Several emotions passedacross Jasper’s features, his blue-and-brown eyes glittering with something impossible to name. It was the gratitude in his smile, however, that made her heart twist.
The words had tumbled from her lips, but did she truly mean them? When it came to his sense of duty and his desire to protect his family and acquaintances, certainly he was a good man. But—though it was years past—Maria had seen the side of Jasper that was willing to make a wager over a woman’s heart and virtue. He was still a gentleman who believed them to have agreed upon a marriage of convenience, and she had best remember that.
With a self-deprecating smile, she rose and strode to his mirror, a huff of agitation escaping her as she examined her maid’s uniform. The costume was all but entirely ruined: blood-soiled and marred by small tears on her bodice, waist, hem, and… “Drat.” Some hooks had been torn off entirely, leaving the back of the uniform to gape in places.
She detested the thought of having to request a new commission from Grace. Mayhap she ought simply to have Thomas repair it.
Her gaze slipped past her reflection and into Jasper’s bedchamber. She wasin his bedchamber, for pity’s sake! It smelled of him. She inhaled deeply, taking it in.
Another pair of reading spectacles sat upon the table at his bedside, which also sported a short stack of books—one of which she recognized on sight: another by Mr. Mystery. Her heart fluttered and she hid a grin.
The space was decorated to match his eyes: dark brown furniture and blue fabric. She wondered if it was designed so apurpose.
Soft footfalls approached, and fluttering erupted in her abdomen.Blimey, but she felt as though she’d been caught spying on him—which, of course, she hadn’t.
Dipping the cloth back into the washbasin and wringing it out, Jasper appeared at her side and continued cleaning and examining her wound. It bled quite a lot for what it was, and while the skin was swollen and already bruising around the bite, she believed that it would heal adequately—so long as infection did not set in.
“How is it?” Jasper asked, appearing at her elbow, his eyes clouded with concern.
Maria set aside the cloth and turned toward him. “It will be well; I shall simply have to don a fichu for a sennight or two to hide the marks from my family.”
He nodded, catching her gaze. His eyes were earnest, yet troubled. The air around them was warm and filled with his fragrance of bergamot and lemon. She breathed deeply of the scent, and his eyes flared with heat.
The man was so close, so warm and inviting, and memories of their encounter that morning caused desire to bubble beneath her skin.
Would he renege on their agreement? If she gave in to her desires and made love to him, would he then leave her unwed and deflowered? If the duke spurned her, it was unlikely that any other man would have her. Then, no doubt, her parents would force her to become a companion to her aunt…unless she eschewed allfeminineaspects to her personality andbecameDuncan. She could then pursue her life as a runner while concurrently providing a home for Thomas and writing as much as her heart desired. It was not ideal—as Duncan was just a much a part of her as Maria was—but it was better than losing the life she’d built, and losing Thomas.
Indeed, if she gave her virginity to Jasper, there would be no angry future husband to feel deceived.
Her lips quirked, and his gaze dropped to follow the movement. His chest rose and fell with a quick breath and, all at once, she became abundantly aware that they were standing alone in his candlelit bedchamber.
She ought to speak, to break the spell by reminding him that they needed to arrange a plausible story for her parents and the newspaper’s gossip column about their attendance at the opera. But the words wouldn’t come; she didn’t want them to.
The air between them grew thick with need, and Maria grew dizzy with the smell of him. She caught his gaze once more. It was heavy-lidded and sparking with desire, and her instincts took over.
Surging upward on her toes, she kissed him full on the mouth. There was nary a heartbeat of surprise before a deep growl emanated from his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.
CHAPTER14
Lust surged through Jasper’s veins, his heart racing and his cock throbbing. Maria nipped at his lips, and he moaned.Christ, but the woman’s kisses drove him nigh mad with desire.
His tongue tangled with hers once more, the warmth and sweet flavour of her sending a jolt of heat to his groin.
“My God, Maria,” he groaned, sliding his hands down her back to cup her arse.
Without him having to urge her, she ground her pelvis against his hard length, and his knees very nearly buckled. He’d come off that morning in the fog with her, and yet his body was reacting as though he hadn’t been touched in months.
Maria pressed her lips to his neck then flicked his earlobe with her tongue before giving it a nip. He growled.Growled, for fuck’s sake.
With his right hand, he lifted her leg by the knee and hooked it over his hip, thrusting his hips gently into her soft flesh. She cried out, her head dropping back and exposing the length of her neck—and the angry-looking wound there.
“I need you inside me, Jasper,” she said on a moan.
The urge to toss her over his shoulder, deposit her onto his bed, and rut into her like an animal was incredibly tempting. But he was not an animal, and she deserved a damned sight more than that.
“I would be delighted to bring you pleasure,” he said, his breathing rough and his voice far deeper than he recalled hearing it before. “If you wish for your maidenhead to remain intact?—”
She shook her head brusquely. “The postulation of virginity was created by men to ensure that brides were untouched by another man before him.Myonly concern is for my happiness.”
