As soon as the carriage left, she asked, “Are we going over to Trent House?”
“No.”
Jeffrey answered the door.“Good evening, my lord.Lady Elizabeth.”
“Good evening, Jeffrey,’’ Elizabeth greeted him.She couldn’t be rude to him just because his employer was an ass.
“That will be all, Jeffrey,” Jonathan said in a clipped voice that forbade any questions.“You can retire for tonight.I will not need you further.”
“As you say, sir.”The butler shuffled off down the hall.
Jonathan escorted Elizabeth to one of the private parlors and shut the door.After he lit a couple of candles, he strolled over to where Elizabeth stood, her arms folded across her chest.
“I don’t approve of your behavior with Brummell tonight!”Jonathan exploded.“It was totally unacceptable.”
Her eyes shot daggers at him.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.We were watching the play and discussing it.What could be wrong with that?”She threw up her hands in disgust.
“Is that what all that laughter was about?I saw the way he kept holding your hand and touching your shoulder.That had absolutely nothing to do with the play.”
“In case you’d forgotten, I’m supposed to be looking for a husband and encouraging him.”
“Brummell is not acceptable.”
“Then who is?”she asked in a low, tormented voice.
Jonathan opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut.It was a good question.A damned good question.And one he wasn’t sure he had the answer for.
He stared at Elizabeth in the dusky glow of the candles.Soft tendrils of hair had slipped from their pins and her eyes sparkled black with rage.He marveled at how magnificent she looked with her chin tilted up as she awaited his answer.In spite of her obvious challenge, her face was both delicate and fragile, and the confusion in her eyes softened the fury within him.
Suddenly, all logic and reason left him, and he did something he’d never intended to do again.He grabbed Elizabeth, pulling her to him in one swift motion and molding her body perfectly against his.
God, she felt good.His mouth seized hers in a ruthless kiss, and he realized, much too late, that he wanted to punish her for the past hurt.He pulled back and looked at her.
Her lips trembled, and a single tear trickled down her cheek and tore at his heart.“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
Elizabeth looked at the face she’d seen every time she’d closed her eyes over the last years.She’d missed him so much that it made her ache inside, and now he was here, touching her, maybe even wanting her again, and her heart melted helplessly at his feet.“I love you,” she whispered.
There was a spark in the depths of his eyes as he lowered his head.His mouth gently brushed over her lips as he murmured, “Elizabeth.”
With swift tenderness, his mouth found hers again, touching his tongue to her lips; she parted them and he found heaven.She tasted so good.A jolt of pleasure shot through him, and his hand shifted from her back to her breasts.He began massaging her breasts through the fabric, but it wasn’t enough.He needed more.
His mouth moved lower, where he nuzzled her neck as his fingers deftly unloosened the back of her gown.His lips moved to her ear.His tongue traced the outside and then the little curves, and she began to tremble.He nibbled on her earlobe.
Shivers of delight ran up and down her spine.She moved her hands around his neck and brought his mouth to hers and slowly kissed him, fanning the heat burning deep within her.
She tugged on his shirt and began opening the buttons until she could push his shirt open and feel his warm skin and muscles beneath her fingers.
He slid the gown from her, and it puddled at her feet followed by her chemise.“My God, you’re beautiful,” Jonathan said as his eyes feasted on her.And then he realized that they needed to be elsewhere.But he wasn’t letting her loose.He picked up her gown and his shirt, then scooped Elizabeth up into his arms and headed straight for his bedroom.Thankfully, they didn’t encounter any servants.
He carried her straight to his bed and laid her down, her black hair fanning across the pillow.He couldn’t seem to pull his gaze from her milky white breasts that stood out firm and ripe, ready for his mouth.He stepped out of his trousers, and his gaze moved lower, to her slender waist and long, enticing legs.He finished undressing.His body ached with a need that hadn’t been filled in a long time.
Jonathan went over to the bed and leaned across her.With his finger, he traced her face.“You cannot imagine what you do to me.”
His mouth settled possessively on hers, and before she knew what was happening, he was kissing the breath out of her.A jolt of excitement surged through her body, and she wrapped her arms around him as his tongue slid past her lips into her mouth, probing ...teasing ...wanting.
His kisses grew hotter, and she grew wilder, her hands moving up and down his back, trying to get him closer.When his hand moved lower to cup her breast, she gasped as his palm closed around her, and then his fingers began to play with her nipple until it hardened.His mouth left hers, trailing kisses down her throat and across her chest.His ravenous mouth captured one of her nipples, first sucking and then circling it provocatively with his tongue.She moved her hands from his shoulders to his head where she tangled her hands in his hair, pulling him tighter against her.
She was mindless with desire.Her back arched and her loins ached.She felt his hands seductively moving across her stomach and then lower until his fingers reached her thighs and the warm wetness.He began to stroke until she writhed beneath him.
