She hesitated. “Am I a dreadful intrusion?”
Jasper put his head back and laughed before asking, “Do I strike you as such a rash idiot as to answer that question in the affirmative?”
Glad for his laughter, she said, “I suppose not.”
“You are a welcome intrusion,” he said. “Moreover, I have a satchel filled with newspapers and Parliamentary bills.”
Better than nothing, she supposed. “Shall we read, then? Or continue to stare at one another?”
He flashed her his winsome smile. “I am happy to stare at you for hours, but since it inflames my passions and makes you uncomfortable, I’ll concede that reading the newspapers would be a good idea, at least until we lose the light.”
Bending down, he drew a rubbed leather satchel out from under his seat, opened it, handed her the first papers he took out and then put the rest on his own lap.
“If you read anything interesting, let me know,” he said, already opening the first.
His remark made her smile. It was so very domestic of him, this rakehell, to read the news with her and want to know what she considered interesting.
“And you do the same,” she replied. “We’ll soon discover if our interests are at all similar.”
“All right, but if you reach the page that nearly always states ‘the E of M was doing this and that,’ ignore it. You know more about me than any half-witted gossipmonger, I dare say.”
Her smile grew, until she wondered if her own name would be in the papers as the suspected jewel thief of Mayfair. And then she sobered quickly. The officers of Bow Street were renowned for writing up accurate descriptions in the papers so people could more easily identify the criminals.
Pushing that unpleasant thought from her head, she began to read theGazette.
***
“WE’VE ARRIVED,” CAMEa soft male voice near her ear.
Julia was roused from a pleasant dream of riding in Hyde Park. As she opened her eyes and yawned, she realized she was on the same side of the coach as Jasper, sharing the seat. What’s more, she was pressed up against his side with her head upon his shoulder.
As she straightened, she couldn’t help groaning.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, stretching now that he was free to move.
“My neck is stiff,” she couldn’t help complaining, raising a hand to rub it, but he stopped her.
After their last snack, she’d put her gloves back on for warmth, but when his hand suddenly slipped between her coat collar and her skin, she realized he was ungloved. As his warm fingers began to knead and caress her neck, finding exactly the right spot, she shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked, still very close.
“No.”
“You shivered,” he said.
“You’re touching me,” she pointed out.
“I would very much like to do more,” he said. With that brisk warning, he swooped low and claimed her mouth.
Turning to make access easier, she reached out to hold his lapels with both hands as her insides became molten.
They shared a hurried plunder of a kiss, one that left her quite breathless. And then, after he tugged on her lower lip with his teeth, sending a delicious jolt of pleasure to her female parts, it was too quickly over.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since you entered my coach, and couldn’t let an entire journey go to waste.”
Julia nearly told him how she’d been wanting him to do that, at least since they’d given up reading when the sun had set hours ago. But he ought to have started such a kiss earlier. Now with her body tingling, she feared she would go to bed frustrated.
However, to keep his pride in check, she said, “That was nice.”
