Debutantes Don’t Date (14 page)

The smirk on Robin’s face before he walked away from her made her momentarily doubt
her friendship with Grace. But she was sure Grace was a genuine and a true friend.
Her brother didn’t do anything unless it was for his own benefit. Growing up with
his morals made it hard for Anne to differentiate between friends and people just
using her for their own gain. She watched with growing concern as her brother made
his way to the front of the room to find a seat for the recital. Why would he want
to sit in the front row? She knew not to trust her brother. She’d have to watch out
for Grace, who didn’t know what Robin was capable of. Regrettably, Anne did.

Jasper could hardly contain his amusement; others were having a harder time. Snickers
and guffaws echoed throughout the room. He couldn’t believe she had the gumption to
insult Wester in public. She hit it just right though, the dandy fitted every word.
He
was
so vain. Jasper wondered what Wester had done to deserve her disdain. Unfortunately,
he could well imagine.

Lord Wester was well known for how he treated ladies and Grace may have been exposed
to his particular style. Jasper dearly hoped not. Otherwise his fists would have to
have words with him. No one was going to insult his fiancée.

But what in the blazes was a ‘Lear Jet’? He made a mental note to question Grace when
he had a chance to speak to her.

Jasper could hardly wait to find out what Wester had done to deserve such mockery.
He smiled at the thought of the insult being spread throughout London by tomorrow.
His girl had spunk.

Neal grabbed Victoria’s hand before she could rise from her seat. The look on her
face was priceless. If he’d known Miss Lancaster would sing such a song he would have
bagged a front row seat instead of hiding near the back. “Shh, let her sing,” he whispered
amongst the ill-disguised laughter of their guests. “She’s fantastic.”

“She is ruining my recital,” Victoria hissed back.

“She’s making it the best recital in all of England. Everyone will be talking of this
for years.” Laughter lines crinkled by his eyes as he tried unsuccessfully to muffle
his mirth.

Victoria opened her mouth to lash him with her tongue, but he was pleased to see she
seemed to be out of words. Now that
was
a change.

The looks on everyone’s faces told her she should have picked a different song. Carly
Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’ probably wasn’t the best choice.

There were coughs muffling laughter throughout the room and Lord Wester’s face was
puce as she sung the words to him. The young girls present giggled into their hands
while their mammas tried shushing them to no avail.

The bastard deserved every humiliating moment of it, but Grace could hardly wait until
the song ended and she could leave. She was sure humiliating Lord Wester publicly
wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had and she was sure she would pay for it somewhere
someday.

Chapter Fifteen

“That was an interesting recital, wasn’t it?” Grace heard Mrs Barrett talking amongst
her cronies as she tried to sneak from the room after her turn playing the piano.
Her face ached from holding her smile in place when all she wanted to do was hide
away from everyone. It was definitely a bad move on her part to sing a song to anyone,
let alone
that
song to
him
. But he shouldn’t have leered at her the way he did. It was totally creepy.

Oh God, speaking of
him
she could see him heading in her direction with a murderous look upon his face.

Grace quickly ducked out the side door and raced down the hallway as fast as she could
without drawing too much attention to herself. She just reached out for the handle
into the ladies’ retiring room when a hand closed around her arm.

“Ach!”

“Shhh. It is just me.” Jasper’s deep voice calmed the butterflies in her stomach.
“I saw Lord Wester coming and I figured you’d want to avoid that meeting. If you don’t
really need to use the facilities I know where we can go.”

“Lead the way.” All Grace wanted to do was escape the scene Lord Wester was sure to
initiate.

“Come on then.” Jasper slid his hand down her arm and clasped her hand in his. Shivers
skated up and down her arm in response and if she hadn’t been so intent on avoiding
another man she would have lain down right there and let this one have his wicked
little way with her.

Goodness, where did that thought come from?

She couldn’t deny the warmth spreading from her core or the wetness gathering between
her legs. She had to face the truth. She was falling for the man she was engaged to.
Things could not get much worse, especially since he thought of them as a mistake.

“Behind here.” Jasper held a life-size portrait of one of Neal’s ancestors away from
the wall.

What the? There was a passageway hidden behind the picture.

“Quickly, Grace, or someone will see.”

She looked at Jasper’s face and trusted what she saw, so taking a deep breath, she
stepped quickly behind the portrait. Darkness engulfed them when the painting fell
back into place behind Jasper and although Grace had never been underground she imagined
this is what the inside of a coal mine looked like.

“Where are we? I didn’t know there were secret passageways in Neal’s house. Why on
earth would he have those?”

“Come on, Grace, this way, follow me.” Jasper clasped her hand again and led her slowly
along the passageway before answering her question. “There are things about Neal you
and I will never know. And frankly, I don’t want to know. Anybody who has secret passages
throughout their home has more secrets than I care to know. However, these passages
do come in handy from time to time. Your friend Wester won’t find us in here. I’m
not even sure where
here
is.”

They continued in silence for what felt like ten minutes or so, but it was hard to
tell in the dark, before Jasper stopped. He let go of her hand and before she could
protest ran his hand up and down her arm, sending shivers through her body once again.
One touch and she was putty in his hands.

“Why’d we stop?” Grace whispered into the darkness.

“We’ve reached the stairs. Do you think you can manage them in the dark or do you
need my help?” He whispered in her ear, stoking the fire burning in her veins. The
fact she couldn’t see anything heightened her other scenes and when his hand grazed
her hip she jumped. “Shhh, it’s just me. I’ve got you,” He whispered, nuzzling her
neck.

He fitted his hands to her hips, swung her and lifted her up a step. Her body fizzled
with awareness as he slowly lowered her down until her feet touched the ground, all
the while keeping her body in contact with his. His hands descended to her bottom
and she gasped as he brought her fully against him. A wave of excitement rushed to
her brain, blocking out all thought.

Jasper stayed on the ground when he lifted her so she was exactly the right height
to reach his lips. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she pulled him closer when
his lips touched hers. Her fingers followed his neck up to touch his face and he broke
the kiss to suck on her finger. She didn’t care that she was moaning as she kissed
his throat down to his collar. She needed to touch him.

She twisted and squirmed in his grasp until Jasper brought her impossibly closer to
him still, crushing her against him. Her hands began to wander frantically over his
body as the fever that consumed her last time they touched returned. She ran her hands
down the front of his shirt, marvelling at the rippling muscle underneath the crisp
linen. She circled his nipples through his shirt with one hand as the other sought
a new goal.

A moan shot from Jasper’s lips when she cupped his member in her hand through his
trousers. She searched for the zip on his pants, but couldn’t find it. Frustration
made her want to scream.

She tore her lips away from his and growled, “How do you undo your blasted pants?”
She tugged at the waist band, but they were too tight and didn’t budge. The men’s
pants in the 1800s were tighter than men’s skinny jeans back home. At least jeans
had a Goddamn zipper!

“Here, Grace, let me. There are laces.”

“Laces? What, like a shoe? Why are your pants done up with laces? Buttons would be
a lot easier, you know.”

“I don’t think the tailor had undressing in a hurry in mind when they were made.”

“Or in the dark,” Grace giggled. It was too much. If she could just see what she was
trying to do, it would be a whole lot easier. She dropped to her knees and carefully
pulled the lace end free from its knot. She didn’t want to get it tangled. With the
state she was in she would chew through the blasted lace if it didn’t let go soon.

Finally she felt the fabric open and she gave a silent cheer for joy as his excited
member fell into her hands. It jumped at her touch. The smoothness of its skin intrigued
her enough to make her flick her tongue across the surface.

Jasper’s hands came down to rest on the back of her head. Her tongue shot out again
but this time his hips thrust forward at the same time, giving her more access to
her target. Grace had never mastered the art of fellatio, but being in total darkness
gave her confidence to use both her hands and her mouth.

“Grace. God, Grace.” Jasper moaned her name as her actions got faster and faster until
he pulled her away in time for his release.

They felt their way slowly up the stairs, stopping on each one for a kiss. The kisses
started out soft and chaste but with each step upwards Grace’s need for Jasper’s touch
mounted. She could no longer wait. Her movements become jerkier and jerkier with each
step they climbed until she was moaning at the barest graze of his fingers on her
arm. Her breath quickened as he slid his tongue along her neck. On the tenth step
he leaned her against the wall and tugged down the fabric of her dress, exposing the
soft sensitive flesh of her breasts. His tongue left a hot trail across her collarbone
as his lips descended. Breath caught in Grace’s throat when his hands cupped her exposed
flesh. Her pulse throbbed down to her core. One more touch would send her over the
edge. Goosebumps rose on her damp skin even though the heat she felt was burning her
up.

Jasper placed his leg between hers and she rode his knee, grinding herself against
him, trying to relieve the pressure. His mouth clamped onto her nipple and sucked,
tugging gently with his teeth. When they reached the top, he gently laid her down
and flicked her dress up to her waist.

Her legs fell open for him and he took her invitation by slipping a finger inside
her wet passage. Her muscles shuddered against him. He blew softly onto her exposed
flesh as he slowly rocked his finger in and out. Grace’s legs fell open further, far
enough for him to settle between them. His mouth brushed her entrance and her hips
bucked off the floor. He held her still and murmured softly, calming her before taking
her with his mouth. She screamed into the darkness as he flicked her clitoris with
his tongue and she found the release she had been craving.

It took a moment for her world to come back together after it shattered into millions
of tiny pieces. She slowly became aware of her surroundings again. Jasper lay next
to her, his head on her thigh. She supposed ladies of this time might be mortified
to find a man in such a position, but Grace loved the weight of him. She let her fingers
comb through his hair as she brought her breathing under control.

“You’ll be the death of me, woman.” Jasper kissed her inner thigh before sitting up.
“Come, let’s find our way out of this darkness.” He pulled her to her feet and helped
her straighten her dress. She only hoped it would be presentable when they re-emerged
into the house.

“Do you think it’s OK?” She was referring to her dress.

“I think so, it feels all in place. I’m having a blasted time with these laces though,
I can’t seem to find one end.”

Grace reached out a hand in the direction of his voice. “Here, let me.”

“No! We’ll never get out of here if you touch me again,” he laughed. “There it is!
Got it. Now, let’s go, Grace. I’m sure there is an exit up here just aways.”

Jasper led her through a series of doors and passageways before they reached their
destination. The room Jasper took her into was dark. They were in a part of the house
that she’d never been to before. She didn’t know it existed, even after staying here
for a couple of months.

Grace looked around as best she could in the dark but there was only a small amount
of light seeping under a door at the other end of the room. She was drawn to it like
a moth to a flame after spending so much time in absolute darkness. As she got closer
to the door she could hear voices coming from the other side. “Jasper,” she whispered
into the darkness, “there’s someone here.” She groped blindly towards the light, trying
not to bump into any furniture, her toes curling in her slippers in defence against
any future knocks on objects hiding in the dark. Something touched her back. Her heart
lodged itself into her throat before she realised it was only Jasper’s hand. She could
now feel his breath on her cheek and she relaxed into his warmth.

“I can hear it too. I wonder who it is.” Jasper stepped closer to the door, leaving
Grace behind in the darkness.

Maybe it was the dark that made her brave; she would wonder afterward what possessed
her to ask the question that had circled around and around in her mind since the fateful
night of the ball. “Jasper? Do you love Anne?” she whispered. Even to her own ears
she sounded lost and alone. Jasper turned from the door and made his way slowly back
to her. She heard him utter a curse an instant after he bumped into something that
sounded large and immoveable.

“Hasn’t anyone told you why we were to be married? I thought someone would have told
you the night of the Kensington ball.” He paused for a moment and seemed to be thinking
something over before he continued. “But I suppose the only person you knew at the
ball was me, and I certainly didn’t tell you, did I? Victoria, of course, would never
say anything; she doesn’t believe in gossip, especially gossip about our family. In
that case, I suppose it’s long overdue you knew. Lady Anne’s father and mine arranged
our marriage when she was born. We were supposed to be married years ago; I never
got around to asking her, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”