinking of his sister. Juliana’s breath caressed his face in soft, rapid puffs that smelled faintly of wild spearmint. Was it nerves or excitement? She pressed a gentle kiss against his lower lip. Lust lanced through his gut as his cock swelled, quickening painfully within his trousers.
Alexius craved more than a chaste kiss from her.
“Again,” he whispered against her lips. “Take my tongue into your mouth. Taste me.”
He felt her small hand on his sleeve. Her mouth claimed his with a confidence he had expected from her. Lady Juliana’s lips moved slowly against his, the action so tantalizingly erotic that his cock pressed upward, straining against the fabric of his trousers, seeking its own release.
Soon, he promised himself, soon.
Lady Juliana’s grip tightened on his arm as she deepened the kiss. The tip of her tongue flicked against his lips and teeth. There was little finesse, but Alexius felt the sensation all the way down to his toes. Unable to resist, he opened his eyes. With her eyes closed, Lady Juliana’s expression almost looked pained as she concentrated on her task.
Alexius might have chuckled at her adorable countenance if she had not taken advantage of his parted lips by sliding her tongue deeper. He groaned against her mouth. The heady scent of woman and her hesitant caresses would be his undoing. The lady would have him ejaculating in his trousers if he did not take control of their love play.
“It was a kiss worthy of pearls,” he murmured between kisses.
Before she could guess his intentions, Alexius tugged Lady Juliana onto his lap, allowing the curve of her bottom to slide down his engorged cock until his legs flanked her. She did not seem to notice his desire for her.
“Whatever are you doing, Sinclair?”
He ignored her outrage. “Just ‘Sin.’ Allow me to demonstrate,” he said, dangling the string of pearls in front of her.
Juliana reached for the pearls, determined to end Lord Sinclair—no—rather Sin’s games. Unfortunately, the man had mastered all games of chance and trickery. He slipped his free hand under her arm and squeezed her right breast. She yelped. There was no other word to describe surprise and wordless protest. No man had ever dared to touch her breasts.
“The pearls are not yours until I give them to you.”
She shivered at his rather odd emphasis on a single word. Juliana suspected that what Sin had in mind had nothing to do with placing the string of pearls around her neck.
Juliana had good reason to worry.
The hand on her breast followed the contour of her waist and brazenly moved down to her hip.
“There . . . there,” he said, his voice low and soothing when she tried to scramble away from his touch. He held her in place. “This will not hurt.”
Every inch of him seemed to be made of bone and thick muscle. Even with yards of skirts and petticoats as a barrier between them, she could feel the heat radiating from his body.
“W-what are you doing?” she shrieked when his questing hand seized a fistful of fabric and began inching a portion of her skirts higher. Juliana turned her face into the side of his neck. “This is highly improper.”
His throaty chuckle tickled the tip of her nose. “Yes. Nevertheless, you will like it.”
Dear heavens! He had plowed a narrow channel up the center of her skirts so that his fingers brushed her inner thigh. Her stomach tightened in response. Juliana dug her fingernails into his arm to halt his efforts.
“Sinclair . . . Sin, please,” she said helplessly, torn between fear and pleasure. He had not lied. He was not hurting her. However, the sensations his bold touch was creating were unfamiliar, overruling her curiosity. “Tell the coachman to take me home.”
Sin lightly bit down on her earlobe. “You are overwrought. That will not do.”
Sin expertly shifted her so her back sagged against his torso. “Now place your right foot on the opposite bench for support,” he coaxed, manipulating her limb as if it were his own.
Even though Sin could not see from his position the length of leg he had exposed by lifting her skirts, Juliana still felt vulnerable. “I have my grandmother’s pearls,” she blurted out. “I do not need yours.”
With practiced finesse, he twirled the string of pearls in his hand, wrapping the length around his first two fingers. “Truly? Then you must be the only female in England who does not crave a pretty trinket for her treasure box.”
Any protest was silenced when he caressed her cheek with his pearl-covered fingers and kissed her. Lost in the moment, Juliana forgot about her compromising position. Sin’s mouth was a sweet balm to her nerves. She shakily exhaled against his lips.
His hazel eyes beamed with approval. “Much better. Close your eyes and hold on to the feeling.”
Juliana hesitated. She did not bother hiding her doubt.
“All friendships begin with a gesture of trust.” He kissed her left eyelid and then her right, casually maneuvering her to comply with his request.
She wiggled her shoulders, settling against him with her eyes tightly shut. “Most would warn that rakes and rogues are by their very nature untrustworthy fellows.”
Sin’s chest shook with a soundless chuckle. “Life would be very dull without risk. Or rakes and rogues.” He nuzzled her ear and whispered, “Think of the joy and rewards you would miss out on.”
Juliana loathed admitting that the marquess was correct. Weeks earlier, had she not argued with her mother over the decision to travel to London? Her gambling and defying their cousin’s orders to remain in the country had certainly been rife with risk, as was Juliana’s private decision to solicit a patron for her musical compositions.
Both her mother and father reveled in taking risks. Why would Juliana and her sisters be any different?
Sin rubbed his chin against her temple. The slight abrasive quality to his chin made Juliana smile. She liked the feeling. His scent was nice, too. A mix of rain, starch, and man. As she cuddled against him, she realized that she liked Alexius Braverton, Marquess of Sinclair, more than was wise for a lady in her current predicament.
Juliana opened her eyelids and tried to straighten at the cool, smooth caress of pearls against her nether folds. She could do little more than lift her head from his shoulder. Sin surrounded her. With his one hand on her right thigh, keeping her skirts split like drapery, and the other touching her intimately between her legs, all she could do was take measured breaths to keep from fainting.
“That’s my courageous lybbestre,” he praised, his voice unsteady as he stroked the pearls he had coiled around his two fingers down her cleft. “No, close your eyes. Just enjoy the feel of the pearls and my fingers.”
His unhurried movements contrasted with the pounding tempo of the rainstorm. Juliana reclined the back of her head against the cradle of his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Her lower back arched in unspoken need as Sin teased the soft nubbin of flesh within the folds.
Sin set his teeth lightly into her neck. “Even now, your body prepares itself for me. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman’s arousal. The slick wetness coats the pearls and my fingers. The musk of your quim is a heady aphrodisiac, Juliana. My heart races as blood fills my cock to the point of bursting—”
Juliana stirred in his carnal embrace, realizing that she could feel his rigid rod pressing into her backside. Fear fluttered like a butterfly caught in her throat. Sin was a man of strong appetites. No doubt, he expected to ease his cravings with her body.
“Desires can be reined, Juliana,” he said, reading the sudden tension in her spine correctly. “Channeled. When I ultimately fill you, there will be a soft mattress cushioning your back so I can devote hours to the pleasurable task.”
“Hours?” she croaked out. Juliana shook her head in denial. “Sin, I never . . . we will never . . . it is impossible.”
His arms tightened possessively around her. “I will have you, my lady. Eventually. This afternoon is just a taste of what we can share together.”
The
pearls and his intimate strokes seemed to encourage the wetness between her legs. Cleverly Sin used her body’s response to deepen his strokes. His fingers circled her womanly core. Juliana moaned. The tension that had straightened her spine had settled in her lower abdomen.
“No!”
She started as Sin plunged his pearl-wrapped fingers into her core.
“Yes,” he hissed in her ear. Faint tremors shook his body while he slowly, albeit determinedly, pressed deeper. “Christ, you are so tight, so sweet.”
Her right foot pushed against the opposite bench as she leaned into Sin. Restlessly her hands moved up and down his arms. His fingers stretched her womanly core with each plunge and retreat. The sensation of being filled was overwhelming, but it was not painful. Her body seemed to welcome Sin, coating and drenching his fingers so he could touch the very heart of her.
“I might die from this.”
Laughter burst from her lips at his dramatic statement. Sin was worried about dying? The man was torturing her. With his thick fingers he pushed and prodded until the string of pearls was wholly into her aching core. She wiggled her hips against his arousal and was grimly satisfied at his groan.
“Sin. The pearls—,” she began.
“Clench your stomach muscles,” he said tersely. “Do you like how the pearls shift and rub within you?”
“Yes!”
Sin was not finished. He gave her core a final thrust and then trailed his fingers up her cleft. As his fingertips found the nubbin of flesh, he circled and teased. “Think about the pearls inside of you. Someday soon, my cock will replace those pearls. Those sweet inner muscles clutching those smooth pearls will be milking my shaft, just begging for me—”
Juliana cried out as the first ripple of pleasure radiated from her core outward. Sin’s unseen fingers worked feverishly between her legs, increasing the impact of each wave. Her stomach muscles contracted and her nipples tightened painfully. The undulating waves washed over her and pulled her under.
All Night With A Rogue Page 8
