Whatever was now happening—happeningtoJasper Audrey—Elizabeth grabbed hold and held tight. This was her chance. At him.
She kissed him, giddy with hope. She didn’t care that they behaved like naughty children atop the Duke of Lennox’s escritoire. Items fell to floor, ink spilled to rug, as Jasper rucked up her skirts, heedless of papers, quills, or finely wrought inkwells. For the first time ever, Elizabeth did not just rut atop a desk, shemade loveto her whoreson husband, his every thrust a proclamation, her hips an arching, reaching promise of her own.
She wrapped her legs about his waist to draw him deeper in, to call forth his tenderness and turmoil, his longing and his lust—a man who straddled both worlds in any bed, on any desk, against a wall, in a swaying carriage. She loved his surly swagger and his not-so-subtle jests. His intensity had inflamed her from the moment they’d first met.
It still did.
When they collapsed, spent and silly with joy, Jasper beamed, his face pure light. He was the handsomest man alive. Whereas she?—
“You look a mess, wife, a gorgeous mess, but a mess nonetheless.” His lips twitched, breaking into a bold smile. “And what the devil were you thinking, attending a ball without your smalls?”
“I was but following my husband’s orders, sir.”
He laughed before he breathed the words “Good girl”directly into her ear.
Elizabeth thrilled to his praise. “Besides, you gave me no time to dress. Why, I’d barely laced my stays before you bundled me into your carriage.” She pursed her lips. “You’d best straighten that necktie and button your fall before some esteemed member of theTonwalks in on us, Baron.”
“Let them,” he proclaimed. “Let the world see my love for you, Lizzie, I will hide it no more.” He palmed her cheek. “You are exquisite, inside and out.” His other hand fell to her belly, to cradle the life that grew there, waiting.
She placed her hand over his. “I love you, too, Jasper Audrey.” She said it so softly she wasn’t sure he’d heard. They remained hand over hand, in easy stillness, until she, too, cupped his cheek. “You are not an easy man to love.” She gazed into his face. “But I am not easy to love either. Let us do better than we have, Jasper. Let us do our damnedest from this day forward.”
He pressed his forehead to hers and answered, “Yes.”
Later that night, Elizabeth wriggled her naked body deeper into her husband’s. She was content. No, smitten.
The Baron of Milton had spent an inordinate amount of time seeming to memorize every curve, crease, mole and freckle on her body after they’d made love again, this time in the comfort of her husband’s welcoming bed. The moment they’d returned from the Duke’s ball, Jasper had ignored Murdoch and Gerald’s inquisitive faces and dismissed Ginny outright.
He’d also kicked poor Mutton out before he’d undressed Elizabeth himself, praising her for going back toLeBrecht’suntil she was sure she’d blushed five shades of red.
“Jasper, I hope our newfound understanding doesn’t mean you’ll stop … you know.”
“Stop what, love?” He bent to suckle her breast with such fervor she was reminded she’d soon nurse a babe, no longer just a husband.
“Stop, well…” She squirmed beneath his onslaught.
“Stopspanking?” He rolled her to her side and gave her rump a playful swat.
She squirmed more.“Yes.”
“Hmm.” He paused to lavish his attention on her right nipple next. “Perhaps we ought to come up with a fresh set of rules then, wife. Rules which might account for your clear need for discipline.” He began to pet her backside in anticipation of another slap, making Elizabeth shiver with anticipation.
“And what rules do you propose, husband?” She could not believe she now wanted to follow this man’s rules. Provided they were, of course, agreeable.
“I thought simply to amend the ones you broke so oft.” He spanked her again, sending tremors up her spine.
“Amend how, sir?”
“I like it when you call mesirin bed, Lizzie.” He began to nibble her ear. “And I should like it even more if you continue to obey me in the bedroom, continue to assume the position I showed you on our wedding night.”
Heat pooled between Elizabeth’s thighs. He was still the man she’d married. He would still warm her bottom when she needed it most. She gave up a small prayer of thanks and then gasped at an invasion she’d never felt before.
“And I should like entryheresomeday, Elizabeth, to every inch of you.” His finger slowly probed her rear, engendering there sensations she’d not dreamed possible.
“Will you allow it, love?” he whispered. “I promise you great pleasure, if you trust me to give it.”
“Please,” she begged too quickly. “Jasper, don’t?—!”
He did not stop but probed her more, invading her quim next with his other finger. His hand now worked both entries, building in Elizabeth pressure and pleasure that was achingly intense.
