When her mouth touched his, he sunk his teeth gently into her lower lip and ground himself against her.
“Mm,”she moaned, the sound going right through him and making his loins hitch.
This was intolerable. Her tongue touched his lips, and he was the one to open his mouth and accept her sweet assault.
Continuing to rub against her, he felt like a raw youth.Was he going to spend in his breeches?The thought of doing so, at his age, made him stop completely.
Julia, however, continued to suckle on his tongue and press close. She would drive him straight to Bedlam.
Firmly, with hands on her upper arms, he set her back before walking, a little gingerly, to the bell-pull.
“Let’s get you safely home, shall we?” He tried to sound casual, not as if he intended to go straight upstairs and bring himself to swift release in the privacy of his bedchamber. All the short while, he would recall how it felt to slip his fingers between her damp petals in the dark garden, and how hard the peak of her nipple had become with his ministrations.
“Thank you for understanding, my lord.”
She wasthankinghim. He shook his head. Luckily, Mr. Greer arrived, ready to summon Rigley and Mrs. Crowley.
In a very few moments, the blonde gilflirt had departed, looking perfectly respectable, and Jasper took his stairs two at a time to offer himself relief.
***
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Jasper went to number 32 Ludgate Street, entering the shop of the royally appointed jewelers, Mr. Philip Rundell and Mr. John Bridge. It was known among those who gambled how Mr. Bridge in particular helped out many a young, foolish nobleman, giving plenty of good coin for their aigrettes, signet rings, and pins and even for their wives’ brooches and necklaces in order to bail them out of debt.
Although Jasper had a few careless friends who’d gambled and gotten into trouble, he had never imagined something of his would have ended up being pawned.
As it turned out, it was neither the older Mr. Rundell nor Mr. Bridge who assisted him, but the other Mr. Rundell, the nephew, whom Julia had mentioned having added his name to the old establishment.
“May I be of assistance?” the man asked.
“I’m looking to retrieve an item of mine that was sold to your shop. Hopefully, it still resides here.”
“We can but hope,” the man said.
Jasper narrowed his eyes.Was Rundell mocking him or being genuine?He nearly mentioned Julia, thinking to advise the jeweler not to let her sell anything more. Yet deciding upon discretion, he held his tongue.
“It’s a sapphire cravat pin.”
“If you’ll step this way, my lord, out of the showroom and into the back, I’ll see if I can find it. How long ago did you pawn it?” he asked over his shoulder as he went deeper into the recesses of the store.
“Ididn’t pawn it,” Jasper practically spluttered, passing the elegant display cases as well as two gentlemen he knew, nodding to each in turn.
When Rundell faced him over a counter at the back of the store, Jasper couldn’t tell if the man believed him or not. Then he decided he didn’t care.
“How long ago did you say we acquired it?” Rundell asked, pulling out a ledger and placing it on the counter. Next, he drew spectacles from his pocket and affixed the wires around his ears until they were firmly in place.
“A few weeks,” Jasper said vaguely. It felt as if he’d known and been entangled with Miss Sudbury for quite a bit longer. “But my name won’t be in there.”
The man eyed him. “No, of course not, sir, yet a description is made of each piece that ispawned.”
Rundell said the last word so thePmade an explosive sound. Jasper took a step back, feeling a little soiled.
“Ah-ha,”the jeweler said after a minute. “Here it is. You were correct, sir. There is no name as to the seller.” He looked up at Jasper again over his spectacles as if he suspected him of something nefarious.
He shrugged. This was beyond tedious, watching Rundell shuffle through small boxes lined with felt. One labeled “Gentleman’s Jewelry” and then another labeled “Sapphires.” Then the man reached up onto the next shelf and drew down another labeled simply “Pins.”
“I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t see your pin here.”
Jasper’s disappointment must have shown upon his face, for the man made a clucking sound more apt for an older woman soothing a young child.
