Gift of Desire (11 page)

“I’ll go and ask her.”

Leaving Jasper to fend off the young ladies, she slipped into the card room and conversed with Maud, who had no objection to the notion as long as it was supervised. She returned to find Alice, her hands clasped at her bosom, anxiously awaiting her.

“Well?”

“She says you may play but only in the old nursery floor so that you do not disturb the other guests.” She narrowed her gaze. “And I will be chaperoning you all very carefully indeed.”

Within seconds the whole room emptied as the young ladies and gentleman headed up the stairs to the third floor, Caroline in pursuit. She was secretly relieved that Jasper followed, too.

* * *

Alice, of course, decided she should be the first one to hide and Jasper watched as she ran off along the darkened corridor while the others chanted to a hundred. He glanced speculatively down at Caro. He had a few ideas of his own as to how he intended to play the game—if his quarry proved willing.

He waited until the younger guests dispersed and then followed along until he had an excellent view of how they had dispersed and how to plan his own campaign. A muffled giggle to his right confirmed his suspicions that he was being stalked himself and he looked back to where Caroline still stood in the shadow of the landing.

“Caro?” he whispered. “Come this way.”

He didn’t wait to see if she was following him, but turned left into the maze of smaller rooms that had once served the nursery staff. Opening doors at random, he soon found a quiet spot and waited half-hidden behind the door for Caroline to catch up. As she approached the door he stepped forward, took her hand and yanked her into the large linen closet. She collided against his chest with a surprised sound and he wrapped an arm around her hips to keep her there.

In the darkness, he bent his head and kissed her, finding her mouth with unerring accuracy. She tried to say something and then gave up, and welcomed his kiss. He endeavored to keep it light but when she responded it proved impossible. He was soon kissing her as if the world might end and they were the only two survivors. Her unique flavor surrounded him with a suggestion of warmth and arousal that made him want to inhale her whole.

Her hand came around his neck and he leaned back against the door sealing them into the closet and the welcoming darkness, where only touch, and taste, and smell existed. She whimpered when his hand cupped her bosom and he eased his thumb inside her bodice to find her nipple already taut and ready for his mouth. No need for words now as he became consumed with the desire to give her whatever she needed.

She shifted her stance, leaning into him, and he willingly slid one hard thigh between hers as she began to rub herself against him like a cat. He pushed back her bodice as far as he could, baring her breasts to his mouth and fingers and simply enjoyed her. But it wasn’t enough—he’d known it wouldn’t be. He wanted her spread and naked beneath him as he fucked her in as many ways as he could think of.

Keeping her mouth occupied with his, he rucked up her skirts, seeking out her heat and cupped her sex, groaning as he felt how wet she was for him. His thumb found her clit and played with it as he slid one long finger deep inside her. She came so fast he almost joined her.

“Caro…” He breathed her name and added another finger, pumping them back and forth until she climaxed again in beautiful shuddering waves that made him want to smile.

Behind his back someone rattled the door handle and he went still.

“Lord Mansell?”

* * *

Caroline opened her eyes and quickly closed them again. She was in the linen closet with Jasper, her bodice was askew, her breasts aching from his mouth and between her legs his fingers were still lodged deep inside her.

“Lord Mansell, are you in there?”

The whisper came again. It sounded like the intrepid Miss Pattison. This time Caroline tried to pull herself free, but Jasper merely tightened his grip and held still, his breathing slow and even. If it hadn’t have been for the hard throb of his cock pressed against her hip, she would’ve thought he was a marble statue.

What on earth had possessed her to allow Jasper such liberties? She was supposed to be chaperoning a party of young impressionable girls, not giving them an example of how
not
to behave. But having him touch her, in the dark, where she could just be herself again had proved irresistible.

The door handle shook again, but Jasper held firm. His fingers resumed their slow penetration and retreat and she had to bite down on the fine wool of his coat sleeve to stifle her whimpered climax. She risked a glance up at his face and she thought she caught a glimpse of his smile. He endeavored to rearrange her bodice and slowly removed his fingers from between her legs. She wanted to moan in protest as he brushed them over her lips and then sucked them clean in his mouth.

There was an exasperated sigh followed by faint footsteps and she felt him relax. He cupped her chin.

“Are you all right?”

If being reduced to a puddle of completely unexpected desire by her best friend meant she was all right, she was doing remarkably well. She pushed at his chest and this time he let her go. Goodness, her legs felt like jelly. All she wanted to do was lean back against him and let her carry her off to bed.

“Go away, Jasper.”

“I can’t.”

“I’m not kissing you again.”

He sighed. “Why not?”

“Because I have to go and supervise those
children!”

“They are hardly children.”

“That’s not the point, I’m supposed to be the respectable adult—as are
you
.”

“Which is why I can’t join you in rounding them up.”

“What on earth do you mean?”

He reached for her hand and brought it to the front of his pantaloons. “I’m neither decent nor respectable at this moment. I’m hard, wet and wanting.”

Her fingers curled around the large bulge of his cock. He inhaled sharply and pushed himself into her hand. The satin was stretched to the breaking point and damp at the top. She wanted to kneel down in front of him, undo his pantaloons and take him into her mouth…

He groaned as she absently rubbed her thumb over his throbbing length. “Caro…either go or stay, but don’t tease me.”

She abruptly let go of him, her cheeks heating; glad that he couldn’t see her face properly. Suddenly the walls of the closet closed in on her and she struggled to breathe.

“I have to get out of here.”

He immediately stepped out of her way. “What’s wrong?”

She scrabbled for the door handle, “I can’t breathe. I can’t stand to be confined…”

He opened the door and she rushed out into the corridor, her heartbeat frantic, her gaze fixed on the light streaming in from the nearest window. Luckily, none of her charges were around to witness her discomfort. She took several deep breaths and walked back to the landing, listening as she went.

A screech of laughter, hastily stifled, had her turning right and into the old night nursery. A stray beam of moonlight illuminated the extremely lumpy curtains that concealed the window seat and several of the younger guests who were huddled together in a big bunch.

She clapped her hands. “I think this round of the game is over, Alice. Do you want to choose another person to hide, or would you rather come downstairs and eat supper?”

“Food? Jolly good!”

Jasper’s nephew, Tommy was the first to emerge from the huddle of bodies. Caroline had calculated that the young men would be hungry by now. If
they
were no longer interested in playing the game then neither would the young ladies. She waited patiently for the girls to pat down their hair and stop giggling, and then for Alice to extract herself from young Lord Breton, who didn’t seem to be in a particular hurry to let her go.

Smiling to herself, Caroline shepherded them toward the stairs. Miss Pattison awaited her there, her head held high, her glance accusatory.

“Where is Lord Mansell?”

“I don’t know, my dear. Perhaps he went down?”

Miss Pattison snorted and stomped away in pursuit of the others, most probably; Caroline doubted poor Jasper had escaped the linen closet yet. Making sure she was presentable herself, Caroline followed and hoped that Jasper would be able to join them shortly. She licked her lips, tasting him again, and wondered whatever she was going to do about him. Perhaps it was time to call his bluff and ask him outright exactly what was going on.

* * *

The knock on his bedroom door was unexpected, the sight of Caroline even more so. After a quick glance along the empty corridor, Jasper stepped back and let her in. She wore an old blue night robe and her brown hair was braided in a single plait that was long enough to come over her right shoulder. She looked absurdly young for a woman who’d already suffered so terribly.

She stalked into his bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest and her expression fierce. Even though he knew it was pointless, Jasper tried to turn the conversation into a lighter vein than he suspected Caroline wanted.

“I thought you were intent on providing a good example to the younger ladies in your care? Visiting unmarried gentlemen in their bedchambers is still considered rather scandalous, isn’t it?”

“I’m widowed and, according to most of the men I’ve met—married or unmarried—I’m considered fair game.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you think I want from you? A quick fuck that you’ll receive with gratitude because you miss it?”

“There’s no need to be crude, but you are correct in the essentials.”

“And what if it
was
all I wanted? Would that be enough to satisfy you too?”

She sat down by the fire. “Please, Jasper, can we start this conversation again? I really don’t want to argue with you.”

“Then stop assuming I’m the same as any other man of your acquaintance.” He took the seat opposite her. “Why
are
you here?”

“Because I don’t understand this game you’re playing.”

“It isn’t a game.”

“Then what do you want? I thought you were my friend.”

“I am.”

“Then why did you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to. Why did you kiss me back?”

She met his gaze, her blue eyes steady. “Because…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“George has been dead for almost two years. It’s perfectly all right for you to kiss another man.”

She scowled at him. “I don’t need your permission to kiss anyone.”

“Then at least admit you enjoyed it.” He dropped his gaze to her breasts and then to her sex. “That you were wet for me.”

“It was far worse than that, you have no idea what I wanted to do when I saw how—” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my goodness, your frankness is rubbing off on me in a quite disastrous manner.”

He shifted in his seat. “Don’t say rubbing. I had to stay in that damned linen closet and conjugate Latin verbs for at least half an hour until I was decent enough to be seen in public. What did you want to do to me?”

“I can’t tell you just like that!”

“Why not?”

She flapped a hand in the direction of his rapidly expanding cock. “Now look what you’ve done.”

“What you’ve done.” He cupped his balls through the silk of his dressing gown. “What did you want to do to me, Caro?” he asked softly. “Or would you prefer to show me?”

“I can’t!”

He advanced slowly toward her, giving her ample time to run away. She remained fixed on the spot, her gaze devouring him as he shrugged out of his silk banyan to reveal his nakedness and the thrust of his cock.

“I want you.”

“Oh, Good Lord, don’t do this, Jasper. Don’t
tempt
me—”

He stopped right in front of her and cupped her cheek. “I
want
you.”

She closed her eyes. “I can’t—”

“Can’t what?” He took her hand and wrapped it around his cock. “Touch me? Yes, you can. I give you my full permission.”

Her grip tightened on his shaft and he almost yelped.

“I can’t let you look at me,” she whispered.

He went still, his gaze on her tightly closed eyes. She was visibly trembling but whether in fear of the consequences of bedding him, or simply of disrobing in front of him, he couldn’t quite tell. But, uncovering herself was not a simple matter at all, was it? He wanted to kick himself for his lack of sensitivity.

“What if I blow out all the candles and draw the curtains around my bed?” He leaned in and kissed her very slowly until she relaxed her grip on his cock and allowed him to slide between her fingers. “Will you come to me, then?”

“You make it sound so simple. I’m not the same woman, Jasper.”

“Because you are scarred?”

She touched the side of her face. “This isn’t the worst of it.” She swallowed hard. “Will you let me touch you instead?”

He considered her for a long moment. If he agreed, would it help ease his way toward gaining her confidence more completely? He could only hope so, and he was just a simple man who couldn’t resist the idea of her
offering
to touch him.

Taking her hand, he drew her toward the four-poster bed and lifted her to sit on the mattress. He blew up all the candles and followed her onto the bed, drawing the blue embroidered curtains shut behind him. Even though it was dark, he had a perfect sense of where she was. He always did.

“Where do you want me, Caro?” he murmured. “On my back, between your legs or kneeling facing away from you?”

“Could you just lie down and stop talking?”

He complied, stretching out on the pillows with one arm cushioning his head. She knelt beside him and placed one small hand on his chest and stroked him there. He murmured his appreciation and purred like a lion. He promised himself that whatever she was willing to give him, he would take and not ask for anything else.

Well—not much.

“Would you do one thing for me?” he asked.

“What?”

“Untie your braid so that I can feel your hair against my skin?”

“If you wish.” She leaned over him, her loose hair making a curtain around their faces. “Like this?”