The front door slammed into place, and Mr. Stanley’s snide shout rang through the house. “And a good riddance to ye!”
“I second that,” Jared commented, smiling, as he tipped Alissa’s chin upward. “Long? I certainly hope so. Dull? I sincerely doubt it.”
Alissa felt herself melting under his warm gaze. Instantly she remembered their discussion. “You’ve not answered my question,” she said, breaking free of his hold, trying to regain her former anger.
Her husband’s smile grew lazy. “I will, love … tonight.”
Tonight! her mind exclaimed, thinking of how he’d caressed the word. If he thought she would now be a willing wife, especially after his deliberate subterfuge, he was sadly mistaken!
We’ll see, he countered silently, reading her every thought. “For now, love, you may seek your room and shed your disguise.”
Rebelliously, she thought of wearing the ugly thing forever.
“I’d better never see you in this garb again,” he ordered, his hand motioning to the shabby gray dress. “If I do, I’ll remove it from you myself.” He inclined his head. “Until tonight, sweet.”
Alissa stared after him as he made his way toward his study, then she fled to her room. Hurt, confused, and angry, she stripped from the horrid disguise, then rang for a bath. As she waited for Mary, she creamed the makeup from her face, then scrubbed her skin with a vengeance. Afterward, she pulled the pins from her hair and brushed it until her scalp tingled from the harsh pull of the bristles.
Immersed in the hot water, her long hair cascading over the edge of the tub, Alissa rested her head against the polished copper. Her fury started to subside as the warmth relaxed her, and a sleepy lethargy overcame her. As she closed her eyes, she slipped into a dreamlike state. For a long time she lay in the water, her mind reminiscing, wandering backward in time.
Gentle hands stroked the length of her hair, and she thought of her mother, brushing and taming Alissa’s wild mane, the two talking of their hopes and dreams, like mothers and daughters do. But Rachel could no longer share her wisdom, gained from her experiences, which was exactly what Alissa needed. Even Eudora was too far away to help decide which path she should now take: Should she stay at Hawkstone … or should she return to London?
Splayed fingers tenderly massaged her scalp, and Alissa moaned with pleasure. “You are more beautiful than I had ever imagined, love,” a husky masculine voice whispered near her ear, and her eyes slowly opened to see Jared’s handsome face only inches from her own.
Her hands flew from the sides of the tub to cover her nakedness, but he caught them in one of his own; his heated gaze caressed her. “No, don’t hide from my eyes. There should be no shame in allowing your husband full view of your exquisite body.”
As he beheld her, her firm breasts crested higher in the water, their pink summits drawing into taut peaks, and Jared felt a flame ignite in his loins. Down her creamy skin, his gaze traveled to her slender waist and hips, then stopped at the dark triangle above her sleek thighs. Hot desire shot through him as he imagined his fingers tangled there, discovering the magic hidden in her delicate, satiny folds, slipping deeper to touch her silken moistness.
His breath shuddered through him as he fought the urge to lift her from the tub, take her to the bed, and lie with her. He’d come here to explain why he’d kept the truth from her, but he had not thought to find her thus. As if in a trance, she’d lain before him, a sea nymph, inviting his touch. He should have left then, he knew, but she’d not condemned his hands in her hair, so he believed she’d wanted him to stay. Too late, he’d realized she’d been between wakefulness and sleep. Now, aroused by his thoughts, his fantasies, he couldn’t make himself leave, and his hand tightened in her long tresses; his face lowered toward hers.
Frightened by his lustful gaze, Alissa attempted to break free, but his hand bound tighter, taming her struggles. “Open to me, love,” he urged, unknowingly hurting her, tugging again. She gasped, and his foraging lips took hers in a soul-rending kiss, his searching tongue slid across the softness of her lips, then it thrust deep into her mouth. A wild surge of heat shot through Alissa, settling at her core, to throb and pulsate; a warmth flowed from within, leaving her breathless. She couldn’t allow this … not until their differences were settled. And she fought to free her lips to tell him so.
With the sound of her whimper, Jared’s lips grazed across her cheek. “Don’t fight me, love. You’re mine.” Alissa’s mouth opened in protest, but his plundering lips drowned out her cries. His shackling hand loosed her wrists and plunged into the water, capturing an alluring breast, his thumb teasing its studded nipple.
A vibrant chill shuddered her entire length, settling at the juncture of her smooth thighs as his tantalizing fingers taunted her flesh, gently cupping, molding, shaping it to his masculine hand; she groaned with pleasure. “Good?” he asked, his lips leaving hers, again.
Hearing his husky voice, Alissa’s brain slowly absorbed its meaning, then she realized she had to stop this madness. Her arm scooped through the bath; water splashed like a wave. Doused in the face, Jared jerked away, and Alissa scrambled from the tub. The large bath sheet covering her from shoulder to ankle, she backed into the corner, quivering from head to foot.
Jared shook his head like a dog, flinging water everywhere. Rising to his feet, he turned his back to her. “We need to talk,” he said, in a low, shaky voice, then strode from the small chamber. Alissa followed, her toweling wrapped securely around her, and stopped by the screen. He glanced at her as he dried his face and hair with a cloth he’d grabbed on his way out. “You don’t have to dress. What I have to say will take only a moment.” Seeing her cautious look, he added, “I’ll not touch you again.”
Her gaze followed as he strode to the settee to flop down on it in disgust. But she suspected the emotion was aimed at himself, not her. A long sigh escaped him as he looked up at her. “Alissa, I apologize for what just happened. I should have left when I’d found you.”
“Why did you enter without knocking?”
“I did knock. You didn’t answer. The door was unlocked … when I found you, I …” Still feeling the effects of their encounter, the heat continuing to pulsate through his body, his words died in his throat. How could he explain his needs to her? “The reason I came to your room was I couldn’t wait till tonight to explain why I had kept Rothhamford’s confession a secret. You were already angry, and if I had allowed you to stew, by tonight, I knew you wouldn’t listen at all.”
She came forward a bit and sat on a low stool, near her dressing table. “You’re probably right,” she said softly. “Why did you hide the information from me?”
“We’ve both played our own deceptions, Alissa, each for his own reason. Yours being to protect yourself from an unfair accusation that could have sent you to prison for life. Mine, because I feared once you’d learned that your name had been cleared you’d press for an annulment.”
He continued to gaze at her a long moment, and Alissa wondered if she would indeed have done so. He rose, and she watched him pace the room, his hand raking through his thick, damp hair.
“I forced you into a marriage you did not want. Again, I had my reasons for doing so. Megan would have been shattered if you had left her, and I thought if we married, it would help her. You know I have no objections to having more children,” he said, and watched her blush slightly. “But in order for us to have come together as man and wife, I had to dispense with Rothhamford’s hold over you. Each time I touched you, I knew you thought of him. Hence, I went to London. But on my way back, holding the papers that said you were free, I feared you’d leave Hawkstone. We had not yet consummated our marriage, and considering the conditions under which we wed, no court would deny your request for a dissolution of our vows. So I held the truth from you, hoping I could persuade you to come to my bed willingly. Once you did, you could not leave.”
“You would have tricked me into your bed in order to hold me?�
� she asked softly.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Megan could not withstand your loss.”
“And you?”
“I, too, would miss you.” Not hearing a response, Jared headed toward the door. “You are free to leave Hawkstone, Alissa. I will not stop you.”
Leave? her heart questioned. Was that what she wanted? No! This was her home, with Megan … with Jared. She had nothing else. He was her husband; she, his wife. And whether he truly loved her or not, he was kind, giving, protective, and caring. “Jared,” she called almost anxiously as he turned the handle on the door. “Don’t leave.”
Hearing her plea, he drew a long breath, releasing it slowly. “If I stay, you realize what it means,” he said, in a low timbre, still facing the door.
“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes suddenly growing misty. One part of her shouted with fear, the other with anticipation, but through the discordant emotions, she knew Jared was her destiny. “I wish to be your wife,” she said finally.
Jared turned and leaned back against the locked panel. “Then come to me, love,” he said, and prayed she would. In a slow, faltering progression, she moved toward him, until she stopped a half-dozen steps away. “Closer.” Three more steps, and she hesitated again, her eyes downcast. He lifted her chin. “Are you certain?”
Her searching gaze met his. “Yes.”
“Show me your beauty,” he commanded gently, and watched as the towel slowly slipped from her shoulders, down over her breasts, exposing their youthful perfection, then dropped the length of her body, to lie in folds at her feet. The sight of her naked form, blushing in virginal modesty, rekindled the banked fires in him, and he sucked in his breath. “I offer you one last chance to renounce me,” he said, in controlled agony.
“I am yours.”
“Then so be it,” he groaned, and swept her up into his arms. His stride firm, he carried her to the bed, where she slid his length to her feet.
The covers flew to the end of the bed, and Alissa felt herself floating onto the cool sheets. Suddenly thirsty for the sight of his male form, she watched as Jared stripped off his clothes. When she saw the evidence of his desire, her gaze skittered to the opposite side of the room.
Jared chuckled as he eased himself beside her, pulling the cover over his hips, hiding his arousal. “You’ve done this to me, sweet,” he said, smiling, his splayed hand gliding over her taut stomach, and her blush deepened. “Alissa,” he said softly. “I want to make love to you. Don’t be afraid, sweet.” His hand swept upward over her satiny skin toward her breast. As his fingers captured the silken globe, he felt her jerk. Rothhamford, the bastard! he thought with such vehemence it reflected in his eyes.
“Have I displeased you,” she asked, in a small, quivering voice, wondering if he was angered by something she’d done. Or, perhaps, it was something she had not done.
“No, love,” he whispered achingly, wanting desperately to erase Rothhamford from her memory, forever. “Never will you displease me.” Then his gently persuasive mouth took possession of hers, tenderly coaxing a response, and her petal-soft lips opened like a flower under his. His eager tongue invaded the honeyed recesses in a teasing, tantalizing foray. Her response, timid at first, grew bolder, and she drew his tongue deeper into her mouth, and Jared could not suppress his groan of pleasure. Desperation shuddered through him, and he suddenly lost all sense of Alissa’s needs, his own raw desires erupting forcefully.
His hand hungered to explore the mysteries of her body and sought its repletion. As the satiny texture of her skin enticed his fingers, the heat of his magical touch sent tantalizing shivers down Alissa’s spine to radiate outward to every nerve she possessed. His intoxicating kisses, his masterful tongue darting wildly, drugged her senses, and she felt herself melt against the sheets. She wanted something. But she didn’t know what. She knew only Jared could supply the remedy to cool the fever building inside her.
Fiery lips blazed the curve of her neck, his hot tongue seeking its pulse, then swirling toward her breast, capturing the taut nipple to suckle gently. His strong hand slipped low over her stomach, his searching fingers dipping between her thighs. She jerked again and closed her legs, embarrassed by his sudden intimacy.
“Don’t seal yourself to my touch, love,” he whispered huskily, his heavy-lidded gaze seconding his plea. “It’s part of making love … to prepare you for the ecstasy we’ll share.”
Her anxious eyes searched his. He did not lie, she knew, and she slowly relaxed beneath his touch. Shackling his own desires, Jared’s gaze never left hers as his gentle fingers glided along the satiny folds, seducing a moist warmth from within her. Then he tenderly probed and heard a gasp of enjoyment as he penetrated her silken bonds, his thumb gently caressing her bud of ecstasy.
She was ready, he knew, but he wanted her more so, and again his lips captured hers, his tongue thrusting intimately, matching his rhythmic fingers. She writhed wildly, her soft cries of rapture filling his ears. He parted her thighs and settled between them. “Put your arms around me, love,” he instructed, as he positioned himself, and she encircled his neck. “Now look at me.” His desirous gaze penetrated hers as he slowly channeled into her.
The hot, satiny feel of her almost undid him, and he stopped momentarily, fighting for control. Reaching the thin barrier, he urged softly, “Give me your lips, sweet.” And his mouth lowered over hers. When she was dizzy with his kiss, his hand slid under her hips, and he thrust forward, swallowing her cry of pain. Instantly, he stilled, waiting. “The worst is over, love. Now the pleasure begins.”
Alissa felt a rigid fullness glide upward inside her as Jared eased deeper and deeper. Completely sheathed, he began to move. Each thrust of his hips created a new excitement, until Alissa was wild with want. “Jared, please …” And she heard his deep, masculine laughter.
“Move, sweet.” And his hand directed her hips to pace with his own. She twisted beneath him, and he felt his restraint snap. All his energies throbbing at his center, his mouth took hers in a fierce, slanting kiss. Then, as her hips arched wildly, her fingers threading through his hair, her tongue mating frantically with his, her ecstatic moan filled his head, and he felt her caressing spasms. Its rhythm rocked him, and with a shout of ecstasy, Alissa’s name rising above it, Jared climaxed deep inside her.
Satiated, his breathing settling to a normal pace, Jared feared his superior weight might crush her and rolled to his side, bringing her with him, their legs entwined, their bodies still linked. With gentle fingers, he swept her luxurious hair from her face, gazing at her in awe. Never had a woman given herself so freely to him. Her naivety set aside, she had come alive under his tutelage, willingly offering herself, begging for the unknown pleasures only he could give her.
As his new wife shyly hid her face against his chest, he thought of his first. Celeste and her stiff movements, or her lack of them, always complaining he’d muss her hair, or bruise her ivory skin with his lips, leaving his disgusting love marks on her—it was like bedding a corpse! When he’d finally turned to other women to fulfill his masculine needs, they all had performed in accordance with his wishes, but that was exactly what it had been—a performance.
But Alissa, sweet and yielding, had given him the gift of herself. He’d been the first, the only, and he would teach her how to love him by loving her. He envisioned the endless nights of ardor they would share, her virginal modesty eventually being replaced by a woman’s knowledge, her own lips and hands worshipping his body. Yes, he would teach her all the ways to love him, by loving her in every way possible. Except with his heart, he admitted cynically, knowing that such emotions were reserved for fools and poets. The soft whisper of his name broke his thoughts. “What is it, sweet?”
“Shouldn’t we dress, now?” she asked timidly. “The sun has not yet set and—”
He chuckled. “We shall lie abed and watch its light fade from the sky through your window.”
Her eyes wide
ned as she turned scarlet. “But the servants … and Megan … and Robert!”
“Mr. Stanley has been instructed to keep the household running without me. Megan is with Mary, and my cousin can fend for himself.”
“You thought to seduce me all along?” she asked accusingly.
“I had thought to seduce you even before I knew your true identity.” He chuckled at the surprised look in her eye. “I thought I suffered from dementia, but there was something about Miss Agatha Pembroke that caught my interest. It certainly wasn’t her looks. But she kept slipping in and out of my dreams,” he confessed, smiling. “As did a certain young actress whom I’d seen at Covent Garden. The two would intermingle, sometimes becoming one. I think my subconscious had been trying to tell me something, don’t you?”
“I can’t imagine why,” she said facetiously.
“Nor could I, at the time.” He cleared the frown from his brow. “It was not your physical beauty that attracted me, for you hid it well. What made me take notice was something else. But to discover your fairness, especially as you are now, makes you all the more desirable.” His hand curved over her smooth breast, his thumb teasing the nipple anew, and Alissa felt a tingling sensation shoot to the juncture of her thighs. Noticing the rekindled fire in his eyes, she fought to flee the bed. “You will not escape me,” he said, his smile growing wicked, as he clamped his arm over her waist. Then she felt the surge of his arousal against her leg, and her eyes widened.
“Y-you don’t expect to—”
“Yes, sweet. Until the sun rises tomorrow.”
In a quick move, she slipped from his grasp and pulled the sheet high upon her neck. “You have not yet answered my question.”
“What question?” he asked, reaching for her.
“Had you planned to seduce me?”
“I thought I’d answered that.”
Masque of Enchantment Page 24
