“Yes, and I am too,” Nathan replied equally.
His hands found her breasts, pert and firm. The touch was agony. The need to strip away her dress and feel her naked flesh beneath his fingers was overwhelming. The urge to kiss and suck at her body. All over her body. Such lust had never been engendered in him before. It was maddening and glorious at the same time.
“Then I should go. Emily deserves it…”
He silenced her with a kiss that stole the breath from her. One of her hands twined his hair as though wanting to feel it against her skin. The other stroked his face, then his neck, then his chest. Finally, she pressed her palm against his navel, fingers reaching for the part of him that he wanted her to touch more than anything.
“I will not tell you again,” Nathan replied. “And shall become cross if you continue to decide that you can set my priorities for me.”
He was only half serious and he heard Gemma giggle. She could see his face and had read his intention correctly. She put her head beside his and whispered.
“Perhaps I shall push my luck too far, and what then? Will you seek to…”
She stopped, dissolving into laughter and Nathan found himself laughing with her.
“Spank you.” He finished for her. “With the greatest of pleasure. You surely were sent to tempt me. And I am glad to be seduced.”
With that, he squeezed her buttocks and she squealed, planting a long, wet kiss on his lips before pushing him away.
“It is broad daylight. I will go along with your plan for York then, Your Grace. You have me wrapped around your little finger.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
On the journey to York, Gemma enjoyed the simple pleasure of conversation with Nathan. She found his history fascinating and got more glimpses of his traumatic childhood and brutal father. It made her want to embrace the scared child that he had been, soothe, reassure, and protect him. At the same time, she could see the steely resolve it had put into him. And that made her feel protected and soothed. He had a passion for the natural world and its conservation, such as she had never heard of before. Nathan had invested in land all over Britain and beyond, all of it land that was home to rare or even endangered species. He had men and women in his employ seeking out such areas to ensure they were protected. In return, he had a way of drawing details of her past from her, even when she wished nothing more than to talk about him.
The journey was too swift, flying by faster than the distance and careful driving warranted. Soon, they were passing through the bustling streets of York. Elegant buildings of red brick and white plaster passed by. Gardens enclosed by railings and parks in which flowerbeds and trees created small oases of nature in the middle of the ancient town. It was the kind of place she could have loved had it not been for the circumstances of her residency. Marshall and Charlotte followed them in another carriage along with their luggage. Soon, Gemma was entering number 12 Mickelgate. It was a five-story townhouse with windows surrounded by white plaster, against the vibrant orange-red of the brickwork. Chimneys festooned the roof and a garden to the rear of the building ran down to the River Ouse, which ran through the middle of the town.
Gazing out of an upstairs window, Gemma saw the sleek, brown shape of an otter slipping into the water from the long grass at its foot. She marveled at such sights and described it to Nathan.
“A man I employ has been creating habitats for them upriver, where they were once abundant but have been driven out by the prevalence of mills and the expansion of towns around York. I am glad that his work is proceeding, if they have now come this far downriver.”
“It is wonderful,” Gemma said.
For a moment, she could forget the circumstances of their journey. Just as she had momentarily put it from her mind when Nathan had kissed her in the breakfast room at Hutton. Then, the urges and desires that he brought out of her had driven her, making her passionate and lusty. Now, even as she reluctantly considered her plan to leave, she yearned for his touch again. It could not work. There would be scandal and gossip, all of which would prove a hindrance to Nathan and the various crusades on which he had embarked.
“Walter Carlisle has returned temporarily from France. I have had a runner sent to his lodgings. When I have word from him, I will go to Walter and tell him what has happened,” Nathan told her. “I cannot recall exactly how this room looks. Can you remind me?”
He took a seat on a chaise longue, one arm across its back, legs crossed. Gemma looked around, turning in a slow circle.
“It is white painted, simply decorated. There are a couple of paintings on the wall, landscapes. They are quite good if I am any judge…which I am not. Still, I like the colors. There is a chaise and a sideboard. A white marble fireplace and two chairs on either side of it. The room looks a little bare.”
“I will have furniture purchased if you tell me what you favor in terms of furnishings,” Nathan said.
Gemma hesitated. “I have never been asked. I shall have to consider it.”
She had wanted to say that she did not want to take time or resources from his search for Emily, but had remembered his playful warning. That had made her want to clamp her mouth shut because the urge to say it had been almost overwhelming. An image came into her mind of being put across Nathan’s knee, skirts lifted to be disciplined. It made her blush, the heat of which soared when she saw the spots of color in Nathan’s own face.
“Am I blushing?” he asked suddenly.
“You are. What is going through your mind?” Gemma asked, standing before him.
“The thought of spanking you,” Nathan said calmly.
She wanted to giggle. She wanted to gasp. Instead, she lowered herself to her knees before him, trusting his preternaturally acute senses that he would detect the change in her posture. He seemed to, sitting forward, and reaching out to stroke her face. His touch was gentle but firm. It was the touch of an owner, caressing a valued possession. If he did not possess such supernatural powers of perception, she thought she could probably undress in front of him, flaunt herself just a few feet away from him and he would not know. As it was, he would hear the rustle of her clothing, hear her accelerated breathing. He would probably detect her racing heartbeat and know exactly what it signified. Still, it was an intoxicating thought. But there was a far more alluring idea in her mind, one that dried her mouth and made her feel her heartbeat in her throat.
“I do not want you to arrange for furniture for me. I think you should be getting all of your people to aid in the search for Emily. Forget about me,” she said.
Nathan tilted his head, a smirk tugging at his lips. Gemma realized that she was holding her breath and let out a ragged exhalation. Then, in one smooth, sure movement, he grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet. Then he pulled her down, holding her hands behind her firmly but not cruelly until she lay across his knees. The indignity of the posture set her cheeks aflame. The fact that she was submitting to the indignity made her breath catch. The total mastery he had over her made her womanhood ache with longing desire. She felt her skirts lifted, exposing her underclothes and stockings. The feel of the room’s naked air upon her bare skin made her squirm, squeezing her thighs together. Then, finally, and most scandalously of all, he exposed her bare buttocks and bestowed them with a healthy slap.
