Badcock (8 page)

She shook. Her fists balled and before she could stop herself, she flew at him, flailing away. One hard punch landed against the stone wall of his chest before he caught her wrists. He twisted her in his arms, holding her effortlessly with one arm and clamping his hand over her mouth. She struggled, clawing at his sleeve. Every inch of his body countered hers.

“Hush,” he whispered urgently in her ear. “Be still.”

Gasping for breath, she stopped fighting him. “Release me or I’ll scream.”

“And further sully your reputation?” he asked, his mouth hot at her ear. “Being seen alone with me won’t endear you to your precious duke, Sophia.”

“You’re a rake. Everyone says so.”

At that, he laughed. His thumb brushed maddeningly over her nipple. Sophia tensed. Unwelcome desire unfurled. “Please let me go,” she said, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

His breaths grew harsh. “No.”

Sophia’s eyes closed and she relaxed into his embrace. For a brief moment, the world ceased to exist. The music coming from inside the house faded. Night insects and the toads in the nearby pond stopped their chirping. There was only Jack and his embrace and this frenetic need fueling her desire.

“Nothing can come of this,” he said and Sophia understood that he was trying to convince himself more than her.

He turned her to face him but he did not let her step an inch away from him. His gaze seared her. Sophia knew his intentions and the memory of him making love to her rose and quickly became her undoing. His stare dropped to her lips and instinctively, she wet them with the tip of her tongue.

“Sophia,” he growled huskily as his head descended.

Her heart soared as his mouth came down on hers, hard and hungry, inflamed by the long weeks of absence and yearning.

Sophia tried to remember that he was a rake, that he’d mistaken her for that hateful Lady Huntingdon, but when he nipped her bottom lip, coaxing her response, all lucid thought eroded.

Her fingers threaded into the hair at his nape. She arched into him as his hand splayed wide across her back. His other hand cupped her bottom and dragged her desperately closer. Sophia opened her mouth, admitting his tongue as his arousal hardened between their bodies.

Here. Now.

Mindless, she cleaved to him as his kisses drifted from her mouth to her cheeks, to her sensitive neck. What was it about this man that drove her beyond the edge of reason?

Her eyes snapped open when he suddenly seized her shoulders. He stared at her, hard. “Do you want to marry the duke?”

She gaped.

“Do you?” he asked, giving her a little shake.

No. I loathe him.
“I must.”

Something bleak shone in his eyes and he released her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve no right to speak to you that way.”

“You’ve no right to do anything to me,” she blurted.

“You’re correct,” he said and inclined his head respectfully before he brushed past her.

Sophia stood, stunned. When she finally managed to move, she brushed her fingers across her lips. She could still taste his mouth. The masculine scent of his skin and hair lingered in her senses.

She swallowed as realization sank to the toes of her jeweled pumps. She’d missed the opportunity to tell him she didn’t want to marry Ralph and she may have missed the opportunity to spend the rest of her life with the only man who had ever made her feel alive.

“Wait,” she called but he was already gone.

“Here she is, out here in the garden!” Lady Huntingdon’s voice rang out.

Sophia quickly smoothed down her dress. She hoped the rouge on her lips wasn’t smeared. There was no time to repair it, though, because Lady Huntingdon was headed straight for her with Ralph on her arm. Hatred for the woman welled.

She’d planned this party just to watch Jack’s reaction when he realized he’d been with the wrong woman. Lady Huntingdon was downright diabolical.

“Are you unwell?” Ralph asked. The way his eyes lingered on her mouth made Sophia want to hide.

“I-I’m fine,” she said. “I just needed some air.”

Lady Huntingdon’s gaze flitted around the garden and Sophia knew she was looking for Jack. “Whatever were you doing out here in the garden?”

Sophia cleared her throat. “Admiring it, Lady Huntingdon,” she said sweetly. “Your gardener must be a treasure.”

Lady Huntingdon flashed a knowing smile. “Indeed, he is.”

“Shall we go back indoors?” Sophia asked, desperate to find a mirror.

Lady Huntingdon ignored her plea. “I thought I heard Lord Stafford’s voice out here?”

“I last saw him dancing with one of your guests,” Ralph said.

Sophia resisted the compulsion to smile. Ralph had rescued her but Sophia could only hope he’d done so unwittingly.

The hard look in his eyes, however, bespoke the contrary.

Lady Huntingdon snickered. “Lord Stafford’s trysts will soon come to an end,” she said pointedly. One delicate eyebrow arched wickedly. “You do know that he’s engaged to the most delightful German countess, don’t you?”

Chapter Five

Sophia sat across the coach from Ralph with her hands folded in her lap. They hadn’t spoken since leaving Lord Huntingdon’s country home.

Her parents had left the party even earlier but apparently, Ralph had found Lady Huntingdon most entertaining. Sophia had been obligated to sit and listen to the woman drone on and on about Jack and his engagement.

Sophia knew far more than she wanted to about the legendary beauty of Countess Hilda von Kesselring.

Ralph had leveled a blank stare on her for most of the night and Sophia wondered if he recognized Jack as the masked highwayman who’d humiliated him.

Rapt in worry, she’d never been more miserable in her life. The entire time she’d searched the crowd of guests for Jack but he’d obviously quit the party after their meeting in the garden. In one night, her entire world had been upended. She’d thought Jack was a highwayman.

Far from that, he was an earl—a devastatingly handsome earl who was clearly attracted to her. Her heart sank. He’d thought she was that hateful Lady Huntingdon. And yet, Sophia’s insides tensed into a knot as she recalled the kiss they’d shared.

Just when she’d resigned herself to the fact she’d never see his face or feel his kiss again, there he’d been in all his tanned skin, blue-eyed glory. Even though she’d been confused and angry, she’d been powerless to resist him.

Ralph cleared his throat. “Why do you think Lady Huntingdon was so interested in the goings on between Stafford and the countess?”

Heat swarmed into Sophia’s cheeks. Although she’d been thinking about Jack, hearing his name mentioned brought on a merciless wave of shame. “I can’t imagine,” Sophia said, letting her gaze drift out the window. The night was so black she couldn’t see a thing.

Ralph shifted. He inhaled sharply. “I wonder if it had anything to do with why you were talking to him in the garden.”

Sophia gasped. “I wasn’t—”

In an instant, Ralph was across the carriage with his fingers curled around her throat. Startled, Sophia stared.

Ralph’s eyes blazed in the dimly lit coach. “I saw you.
I saw you.
Do not lie to me.”

Sophia gulped. “I…I went out to get some air. I may have spoken to him in passing. Really, darling, I…I don’t know why you’re so upset.”

“Why I’m so upset?” he mocked her as he returned to his seat. He snorted. “You have thoroughly disgraced me. Everyone in England knows I’m marrying damaged goods. You’re not fit to be my wife any longer. You’re not fit to be any man’s wife.”

Sophia trembled with anger and fear. “Then, why…why are you marrying me?”

“Are you really that stupid?” he sneered.

Sophia remained silent.

Ralph laughed and the mirthless sound of it chilled Sophia to the core. “Your dowry,” he said as if she were a fool.

His words stung but she refused to give him the satisfaction of watching a single tear fall. A confession of the whole incident with Jack threatened to gush forth but she kept her tongue in check. It wouldn’t lessen her plight to sully Jack’s engagement.

“After I told you what a lothario he was, you still rushed to steal a moment alone with him,” Ralph chided. “Did a taste of forbidden fruit turn you into such a whore that you cannot see fit to wait until our wedding night?”

Sophia shrank with the realization that in one week she would be wedded to this cruel man. He would want to do the things with her that Jack had done.

Her stomach churned and she gagged.

“Is the thought of fucking me that reprehensible to you?” he asked.

She didn’t answer.

“Fear not. Once I get an heir on you, I’ll seek my pleasure elsewhere,” he continued.

So will I
, Sophia thought dismally as the coach rolled to a stop outside her home. Outside, the footman scurried to pull down the steps. Sophia started to move toward the door but Ralph seized her wrist and squeezed so hard she winced despite the satisfaction she knew her discomfort gave him. “If you ever embarrass me again, I will kill you,” he seethed.

Sophia jerked her arm away from him and alighted from the coach. Shaking from head to toe, she hurried into the door a servant held open for her. She didn’t look back as she heard Ralph’s driver kiss to the horses. Her heart pounded as she gathered up her hem and raced up the stairs.
How dare he!

She wanted to throw something. She wanted to cry. How could she ever go through with this marriage? She couldn’t bear the thought of that man doing to her the same things Jack had done.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and leaned against the wall of the dimly lit hallway. No one was still up. The house was deathly quiet. But even in the stillness of the silence, Sophia felt hopelessly trapped.

Despite her circumstances, a shard of longing passed through her. What if Jack weren’t engaged? What if he wanted to marry her?

She was merely being foolish. That would never happen. Why would a man give up an engagement to a countess for a minor viscount’s daughter?

Forcing her feet to move again, she shuffled to her room. She dreaded ringing for her maid to come and undress her. The hour was so late and she hated to awaken
Trixie
, but Sophia saw no way to get out of her dress and corset without her.

She twisted the knob and stole inside intent on tugging the bell pull.

“Good evening,” a voice called from the shadows.

Sophia gasped. Her hand flew to her heart. “Jack!” she cried. “What are—”

He was across the room in an instant. “Hush,” he said as he crushed her in his arms.

His mouth sought hers, his lips prying, tasting, nipping. Sophia melted, clinging to his shoulders as he kissed her. Was this a dream? If it was, she never wanted to awaken. Her heart soared only to come crumbling back down around her. She pushed at the hard wall of his chest, finally breaking free.

“How did you get in here?” she asked breathlessly.

A rakish smile played on his lips. “Evidently your father doesn’t pay his staff well enough. They are not immune to bribery.”

“You’re awful,” she hissed, struggling to recall all the reasons she could not give in to her desires—to him. “Who do you think you are that you sneak into my very bedroom and…and—”

“Strip you naked and fuck you?”

At the seductive sound of his voice, her resolve wilted.

“That’s it, love,” Jack told her, stepping closer so that he could gaze into her eyes. His thumb grazed the line of her jaw. “Allow me this.”

She swallowed. Her body screamed at her to allow him anything he wanted. She couldn’t think. Everything that had happened tonight closed in on her. “W-why?” she managed to stammer.

“Why?” he asked, unfastening her gown. “Because I can’t get you out of my thoughts. Because the idea of spending another minute without you naked and in my arms is unthinkable to me.”

Her gown opened, revealing her corset and petticoat. She held her breath as the fine silk whispered down her shoulders. She made no move to stop him as he traced the lace-trimmed top edge of her corset with the tip of his finger. His eyes followed wherever he touched her. “Because I can’t let the sun rise before I taste your beautiful nipples or bury my cock in your luscious little—”

“Stop,” she protested. She needed to distance herself. The scent of him, his heat, his voice all combined to intoxicate her. “You’re engaged.”

“As are you,” he said, reaching behind her to deftly unlace her corset. The confining fabric discarded, he began untying the bow that held up her wide panniers.

Sophia didn’t need to be reminded of her engagement. Not now. This was foolish and risky but she could no longer stop herself. Her panniers fell down her legs as Jack claimed her mouth again.

Furiously, they pulled laces and tugged and unbuttoned until finally, Jack lifted her out of the pile of her clothes and carried her to the bed. Her body quivered as his naked form moved over her.

“Just once,” he said. “Just let me sate this desire and I’ll pleasure you until the sun comes up, Sophia.”

And then, before she could take her next breath, he was between her legs and inside her and Sophia thought she would die from the sheer heaven of completion. She buried her nails in his back and entwined her legs around his, rising beneath him to meet his deliberate thrusts. She couldn’t believe she was doing this in her own house, in her own bed. Jack was here and she was once more in his arms.

She dragged her knees up. The bed groaned as Jack’s groin smacked hers over and over until his face contorted and he withdrew, taking his cock in his hand. A ribbon of liquid unfurled, stretching all the way up to her shoulder as he finished with his hand.

Breathless, he collapsed beside her on the mattress. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he whispered.

She twisted onto her side and touched his face, raking her fingertips over the bristly stubble on his jaw. “Why?”

“I lose all control with you,” he said languidly. “I promise I will make it up to you.” He reached between her legs.

She caught his hand in hers “It’s all right. There’s time for that. Right now, I just want to feel your arms around me.”