Lover Be Mine: A Legendary Lovers Novel (14 page)

“The feud is not his only objection.”

“But it will be one less obstacle to overcome, and unless we end it, our love affair
cannot progress.”

She smiled up at him. “There is no love affair, since we are not in love. It is nothing
more than mere lust.”

“Then you admit you lust after me?”

Oh, yes indeed
. Just being this close to him set her nerve-endings on fire. To her chagrin, it was
more than a little thrilling, lying here in bed with him, garbed in her nightclothes,
even though she
was
completely covered up. What did that say about the dullness of her life if she was
so eager to welcome a forbidden visit by her secret lover—or that she was even thinking
of him as her secret lover?

“Even if the feud ends, he will still want me to wed the duke,” Sophie added.

“Then you will have to stand up to him.”

Her own expression grew sober. “I have told you before.… I cannot shirk my obligations,
as much as I might want to. It is up to me to restore our family fortunes.”

“There are other ways to restore your family fortunes.”

Sophie handed Lord Jack the journal as she retorted. “I don’t understand why you are
so opposed to my marrying Dunmore. You aren’t even convinced you wish to court me
yourself.”

“I told you, I don’t like you being forced to wed against your wishes. And I object
to your father selling you to the highest bidder. He has practically fawned over Dunmore
these past few days.”

Sophie shot Lord Jack a frown. “You have no right to criticize him. You are wealthy
in your own right. You don’t know what it is like to be dependent on your wife’s cantankerous
relations, or to live on the edge of society. My parents have been shut out of the
ton for years—unjustly, my father believes. And while not poor, they have struggled
to get by on a limited income. You have eaten from a silver spoon all your life.”

“Not always.”

“Oh? When have you ever been deprived?”

He hesitated a short moment. “There was a time when I was a child, just after my mother
died. I wasn’t certain I would survive.”

She surveyed his face, noting his sudden gravity. “What happened?”

“Never mind. It was a long time ago.”

At the grimness in his tone, Sophie’s brow furrowed. Judging by his guarded expression,
it was evidently a painful memory for him. Had he suffered as a child? The possibility
brought out her protective instincts and made her voice soften. “Why is it that you
never talk about your past, Jack?”

He shrugged off her sympathy by summoning a
slow smile. “Because it is decidedly uninteresting. You are far more fascinating to
me.”

When he put his arm around her, Sophie knew he was deliberately changing the subject
and resisted the pressure. “Jack … what are you doing?”

“Claiming my kiss. I deserve to be rewarded for my valiant efforts to see you.”

She returned a pert reply. “Your
foolhardy
efforts, you mean. You need to abandon this absurd obsession with kissing me.”

“Impossible. You have the softest, most desirable mouth I have ever encountered.…”

The sinful warmth in those dark eyes made her want to melt, so Sophie couldn’t muster
a protest when his mouth settled over hers … or when his tongue thrust inside, lazily
twining with hers. Instead she welcomed it. His taste was sweet and tangy, like the
apple he’d just eaten. His tongue withdrew and entered again, exploring her mouth
in a more thorough tasting of
her
.

But regrettably, his kiss was over too soon.

He didn’t release her entirely, however. Sliding downward, he rearranged the pillows
beneath his head, then reached for her again. “Come here. I want to hold you.”

Although knowing it was foolish, she let him pull her closer and laid her head on
his shoulder. Their bodies conformed as if they were a perfect fit.

She was still pondering that realization when Jack took her hand and placed it at
the open vee of his shirt so that her palm touched the bare skin beneath. The feel
of him was utterly tantalizing, Sophie thought as her fingers brushed his warm flesh.

Wanting to caress him, she spread her fingers over his chest, relishing the taut shifting
of his muscles and the strong beat of his heart. Then Jack reciprocated, moving his
own hand to cup the swell of her breast.

When she realized his intent, Sophie sucked in a breath. “I cannot let you seduce
me into forgetting my morals.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.”

Her heart started hammering when he untied the ribbons of her dressing gown and opened
the lapels, then slid his hand over the delicate cambric bodice of her nightdress,
fondling the curves of her breasts beneath the thin fabric.

She couldn’t bring herself to object, even when he shifted his weight to press her
onto her back and cover her partially with his body.

A hot flush spread through Sophie as she stared up into his beautiful eyes. The press
of his male arousal between her thighs both startled and stirred her, kindling a warmth
inside her that was highly erotic.

She couldn’t look away as he unfastened the buttons that held her bodice closed. When
his gaze dropped to her bare bosom, he was openly admiring.

“You have the most luscious breasts,” he murmured.

He dipped a teasing finger into her cleavage, then traced around the pale mounds,
paying close attention to her every reaction. His touch was delicious and provocative
and left her pulsing with pleasure. And that was
before
he rolled one nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

Shivering at the sensation, Sophie closed her eyes and gave a breathless whimper.
In response Jack bent
his head and used his tongue to trace the aureole. He teased the pebbled crest between
his teeth, then pulled her nipple into the heat of his mouth, sucking softly. Her
reaction was immediate; she arched her back, trying to press closer.

He suckled her slowly, with tender care, until she moaned. The hoarse sound made him
leave off a moment.

“You need to hush, darling, remember? You don’t want anyone to hear you.”

Without waiting for a reply, he resumed his sensual ministrations to her other breast,
teasing the erect nipple with the caress of his lips, laving the swollen tip with
his silk-rough tongue, drawing out her sounds of pleasure.…

Meanwhile his thigh continued to press against the vee between her legs. When his
hand moved lower to cup her woman’s mound through her nightdress, Sophie drew another
sharp breath and threaded her fingers in his thick hair to hold him off.

“Jack … what … are you doing now?”

“What I have wanted since the moment I met you.” His voice was husky. “I’m showing
you the kind of passion you deserve.”

His fingers splayed over her cleft and began stroking her slowly through the cambric.
Sophie clenched her thighs together at first, but the hot streak of sensation that
rippled through her was too pleasurable to ignore.

A pleasure that only increased when he explored the folds of her sex hidden by the
fabric.

“You’re very responsive, love.…”

How could she not respond when the delicious friction
was setting her on fire? Of their own accord, her hips surged off the bed, seeking
even greater pressure.

Jack left off suckling her breast and returned his mouth to hers. He kissed her deeply,
all the while stroking, rubbing, arousing between her thighs. Helplessly, Sophie curled
her fingers in his rampant black locks and gave herself over to his magical caresses.

It was not long before she lost all sense of herself. Caught up in the whirlwind,
Sophie whimpered plaintively and gripped him more tightly. Blood rushed hot in her
veins while incredible sensations sparked inside her.

As the heat built to a burning crescendo at her core, she helplessly thrust against
Jack’s hand, until a stunning explosion shattered her. Spasms shook her body that
left her gasping.

When she collapsed back against the pillows, he gathered her limp body in his arms.

“Dear heaven, what … just happened?” she rasped after a long moment.

“It’s called ‘the little death’ … your body’s response to arousal. That is only a
taste of the passion I could give you, sweetheart,” he murmured, stroking the curve
of her hot cheek with a soothing finger.

Passion indeed, Sophie thought dazedly. He had sent sizzling currents of pleasure
surging inside her.

She lay languidly in his arms, savoring the feel of him, marveling at the wonder of
his touch. Her skirts were wantonly bunched up about her thighs, the night air cool
on her bare skin, yet the brazen intimacy felt amazingly natural.

Jack was affected by their intimacy also, judging by the hard bulge in his breeches
that pressed against her
hip. As he rested his forehead against hers, a shudder racked his frame. He was clearly
fighting for control of himself.

Then suddenly he eased off her. Fierce disappointment raged through Sophie when he
rolled onto his back to gaze up at the ceiling overhead.

Uncertainly, she turned onto her side, facing him. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Then why did you draw away?”

His jaw was set in a hard line, but his voice was husky when he replied. “Because
I promised I wouldn’t ravish you, and I can’t vouch for my willpower if I keep touching
you.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Sophie admitted in a low voice.

He glanced sideways at her then, his smile rueful but no less dazzling. That slow,
charming smile seemed to squeeze the very breath from her. Then his gaze dipped to
her bare breasts.

Reaching up, he rearranged her bodice to cover her breasts and refastened the buttons.
“I would just as soon avoid temptation,” he muttered.

“I have heard it is painful for a man without release.”

His eyebrow rose. “Where did you hear such a thing?”

“Our former maid. Martha told me in general what happens between lovers, but I never
understood until this moment why lovemaking is so hard to resist. It is no wonder
she found herself in the family way.”

Jack’s gaze searched her face. “I can’t get you with child unless I enter your body
with my cock and plant
my seed inside you. And even then, there are various ways to prevent my seed from
taking root.”

“That is a sincere relief,” Sophie said honestly.

Seeming to shake off the solemn topic, he slipped his arm around her waist. “Come
here, I want to hold you again.” At her hesitation, he added, “Trust me, I won’t do
anything without your permission.”

Sophie laughed softly at the irony. She must be mad, but somehow she trusted Jack
to keep his word. “It is not you I don’t trust. It is myself.”

He flashed her a look of pained humor and delight before cradling her close in a tender
embrace, with her head again tucked against his shoulder.

When he kissed her hair, Sophie wrapped her arm around his waist and pressed her cheek
against his shirt, breathing in his masculine scent, wondering how she would ever
survive if Jack seriously tried to seduce her. One touch from him and she lost any
semblance of self-restraint.

“I will go in a little while,” he murmured.

“I suppose you must,” she said regretfully.

Jack was having similar regrets as he lay there with Sophie, pondering the force of
his desire for her. It was sheer torment, holding her warm, delectable body yet being
unable to go any further.

He had never shared a bed with a woman without consummating his desire. He’d never
wanted any woman so badly, either; not ever. For the past two days, he’d felt the
constant urge to drag Sophie into the nearest room and lock the door so they could
be alone together.

What was even more surprising, he wanted the right to court her openly. It was ludicrous,
no doubt.
They’d met less than a week ago and already he was having visions of spending his
future with Sophie.

His craving for her was not merely physical, he realized. The more he came to know
her, the more he wanted to share her company. His spirits rose each time he saw her,
and when they were apart, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He was intrigued by
her patient kindness and sensual grace, captivated by her own uncommon brand of charm.
When she laughed, the sound danced over his skin. And when she kissed …

Despite her virginal innocence, she kissed with a hunger that reached inside to touch
some long-buried, vulnerable part of him—which likely explained why he was so ensnared
by her. That artless, eager passion set him on fire. At the first arousing taste of
her lips tonight, he’d gone from enchantment to burning-hot need in a heartbeat.

Remembering the flush of sexual desire on her beautiful features, the dreamy look
in her huge violet eyes, Jack felt the hard clutch of desire all over again.

Whatever the reason for his enchantment, though, the simple fact was, he was past
the point of no return. He wanted to be Sophie’s lover.

Even more, he wanted the right to simply
be
with her instead of suffering these damned clandestine rendezvous.

Jack glanced toward the curtained windows, wondering if it was too late to pay a visit
to the stream running beneath the stone bridge where they’d met two mornings ago.
He could use a good dousing to cool the fever in his blood.

It would require all his willpower to make himself
leave Sophie’s bed tonight, he knew. He was assailed by the wild urge to claim ownership
of her then and there. To take her trembling body and make her his.

But until he had that right, he would force himself to wait.