by Stacy Reid
Tender humor lit in her eyes, and he felt the curve of her mouth against his. “You, my lord, are entirely kissable.”
With a groan of defeat, he took her mouth with his. And to his eternal relief, she flung her hands around his neck, stretched up onto her toes, and returned his kiss with artless but such passionate ardor.
Thank Christ.
Her mouth tasted incredibly sweet. Her responses wonderfully wanton. Wentworth gathered her closer in his embrace and kissed her with more intimacy. She gasped against his mouth, and he kissed her more carnally, sliding his tongue against hers.
She made a wanton, achy sound that went right to his cock. Bloody hell. His manhood rose, a pulse-pounding need throbbing through him. Their lips parted briefly, and their gazes collided. In her, there was an answering arousal that had the headiest effect on his senses.
“What is your real name?” he asked, clearing the roughness of desire from his throat.
“Juliana. My…my father and my brother often call me Jules.”
Now he understood why she chose Julian as her disguise name.
He reached out and pulled the wig from her head to reveal tightly pinned dark tresses. Wentworth removed six pins, dropping them to the floor. She lifted her hand and did the rest until her hair fanned out across her shoulders and down her chest.
“Your hair is beautiful.”
“I had to cut it…before it was waist length.”
He touched the silken strands. Her beauty was drawn into sharper relief, all that mass of black hair, a slightly tanned skin, and exquisite lavender eyes. Had her skin always looked so soft and flushed? So inviting? He wanted to kiss all over her body and imprint the feel and taste of her in his mind.
“You are so lovely,” he said gruffly, dipping to catch her mouth in a brief kiss.
When he made to pull back, she followed, wrapping her hands firmly around his neck.
“Jump up,” he muttered against her mouth.
And she did, without any hesitation. This brought their mouths more in line with each other, but it also did something far more dangerous. To hold her to him and support her slight weight, Wentworth gripped her lush backside with his hands, and she hooked her ankles behind his back.
His cock, which was stiff and aching, was flushed to her heated center.
They both stilled under the realization of just how intimate they were. But he saw no anxiety or fear in her eyes, only need and curiosity.
“Have you had a lover before?” he asked with a measure of desperation, wishing she had experience.
“You were my very first kiss,” she said a bit shyly.
Ah, hell. She was just as sweetly innocent as he suspected. Wentworth couldn’t take advantage. That would make him a right bounder, a rogue with no redeemable gentleman qualities. “I…bloody hell…this is dangerous, we must stop at once and—”
Juliana caught his words with her mouth, swallowing his muffled groan of surprise and delight.
Juliana never imagined a kiss could be this pleasing…this decadent. The earl tasted of heady and something sweetly elusive. The place between her legs ached something fiercely, and the warnings from her mother about cads and rakes clanged a distant alarm in her passion hazed thoughts.
He’s no rake, she thought, kissing him with such fervor, just a gentleman who desires me.
The earl walked with her draped around his waist. She whimpered into the kiss as the movement had her female sex brushing against something hard and throbbing, causing somewhere deep inside her belly to quicken, sending powerful darts of longing through her.
Her back was pressed against the walls for the room, and he did something with his hips, a push, or a swivel. Good heavens! Shocked by the sensation that shot through her belly, she trembled in his embrace.
He broke their kiss, and his lips glistened with wetness, and his face was harsh with restrained desire. His eyes searched her face, and she blushed at her very unrestrained responses.
“We need to get you out of these clothes. You are cold and shivering.”
He stepped back and eased her down. Juliana did not speak but removed her neckcloth, waistcoat, drew the soaked shirt over her head. Beneath all of that was a linen binding that was also wet.
She glanced up. “I’ll not remove this.”
He walked over to the bed and tugged off the small coverlet. “You must. You are still trembling.”
Juliana was, but she didn’t know if it was from her wet garments or the introduction to pleasure. With his back turned to her, he said, “Remove it all and then use this to wrap yourself. I’ll not look.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Wentworth,” he said softly. “Please, Juliana, call me Wentworth.”
She smiled, and trusting him, quickly removed the bindings which had made her already small breasts nonexistent. Recalling how buxom his mistress had been, she wondered what the earl with such experience would think of her petite shape. Annoyed, she pushed aside those thoughts and removed her trousers and undergarment.
Juliana took the sheet and wrapped it around her three times before tying the front in the style of a toga.
“You may turn around my…Wentworth.”
He faced her, and she stared at him, terribly aware she was absolutely naked beneath the sheets.
“You are blushing,” he said with a measure of amusement. “I still cannot believe I thought you could be a lad.”
She smiled. “I had a very good disguise.”
He took her clothes and wig to the fire so they might dry.
He waved toward the small table and the two chairs by the small window. “Will you sit with me?”
Juliana made her way over and lowered herself into the surprisingly comfortable chair. The earl sat before her, and when he reached over and took her hands within his, a sigh left her, and her shoulders relaxed.
“I do not know why you are hiding, but if you wish to tell me, I will do all that I can to assist you.”
She cleared her throat. “My brother, Mr. Robert Pryce. He gave me your name as a gentleman I could turn to should I find myself in a difficult position.”
The earl frowned, and she saw no recognition in his eyes.
“You do not recall my brother.”
He smiled sheepishly. “We must have met, more than once, too, for him to have recommended me.”
“But you perhaps looked right through him,” she murmured, thinking of how her brother had spoken of the earl’s brilliance with such admiration. “However, I do not think Robert imagined I might have ever needed help of such magnitude.”
“And where is your brother?”
“He is on his way to London from New York. Based on his last letter, he should be here before Christmas.”
“And what did you want from me?”
She hesitated. “A place to stay away from society until my birthday in six weeks’ time. I visited your townhouse, but it was at a time of upheaval. You were withdrawing to the country, your valet had left to be with his ailing mother, and a replacement was needed. I was also given the impression you would not be distracted from your current mathematical problem to meet with me. My situation was desperate…”
“And your ingenuity rose up inside to save you.”
She smiled. “If you wish to see it in such a manner, I have no objection.”
“What made your situation desperate.”
Juliana withdrew her hands from his to lean back in her chair. “A scoundrel was trying to force me into a marriage. The morning I arrived at your townhouse, I had escaped a kidnapping.
“By God!” Wentworth frowned and folded his arms across his chest. “Which bounder did this.”
“Mr. Matthew Chevers.”
The earl’s lips curled with disdain. “He is known to me. I had not thought him so dishonorable.”
“I never suspected his character to be so wormy either.”
Shrewdness glinted in the earl’s eyes. “Why did he try to force you. Are y
ou wealthy?”
“Very.”
One of his brows winged upward.
“Once my brother reaches me and I am five and twenty, no one will be able to force me into any marriage.”
A shudder of distaste went through her, and the earl’s eyes sharpened.
“Do you never want to marry? Or is it only this despicable ass you have such an aversion toward?”
How curious he hadn’t asked of her worth. Almost everyone who realized she was an heiress found a way to ask how much money she had, even though they pretended to believe it crass to speak so openly of money.
“I do not wish to marry.”
He stilled, and curiously, an unfathomable expression settled on his face. “Ever?”
She grinned. “Is that so weird to believe, my lord? I overheard your mother lamenting this morning of your failure on the marriage mart as well. I believe once again, we have something in common.”
He glanced away from her for a brief moment, a small smile about his lips.
“I simply hadn’t found a lady I like. It is not a deep aversion.”
“You were looking?” she asked, considerably astonished.
“No,” he said, humor lighting in his eyes. “I’d planned to do so when I reached five and thirty. That is a good seven years from now. Why do you never wish to marry? I thought this a dream of most young ladies.”
She rolled her eyes, stood, and walked over to the small window, staring out into the sleeting rain. She felt his presence at her back and acting on the impulse, she leaned against his hardened frame.
Juliana closed her eyes, a feeling of contentment sweeping through her when he slipped his arms around her. Being in this small cottage felt like they had shut out the outside world, and it was wonderful.
“My inheritance is left to me by my father, who worked to leave his children legacies. I will not marry a fortune hunter so he might squander my father’s hard work in a few months.”
“Not all gentlemen are fortune hunters.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I was but thinking about the few gentlemen who courted me these last few seasons.”
She felt the jolt of his heart.
“You were out about during the season?”
“Yes. Viscount Bramley is my stepfather.”
“I did not notice you,” he said gruffly.
“I am not that memorable.”
“Rubbish. No one could dare forget your eyes or your voice. I know I will never be able to scrub them from my memories. And certainly not the taste of you.”
Juliana turned in the cage of his arms and peered up at him. “You flatter me, my lord,” she whispered, bestowing a warm smile upon him.
“I only spoke the truth.”
“My father had many dreams, but he died before he could fulfill them. One was to open a grand shop, an emporium with different departments tailored to the middle class. Also, a hospital, he wanted to build a hospital. I mean to see some of his dreams realized.”
“Here, in London?”
“In New York.”
He stilled. “You plan to return home?”
“Oh, yes! I have wanted to now for a couple years. It is the best way to honor him, and the best use of the wealth he left me.” Juliana wrinkled her nose. “Could you believe Mr. Chevers spoke of the barouche he would buy once he controlled my inheritance? That was the limits to his imaginings, a damn coach!”
Wentworth tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “Your dreams are good ones, do not let them go. Certainly not for something so ordinary as marriage.”
Her heart warmed. “Perhaps in a few years, once I’ve accomplished some of my plans, I’ll marry a gentleman who has genuine affection for me in his heart and will not mind his wife is a businesswoman.”
“A businesswoman,” he murmured, “a truly scandalous proposition.”
Juliana laughed. “I do not dare think my husband could be a man from the bon ton. My pursuits would only make his life within his society awkward; wouldn’t you agree?”
“If he wants you, none of that will matter.”
The way he stared at her…Juliana’s heart ached, and she wished she understood the expression in his eyes.
So how did she go on now? There were still six weeks before her five and twentieth birthday, and she needed to lie low in disguise to prevent discovery by her stepfather and his son. She would be prey to other men if she tried to find lodgings or work somewhere else. But was she not more at risk when the earl clearly wanted to seduce her?
Who would have ever imagined he could be such a rake?
Juliana had feared that if he realized exactly who she was and the size of her fortune, he might offer marriage for the same reasons as Matthew. But he was so different. “What happens once we leave the cottage?” she whispered.
“You’ll continue with your ruse until your birthday.”
Her eyes widened. This she had not expected. He was a man she found intriguing, good company, and incredibly attractive. Could she really stay the next six weeks in his home…still as his valet, knowing how weak she was to his touches, to his kisses?
“Why? Wouldn’t it be better for me to reappear as a guest in your home, Miss Juliana Pryce? Your mother and aunt are underfoot, so it will be very proper should anyone raise a fuss.”
“Juliana…”
“Yes.”
“Everyone who has seen or interacted with you at Norbrook Park will know that Miss Juliana Pryce and my valet Julian are one and the same.”
She laughed. “Rubbish!”
He sent her a glance of considerable surprise. “Surely you jest?”
“I do not.”
“Juliana…” he scrubbed a hand over his face. “You are a beautiful flame; only a fool would not recognize. My mother, who only saw you briefly, will most certainly not miss it or the other servants you’ve been around for several days. I’ve never seen eyes the color of lavender before, nor such delicate slanted cheekbones. You…those features will be unmissable because you are so very remarkable.”
A tender feeling welled inside her, and she felt warm all over. “Beautiful, hmm?”
He lowered his head. “And I also do not think as Miss Pryce I will be able to do this…”
He kissed her, slanting his mouth over hers with ravishing greed. And with a moan, she helplessly responded. Juliana’s heart sang with an odd sort of happiness.
“But as my valet,” he said hotly against her mouth. “Ah, Juliana, should you desire it, the possibilities are so very naughty and endless.”
Good heavens, why was she so tempted?
Chapter 9
After tempting Julianna with that very wicked glint in his eyes, the earl moved away to open the door and peered outside. The storm had lifted, leaving a sullen sky with the sun attempting to fight its way through still grey clouds.
“We should dress and return to our proper places, with my mother and family in occupation our prolonged absence will be noticed, though I would much prefer to stay here longer and get to know you much better,” he said.
“Yes, of course, my lord,” Juliana said, checking that their clothes had mostly dried in front of the fire.
“Wentworth…whenever we are alone.”
She smiled but offered no reply. Juliana got redressed, a bit mortified to look directly at him, recalling how hot and wanton she’d been returning his kisses. She allowed the earl such liberties with her person and had enjoyed every kiss of their delightful interlude.
Pushing aside such thoughts, she re-pinned her hair so she could tuck on her wig. Although Wentworth gallantly turned his back, she tried not to look at his beautiful body as he donned his clothes but found herself sneaking peeks. She wanted not to think about him but was unable to direct her thoughts elsewhere. With a scowl, Juliana admitted she was unsure how she felt about the earl. He clearly desired her, and she found him attractive. Perhaps more than attractive, for Juliana had been overwhelmed by the contact between their mouths a
nd bodies.
But did she want more beyond that fleeting moment of passionate kisses? They had no future together, so what would more kisses be about?
Pleasure, something naughty inside her whispered. Fun and pleasure. Things denied to her even though she did not believe in the English lofty ideas of propriety. Decorum was also observed in New York but certainly not with the measures of restrictions and hypocrisy she had witnessed during the seasons.
They relocked the cottage and saddled their horses, riding in silence back to the main house. Upon arriving, they handed their mounts over to a stable lad who tugged the horses by their forelocks. Then, she and the earl both slipped into the manor by a side door.
“You should probably get smartened up and stay in the background as much as possible. My aunt and cousins might not notice you are female, but my mother is very astute and extraordinarily little gets by her, so try and stay out of her notice,” Wentworth instructed her.
“I should get your own clothes ready first, my lord,” Juliana said, trying to get back in her role as a valet.
A slight frown creased his brows. “I can manage to dress myself, Juliana.”
She stared up at him, then slowly nodded.
“You can deal with these clothes when you look respectable yourself. Looking crumpled will only draw questioning glances your way.”
“I will be careful,” she replied and then hurried off to her chamber.
The following morning, Juliana woke later feeling vexed and restless. She was not the kind of person to lust after a gentleman, and certainly not one like the earl. Yet she had dreamed of his warm lips touching, teasing, and tasting hers, driving her wild with passion.
She had been in the earl’s home for eleven days and already kissed him. And was inappropriately dreaming about it…longing for more. Why not enjoy the earl in her bed before she went about her ways? She would most likely never see him again. Her plan was to return to New York to be closer to her father’s sister, Aunt Felicity, and her daughters, to open up her own business, and to implement all the plans she’d made with her brother over the years.
