A Gallant Gamble (Unrivalled Regency Book 3)

by Williams, Jackie

  His laugh filled the room as he held the bell pull up to the light and admired the colours twinkling through the metalwork.

  “I wonder what you would have done if you had lost the race. It seems to me that you couldn’t give the diamond to all of the people you made bets with. What did you have planned if the outcome had been different?”

  She laughed again as she began to undo his cravat, pulled it away from his neck and began on the buttons of his shirt. Geoffrey’s breath hitched as her fingertips brushed his skin. She leaned into his neck and nibbled at his throat as her hands pushed his shirt from his muscled shoulders.

  “I wasn’t worried about the stone.” She trailed her kisses over his chest.

  His breathing grew heavy as he pushed his fingers into her hair.

  “And why would that be? I can’t imagine that the men would have wanted to share the diamond. Nor would they have been quite so forgiving as you. They would have wanted to collect on your wagers.”

  She shook her head as she tasted her way down his flat stomach.

  “I only gambled with the ‘fabled Caithwell Diamond.’ A stone that doesn’t exist.” She twirled her tongue in the indent of his navel and he groaned as she worked her magic.

  Geoffrey tried to concentrate on her words.

  “What do you mean? We have the diamond here.” He rattled the chain bell pull.

  “We have my diamond here; the Denver’s diamond. It was concealed inside the cinnabar box that my father gave to me. He said that if I could open it, whatever was inside was mine. I was only ever Lady Charlotte Denvers before I married you. I’ve never been a Caithwell. My brother may have boasted of a legendary family jewel but there wasn’t one. Lord Rookwood was the one to call the stone the ‘Caithwell diamond’ and he must have told his friends about it, because not one of them questioned the wording of my betting slips.”

  Geoffrey opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it again when he realized that she was perfectly right. Her brother had circulated the rumour of the diamond’s existence to stave off his creditors, but it neither belonged to him or to the Caithwell estate. The men who had wagered their property against the stone had gambled on something that only existed in their minds. Their own greed had fed their imaginations. There was no Caithwell diamond, fabled or otherwise. He grinned down at his beautiful, clever wife.

  “Ha! No wonder you didn’t want to keep their property.” He fought his rising desire as she sat back and tugged his boots from his feet. Her dress dipped at the neckline and he groaned as he glimpsed her milky white breasts, but his control didn’t snap until her teeth grazed the fall of his breeches. Taking hold of her beneath her arms, he pulled her back up to face him. Tugging gently on the laces at the back of her dress, the material parted as his lips searched for the soft skin beneath her ear. “You do know that there would have been uproar if Rookwood had won?” He whispered.

  She shook her head again.

  “But he didn’t. I never thought that he would. I know Lightning and never doubted him for a moment. I am half the size of Rookwood. Lightning and I would have won by a couple of lengths if the despicable man hadn’t decided to cheat at the last fence. As it was, we still won easily.” She gasped as Geoffrey pushed her dress down to form a puddle of silk at her feet. His hands moved slowly over her body, taking the weight of her breasts for some seconds before seeking out the ties of her chemise...but he had run out of patience. He growled in frustration and caught her undergarments at the back of her neck, gathering them in his hands and tugging sharply. The cotton rent in two and fell to the floor. Her pantaloons soon followed.

  Naked before him, he wound the bell pull chain around one of her slender wrists and the other end around his own before he pushed her gently back onto the bed.

  He rose over her, pushing his breeches down over his hips with his free hand and kicking them from his feet. He kissed his way down her body, eliciting sighs and gasps that were music to his ears. It was only seconds before he rolled sideways and pulled her on top of him. She settled over his hips and he caught hold of the chain with his hand, pulling her forwards before he released her.

  His hips began to lift and swirl and Charlotte moved with his rhythm, lifting and swaying her with him. He whispered into her ear as he slipped his sex inside her while listening to her mewls of delight.

  “You may have won the race, but I gained the greatest prize. You. I love that you are wild and outrageous and I vow that I never want you to be dutiful, but I swear that I nearly died of fright when Rookwood cheated as you came over that last fence. I want you to promise me one thing.”

  Charlotte stilled her movements and lifted herself high enough to look down at him.

  “What thing?”

  Geoffrey held onto her hips and began lifting and lowering her over him, groaning in delight as she picked up her rhythm again. His straining voice reached her ears.

  “That from now on, the only thing you ever ride so recklessly, is me!”

  The End

  I hope that you have enjoyed

  A Gallant Gamble

  If you missed the first book in the series please take look at

  Silence of Scandal

  myBook.to/SilenceofScandal

  A Murderous Masquerade

  myBook.to/AMurderousM

  Other books by Jackie Williams

  Scarred Series

  Running Scarred

  Will Patrick let his guard down or will he lose the love of his life while he continues Running Scarred?

  viewBook.at/B0089UMGAK

  Scarred Beginnings

  How it all began. David’s terrible but wonderful story. Can he find love in the ruins of the beautiful French château? Or was all the flirting just a figment of his imagination?

  myBook.to/Scarred2

  Forever Scarred

  Joe’s chance for love if he can find the courage to tell the woman of his dreams how he feels, or will he let her walk into the arms of her worst nightmare?

  viewBook.at/B00EMMD1Y4

  Scarred Horizon

  Paul has faced the worst, even going blind for a second time. Now he can’t see that love stands right in front of him and that he’s about to make the worst mistake of his entire life.

  myBook.to/ScarredH

  Scarred Survival

  Will Gemma ever learn to trust anyone again? It’s doubtful but the British Army’s toughest woman is about to be tested to the full. Watch out Gemma! There’s a new pilot in town!

  myBook.to/Scarred5

  Contemporary Romance

  A Perfect Summer

  Can a young woman’s hideous past be wiped out by one perfect summer of love?

  viewBook.at/B0088A4YY2

  Silent Treatment

  Will a dancer’s dream come true or will three years of Silent Treatment silence the love she has saved?

  viewBook.at/SilentTreatment

  Delicious Desires

  Big plans take the icing off the cake but even bigger personalities threaten to destroy their love.

  viewBook.at/B008UD2LCE

  Treasured Dreams

  A forgotten diary reveals the secret of a golden room and the mystery of the destruction of two families.

  viewBook.at/B00948Q29M

  Tinted Lenses

  An arranged marriage, a drug dealing pilot and an oversized photographer all fight for survival in the Amazon rain forest.

  viewBook.at/B00AUVVJK4

  A Fallen Fortune

  Can Leo change his future forever and give up everything he owns for a chance at love?

  viewBook.at/B00CVAZ0NO

  Echo Beach

  Can the echoes of time still be heard in the future and will those affected by them listen to the words of the past.

  myBook.to/EchoBeach

  You can keep up with Jackie and her wonderful author friends on her website

  www.romanticsuspensebooks.org

  Or contact her at anytime on

  Jackie@roma
nticsuspensebooks.co.uk