Feeling more confident, she wrapped her hand around his length. He was soft as silk yet hard like stone; an entirely intoxicating combination. “Is this what you want?” she asked breathlessly, somehow already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” he hissed. “Stroke it.Please, Maria.”
She began a smooth pumping motion, and he let out a deep groan, his lips returning to trail kisses along her painted jaw.
Tingling heat swelled in her core as his fingers circled her little pleasure centre. She tilted her hips toward him, seeking more. And he readily obliged.
Sensation rocketed through her, her body buzzing as a keening moan pushed its way up from her chest.
“Fuck, Maria!” he breathed in her ear. “What you do to me…”
“Oh,” she gasped. “Jasper.”
Her knees began to tremble, and she pressed her back harder against the stone wall in an effort to keep her knees from buckling.
“Yes, Jasper,” she panted. “Like that.” She rocked her hips in time with his movements, the coil of her impending climax winding tighter, all while she continued a steady rhythm of strokes on his cock.
Abandoning her clitoris, he curved his fingers deep inside her, pulling a sob from her throat. He didn’t leave it untouched for long, however, for in addition to his fingers thrusting within her, his thumb resumed stroking her cleft.
She sighed. “Yes…”
He nipped at her jaw, his breath laboured and his gaze devouring.
Pleasure built, tingling through her limbs and speeding her pulse. It was almost too much, the sensations nearly overwhelming. Her panting breaths became hitched, nearly dizzy from his ministrations. Then abruptly, the coil broke. Pleasure burst through her, stiffening her limbs and causing lights to dance behind her eyelids. Her back arched as a cry of gratification ripped from her chest.
“Oh fuck, Maria.”
His erection throbbed in her hand and she tightened her hold, rubbing her thumb briefly over the clear liquid beading at the tip.
She blinked up at him. “I’ve never experienced thelittle deathlike that before.”
His two-toned gaze bore into hers. “You’ve had one before?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “By myself. I learned of them from a book.”
His eyelids drooped, but his pupils grew larger, and he groaned. “Hell, that’s… My God, I— Damnation, I need to see you do that.” The veins in his neck bulged. “Maria, I’m going to—Fuck, I’m going to spend!”
Fingers fumbling, he unfastened his cravat and wrapped it around the head of his member. He bared his teeth in a silent snarl, and his body went rigid as he pulsed in her hand.
Maria watched in awe, her own pulse still racing, and the heat of desire thrumming through her. He was beautiful. And she most definitely needed to see him thusly again. Soon, preferably.
His forehead rested on hers before he took her lips in a passionate kiss. He flicked her tongue with his, and warmth settled through her.
The sound of footsteps and a cart rattling down the cobblestones had them springing apart. Maria glanced around, suddenly very aware of their public location. The fog was beginning to thin.
Jasper hurriedly wiped himself clean, tossed the cravat aside, and fastened his trousers as Maria hastily rebuttoned her falls and righted her queue. He gave her another quick buss and tugged at his coat sleeves.
“As much as I would love to remain in this alcove with you,” she said, “the fog is dissipating, and our shelter will soon be gone.”
He gave a sharp nod, his gaze penetrating. “Will you permit me to accompany you to my home? Your shift begins today, and…” He licked his bottom lip, his gaze raking her form. “I believe that we ought to have a discussion.”
Twisting her mouth, Maria considered him. Her shift did not begin until that evening, and while in other circumstances it would be easy for her to accept, she could not allow him to take her home likethis. First, she must return to her apartments to remove her men’s attire. On the other hand, Jasper might grow suspicious if she sent him home with the promise to meet him there that evening. Perhaps he was already suspicious; he had, after all, just uncovered a rather large falsehood of hers. But could she trust him with the knowledge of her apartments…ofThomas?
Mayhap discovering her brother and his obvious twitches would turn him off of the idea of marrying her.
There was the possibility, no matter how unlikely, that he had already learned of Thomas but had kept silent through the years. At the very least, he ought to have heard the rumours that had followed her family since Thomas began to exhibit signs of twitching in their youth. Despite her parents’ decision to leave their son anonymous in Bethlem Royal Hospital and to keep him secret, society was aware of his existence.
But was Jasper?
