Adeline looked as if she wanted to resist him, but then acquiesced and sat on the bed. She brushed his hair off his face and smiled down at him. “You’re right, no fever. You’re cooler already. How is your arm? Are you sure you don’t want something for the pain?”
“It just pulls a bit, but it’s much better already, even from earlier today. I think I just needed to eat and move around a bit.” He paused and reached out his hand to gently stroke Adeline’s arm. “Maybe some additional exertion would be even more beneficial.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Addie tried to pretend to be shocked by what Jack was suggesting, but all she was able to manage was a soft moan of anticipation. It was all she had been able to do not to seduce the man every time that she’d bathed his skin with cool water and applied the salve to his burns. It was one thing to make love to a man in candlelight while they were both fully aware, and something completely different to have him bared to her gaze in the light of day while he was unconscious and she was able to look and touch every inch of his beautiful body to her heart’s content.
“Do you really think you’re strong enough for that?” Adeline asked, hoping he would say yes. She didn’t have much time before it was the last day of the month when she was bound for London and her new life— forever this time.
Jackson didn’t even hesitate as he pulled her closer until she lay half over him, chest to chest on his uninjured side. “Not only do I know I am, but I’m also positive that it will give me the strength and vitality I need to recover even faster.”
He didn’t allow Addie to respond because his mouth found hers, brushing his lips over hers, leaving her breathless in their wake. Adeline sighed contentedly and relaxed against Jack’s chest, resting one hand on his naked shoulder while being careful not to touch his bad arm. Before long she lost herself in his soft, sensual kisses that he was raining on her mouth in gentle, caressing movements. After a few minutes of this teasing torture, Addie finally pulled away. Jack tried to grab her and bring her back against him, but she couldn’t bear the slow seduction he was employing against her, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. Standing, she removed her wrapper and then pulled on the silk ribbon that kept her nightgown laced up. As she slowly pulled apart the lacing on the front of her gown, Adeline watched Jack as he held his breath, mesmerized by her actions. It was intoxicating to have such power over a man and Addie was enjoying every second of it. She could feel her own body responding to the look in Jack’s eyes and the way he chewed his lower lip as she slipped the satin garment from her shoulders and let it slither over her aroused nipples to finally slide all the way to the floor, leaving her naked to his hungry stare.
Adeline felt hot wherever Jack’s gaze touched her, the ache between her thighs almost unbearable and he hadn’t even touched her yet. She moved closer to him until she was within his reach. Giving her a sexy crooked smile, Jack took Addie’s hand and pulled her to his side, then placed it on his pajama bottoms.
“Help me get these off, please,” he said, breathing harder and moaning with pleasure as she slowly and methodically did as he asked, giving extra attention to the bulge impeding her progress. “Oh, God, Adeline; you are wicked.”
Once she had them both unclothed, Addie decided to enjoy having Jackson still slightly incapacitated. She remembered how he’d taken advantage of her inability to think straight that first night, so now she would turn the tables and use immobility for her own pleasure. Of course, he would benefit as well, but it felt amazing to be the one in control this time.
Adeline started by running her palms over the tops of Jack’s hard, muscled thighs, then crawling up on the bed to reach behind him and grasp his buttocks. His hard, hot length was pressing up toward her breasts and Jack was trying to arch up to rub against her. He kept chanting her name like a mantra as she continued to run her hands over his warm skin. Moving up from his backside, Addie straddled Jack’s legs, being careful to avoid the bandages covering his left calf and shin. She ran her fingers over his taut, hard stomach just below his belly button, playing with the little arrow of hair. Then she slowly moved her hands up over his chest, circling his nipples with her thumbs.
She had traveled up his body and now her female center was exposed and rubbing against the soft firm length of his manhood. Adeline arched her back in pleasure as Jacked placed one hand on her bottom, pressing her harder against him.
“Jack,” she breathed his name as she leaned over to taste the skin on his neck. It was salty, and she continued to nip and lick up to his rough stubble-covered chin, finally capturing his mouth in a deep and penetrating kiss. Addie drank from Jackson’s mouth as if she was dying of thirst. She needed to taste him and feel him and know that he needed her as much as she needed him. They tangled their tongues in a dance that was first teasing but quickly dissolved into all-consuming desire.
Jack’s left arm was still bothering him but he made up for it with his right hand, moving deftly from her derriere to the spot between her thighs, stroking her back and forth until she was so hot and wet with her need that she had to pull away in order to catch her breath. Sitting perched above Jackson, Adeline allowed him to position her so her breasts were within reach of his mouth. He began using his tongue to tease her nipples to hard firm pebbles and, although she didn’t want him to stop, she couldn’t wait any longer to have Jack inside her.
Addie rose up, put her hand around him and guided him inside her while she sat back astride his hips. She watched as Jackson closed his eyes and sucked in a breath as she started to move, up and down.
“Slow down, or this will be over way too fast,” Jack said, in a strained, gruff voice.
Adeline complied, slowing her movements and changing the direction that her hips moved. She found that, by grinding her pelvis in circles against Jack’s, she had started a spiraling sensation in a place that she couldn’t quite explain, but it was sending her to a new level of pleasure that she didn’t want to stop, no matter how much Jack might beg. Throwing back her head, Addie was gasping for breath as she rose higher and higher until an explosion of delicious shudders shook her body, making her convulse around Jack’s hard pulsating length. She collapsed on top of him, utterly satisfied while still enjoying the sensation of him pushing in and out of her with his hips while fondling the crevice of her bottom with his good hand. More ripples of delight started coursing through Addie’s body and, leaning on her elbows, she nuzzled Jackson’s lips with her own, engaging him a sweet yet passionate kiss.
Unable to help himself, Jack finally took control and rolled to his good side, positioning Adeline to lie under him. He held himself up with his good arm, leaning on his elbow and keeping the injured one stretched out to the side. His movements were slow and awkward at first, but he soon had a rhythm going that sent Adeline back on the road to another building escalation of her ultimate pleasure.
“Addie, Addie!” Jack called out her name over and over as he picked up speed.
Adeline finally couldn’t hold her release back for another second and she cried out as her body responded with waves of heat and quivers that wracked her senses from her toes to her ears. As she felt a final undulation quake her senses, Jack stiffened above her and let out sigh of satisfaction as he pushed into her soft flesh just a little deeper, making Addie squirm pleasantly beneath him.
“Oh, Jack, that was amazing.”
Jackson couldn’t respond as he was completely out of breath, and collapsed heavily on top of her. Instead he just pressed a few kisses to her collarbone and throat. Finally, Jack was breathing normally and just as Adeline was beginning to doze off she heard him mumble something.
“I wish you could stay here with me forever, my Adeline.”
Addie wished that, too, and let one tear slip down her cheek trying not to think about leaving for London in a few days’ time.
They fell asleep wrapped around each other, limbs tangled in the aftermath of their lovemaking with neither moving nor waking until t
he sun began to stream in through the bedroom window.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Simon James looked down at the piece of paper in his hand then up at the sign painted on the shop at number fifteen Tottenham Court Road. He tried to peer in the window but the reflection from the late afternoon sun hampered him. Lord Suffolk had approached him at their club and suggested a visit to Madame Lou would be a great favor to him. Although why such an important earl would ask such a thing, Simon couldn’t even begin to fathom. But Lord Suffolk was one of the major stockholders in a firm that that he was quite interested in doing business with. Sighing with resignation, the American tycoon straightened his shoulders and pushed open Madame Lou’s door, sending bells jingling. The shop appeared to be empty, but once Simon’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed a young lad standing near a back doorway.
“You the Mr. James that’s come to speak to Madame Lou?” he asked.
“Yes, Lord Suffolk sent me. But how did you know that?” Simon replied, moving toward the boy.
“Just have yourself a seat anywhere you like and I’ll go fetch her and some tea while you wait.” The boy dashed off through the door, disappearing before Simon could ask any questions. Looking around, he decided on a table that was somewhat hidden from the front windows; no point in having anyone he knew see him consulting with a spiritualist, no matter that they were all the rage these days.
The lad brought out a pot of tea, promising the lady would be forthcoming shortly. After waiting for at least ten minutes, Simon finally pulled out his pocket watch to decide how much longer he was going to wait for the woman to show up. Although he had great respect for Lord Suffolk, he did not see the point of wasting his time in this questionable establishment. But just as he was about to get up and walk out, Madame Lou swept into the front room in a shimmering, jingling show of dramatic movements as impressive as anything he’d seen on the stage.
“Mr. James, I’ve been expecting you,” she said, sweeping out a ringed hand to pull out her chair and sit across from him. “Now, let’s get right to business, shall we? You don’t strike me as a man who wants to waste time on a silly show. Am I correct?”
Simon blustered for a minute before he smiled and answered. “I suppose you are right, Madame. But this doesn’t mean that I believe you have read my mind.”
“Oh, that is not my talent, I assure you, Mr. James,” she said, pouring a cup of the still-hot tea and stirring in sugar and lemon. “My skill lies in communicating with the dearly-departed, which is why I requested that Lord Suffolk might advise you to visit me.”
“Yes, yes, I do recall the séance at the Earl of Abingdon’s party and a reference to my beloved wife,” Simon said, peering through the veils covering the medium’s face. “But as I recall, it was just gibberish with no real meaning at all. Besides, even if you had said something more significant, how would I know it wasn’t just some parlor trick? How could you possibly prove your claims?”
“I don’t need to, Mr. James; you will do that yourself. Now, please try to sit still for a moment while I call on your wife to attend to us.” The woman pulled out a velvet bag from beneath her layers of silk and spangles. She opened it wide and emptied the contents onto the red silk-covered surface of the table, right next to her half-full teacup. A handful of different sorts of stones and crystals scattered and she gathered them into one hand, rearranging them in a circular pattern. She then started mumbling strange words and swaying back and forth in her chair, finally stopping after a few moments and suddenly grasping Simon’s hand in hers.
“Mrs. James is present.”
Simon moved uncomfortably in his chair. Was this woman really in contact with his Maggie? It didn’t seem possible.
“You wife wants you to know something very important—no—no, I’m wrong; she wants you to remember something. Something that you knew a long time ago—something you both knew and forgot. It was before you had so much wealth. Before you could buy anything your hearts desired. Before you ruled an empire.”
“I’m afraid you will have to be more specific, Lady Lou; I knew quite a lot of things before I became the man you see before you today.”
“It’s Madame Lou, Mr. James, and your Magpie is certain that you will find the answer in the letters.”
Simon started when the psychic called Maggie by his pet name for her. But then he reasoned she could easily have guessed that.
“Do you know what letters you wife speaks of? She is quite insistent that you must read those early letters and you will find the message she is urgently trying to make sure you receive. Mrs. James went to quite a lot of trouble to bring you to me, don’t you agree?” Madame Lou finally released Simon’s hand. “I’m afraid she’s gone now, but I believe you have enough information to be able to grant her some peace finally.”
“That’s all?” Mr. James asked frowning at the woman who Lord Suffolk claimed was the most sought-after spiritualist in all of London. “It doesn’t seem like much of a fortune- telling.”
“Really, Mr. James, what do you take me for? Some sort of carnival gypsy?” It was obvious Simon had inadvertently insulted the woman. “You have what you need. Now go find the letters that Mrs. James wants you to read, and discover what message your wife is giving you from the grave. Please do hurry, before it’s too late.”
“Of course, of course!” Simon said, finally feeling some urgency around this mission he’d been sent on. “How much do I owe you?” he asked, pulling out his pocketbook.
“Lord Suffolk and I have struck our own deal in exchange for your presence today. There is no obligation to you other than to fulfil the spirit’s demands,” Madame Lou said, then stood. Her gown swirled around her as she turned and left through the back passage.
Simon sat there quietly contemplating what he had heard. The only letters his Maggie would ever refer to were the ones he took with him whenever he traveled. They were tucked away in one of his trunks in a hidden compartment, tied in a blue ribbon the same color as his wife and daughter’s eyes. When they were young, poor, and madly in love, Simon and Margaret James had been parted on many occasions. Those were the times long ago when Simon had to travel to earn enough money just to make ends meet; and later, when he was just starting to build his empire and would travel to make business deals and do favors for men in high places in order to garner the same. They had written each other as often as they could and whenever mail delivery was possible. Simon had treasured those letters above anything else, even more than the riches they’d acquired, and the evidence of their love and devotion were contained therein. He hadn’t read them in years, worried they might make him miss his beloved wife even more than he already did. So, whether or not the Lady Lou was actually on the level, he supposed it was high time he got around to facing his fears.
“You ready to go then, sir?” There was that boy again, obviously shooing him out of the shop.
“Yes, thank you for the tea.” Simon flipped the boy a guinea, even though he knew it was far too much money for a mere cup of tea. He somehow felt that he had to part with some amount of blunt for the service the medium had performed. Whether it was really a message from his wife or just a stranger pointing out that he should find some closure, it had been worth a small fortune to Mr. James.
He left Fifteen Tottenham Court Road whistling a tune. His chauffeur opened the door to the Daimler and drove them back to the house in Grosvenor Square. Simon had a footman bring the trunk from the attic and leave it in the library. He opened it and, pressing his fingers to the side of one of the cubbies, released a lever and swung a piece of thin wood to the side. Hidden inside was the stack of about thirty letters written by his darling Maggie. Simon pulled them out, walked over to the liquor cart, poured himself a scotch, and then went to find a quiet comfortable corner to read in.
It was the letter she had to written to him the day she had discovered she was pregnant. He’d been in Jamaica looking at investing in a sugar plantation when he received it. He had jus
t decided that he did not have a taste for the sort of operation that relied on what basically amounted to slave labor in order to operate, when he had received his wife’s communication.
Simon reread the letter and then stopped in amazement when he got to the passage he now knew Madame Lou had meant for him to see and finally understand that this was what Maggie was trying to tell him.
...I don’t know how I know this baby is going to be a girl— I just know. It’s like the same feeling that I have in my very bones that you are going to be as rich as the Astors someday. And when that happens, dearest Simon, and our daughter is ready to marry, I want you to remind me of how much I love you and that I would eat off of a dirt floor or a gold-etched plate as long as it was with you, my one and only love. Because what I fear most, my dearest, is that I will become like one of them and ask our child to sacrifice her heart for a man she does not know or love just so that her parents can say they are related to royalty. I shudder when I think of that poor Vanderbilt girl and how she could not find happiness even married to a duke and even with enough money to buy Sweden, or so they say. I’m so thankful for you and our love and now we have a child to share our joy with....
Simon was weeping when he finished reading, finally understanding what the psychic was trying to communicate to this stubborn old man. Love was all that mattered, and forcing his beautiful amazing child to marry for any other reason was as cruel as sentencing her to a life in a gilded cage. Collecting himself, Simon finished his scotch quickly for a shot of courage. He needed to make amends and the sooner the better. He rang for the butler, Mr. Phillips.
“Sir?” Mr. Phillips asked. Mr. James was surprised by how quickly the man had appeared.
“Were you here the whole time?” Simon asked curiously.
“Of course, Mr. James; I am always at your convenience,” Mr. Phillips said, looking as if he had no idea what Simon was inferring.
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