Lords of Retribution (Lords of Avalon series) (25 page)

He
told himself he should get her back to Swandown, yet the damage
was done
. He had compromised her, and taken liberties with her. She was his now, and would be his wife. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to take her to Menadue. He would marry her and bed her. Actually, he wanted to bed her now.

Tuesday beamed
. “So we will go to Menadue?”

“Yes.” Jack grinned at her
. “We will.” He nodded.

Tuesday knew by the gleam in his eye
s, that he was up to something. She started to step away from him. She was unsuccessful.

He pulled her against him
. “Since I have to offer for you either way, Tuesday, I will taste your charms now.” His hand began to caress her uninjured breast. He rolled her hardened nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He cupped her breast in his hand and caressed her. Her soft moan of pleasure widened the grin he flashed just before he covered her lips with his. When she molded against him, he forced one large hand into the waistband at the back of her trousers and within seconds was cupping one bare globe of her firm bottom. Her skin was as soft as silk.

He held her
tightly against his cock. He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her demandingly, pausing to nibble, suck and lick. She returned his kisses with an equal measure of passion. He dipped his head and placed soft kisses to the teeth marks he had left on her breast earlier. He removed his hand from her bottom and began to unfasten her trousers.

Tuesday panicked
. She didn’t truly want to marry such a notorious rake, did she? She was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing to her and how he made her feel,
but marry Jack
? She reasoned that it was a poor idea. She pushed at his chest. He pulled her tighter to him.

“No!” She managed to say when she pulled
back from his searing kiss.

“No?”
Jack studied her heavy lidded eyes and her swollen lips. He noted the flush on her cheeks. He lowered his gaze to observe her puckered nipples.

“No, w
e cannot do this until we are married.”

“Yes we can
. We will be married
very
soon, I assure you. Within days.”

“No, I
truly do not want to do this before I am married.” Tuesday’s mind was whirling. She never dreamed Jack would offer for her. Oh dear, what had she done. She had no desire to marry a man who would be unfaithful to her on a regular basis. He was rumored to have scores of mistresses. She backed toward the door. It was best if she made it to Menadue on her own considering this strange turn of events.

“Are you certain?” Jack tossed her thick sandy braid over her shoulder to trail down her back
. He left a hot trail of kisses down the side of her neck. His hands circled her waist and he backed her further toward the door. Visions of pinning her against the wall while he pumped into her nearly undid him.

“Y-yes.”
Tuesday moaned as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth.

“Make up your mind, Tuesday
. Yes or no.”

His husky whisper tickled her ear.
“Y-yes I am certain that I do not wish to do this before I am married.”

“Then why are you rubbing against me like that, hmm?” Jack
asked her, his voice thick with his desire.

“Oh!” Tuesday realized she
was
rubbing against the very large and hard evidence of his desire. She placed her palm against his chest. His very firm, muscled chest. She tried to push him away. He didn’t budge.

“Sto
p Jack. I want to stop. I don’t want to marry a rake like you. I want to be happy. I want a husband who is faithful!”

“When we
marry, Tuesday, I shall be faithful to you, only you.” Jack’s dark amber gaze met hers. He dipped his head and brushed his lips against her temple. “Starting right now, I am faithful to you,” he whispered huskily in her ear.

“So, since you don’t wish
to marry me, you’ll go home to Swandown?” he posed hopefully. This woman was going to be the ruination of him if he didn’t get her back to her home and put a great deal of distance between them until the time was right for him to claim her. He was well on his way to ruining her. In the eyes of society, he already had.

“No, I’m going to Menadue!” the determination crept back into her voice again.

“Then you’ll marry me, if you wish to go to Menadue
,” Jack whispered. He imagined going to bed with Tuesday every night and waking with her every morning, and it was all he could do to keep from undressing her further.

Jack’s eyes gleamed
when he saw the uncertainty in those large French blue eyes. He had her. She would return to Swandown now. He breathed a sigh of relief. Though he wanted nothing more than to bed her, it was for the best that she did return to her home until he could arrange everything properly. She deserved a proper courtship and a proper wedding. But she
would
marry him!

Tues
day wondered how this situation had become such a twisted mess. Her anger flared anew when she realized he had seduced her yet again.
On purpose, to frighten her, to
trick her into going home!

She had two choices the way she saw it
. She could allow him to seduce her and marry the rake or she could flee and make it to Menadue on her own. Though she didn’t know the way, she was certain she could ask for the Duke’s direction. True, she had only a small amount of coin and was a woman alone. Surely, she could manage. She had to get him away from the door.

Jack
was far too large and muscular to push away. One of his hands was still holding the door closed. She had to get him away from the door if there was any hope of her going on alone. Tuesday decided to let him continue, and perhaps she could persuade him to move away from the door.

“So, you’ll marry me, then.”
Jack’s lips grazed her ear. He backed her against the door.

“No.” She shook her head
. She took a tiny step forward putting inches between her and the door.

He nibbled along her slender neck
. “You’ll go home, to Swandown?” he asked her as he rained kisses along her jawline. He placed both hands on either side of her neck, slid them under the linen and pushed the fabric of her shirt off her shoulders and down her arms. It fell into a forgotten heap upon the floor. His lips worshipped her lovely shoulders that were now uncovered. One hand moved to her uninjured breast. The other moved to the place between her legs, where he began to massage her through her trousers.

“Oh!”
Tuesday was surprised by the sensations his touch aroused in her.

She
couldn’t help but arch her back as his fingers worked their magic. “Jack, oh, Jack!” She had never felt anything quite like that before! Her body was humming. She writhed and moaned softly as his fingers worked a place so sensitive she felt as if she might come apart. All thoughts of getting away from him left her. She could only think of the wonderful pleasure he was giving her.

His hand moved quickly to the fall of her trousers, where he slid his
large hand inside. His fingers moved down over her smooth belly, through the soft curls and continued until he found her warm moist center. She was wet, and so warm.

Tuesday instinctively spread her legs, allowing him
freer access. Her hands moved to grip his lapels.

Jack was about to cover
her full, rosy lips with his own when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye on his right. He glanced quickly in that direction and saw Charlie, or someone he thought was Charlie. He thought he saw the man mouth the word ‘
go’
as he pointed a finger at the door
.
Jack remembered at that moment that Tuesday mentioned she thought someone was following
her
. He thought there had been two persons following him.

The thought also came to him that if it was Charlie, Jack currently had his hand down his unmarried sister’s trousers
and was about to take her innocence.

“Damn!” He returned his gaze to Tuesday to see what her reaction was
. She was looking at him in a confused, dazed way. When he looked back to where the man had been, he saw nothing. He looked about. There was no one in the room. He removed his hand from her trousers. His breathing was heavy.

“Get dressed
. We have to go. Do you really think someone was following you, Tuesday?”

“Why?” Tuesday asked, “And we are going to Menadue, I presume?”

“No. We are going to Swandown unless you consent to marry me. If you swear to marry me upon our arrival at Menadue, we shall go there. If we go to Swandown, I will inform your mama that we must marry and tell her why. Then I shall write to your father. I’ll not have it said I compromised an innocent. We were both party to this seduction, but I will do the honorable thing and marry you. I’ll not have your name or mine drug through the mud. I have sisters to think about, just as Charlie always thought about you and your sisters.”

“Maybe we won’t have to marry.”

“Either way we must marry. I’ve touched you intimately, Tuesday, you are mine. You are well ruined now. Yes or no, Tuesday? We have to go now.” Jack had the feeling if it was Charlie; his friend was warning him they needed to leave. He took her by her bare shoulders. His gaze traveled downward to her naked breasts, then moved back up to look into her now heavy-lidded azure eyes. He saw her lips quiver slightly. He fastened her trousers and bent to retrieve the shirt he had minutes before pushed off her.

“So the only choice I have is to marry you?” Tuesday’s lips formed into a pout.

“Yes. Choose the location. Swandown or Menadue?” Jack pushed her fumbling fingers aside and fastened her shirt. She appeared to be overwhelmed.

“Menadue.”
Tuesday sighed deeply. She frowned.

He bent
and picked up her coat. He threw it at her. “Put the coat on and button it, please, to your neck!” The memory of her lovely breasts outlined quite nicely by the man’s shirt she wore, tempted him. It was best for him if they were out of his view altogether.

After Tuesday buttoned her coat, Jack tugged at the back
flap to make certain her beautiful bottom was covered. It was impossible to hide those long, shapely, trouser clad legs. How she ever thought she could pass for a lad, he did not know.

“We’re not going to eat?” Tuesday motioned toward the meal on the table.

“Take a few bites. I’ll wrap the bread, cheese and fruit in a cloth. I have a bad feeling, Tuesday. We need to leave this place.”

Tuesday
frowned then nodded. Her brother, Charlie, had the same types of feelings. He was usually right. She took a couple bites of beef and took a large sip of his pint as he bundled up some of the food. She coughed. “Oh my.”

Jack grinned
. “Take another slower sip, brat.”

“Don’t call me brat.” Tuesday did take a
longer sip. She was quite parched.

“I’ll call you what I want, sweeting.”

“Please don’t call me brat. Charlie called me brat.” Tuesday looked to him with pleading eyes.

Jack nodded and grinned
. “Very well,
Trouble
. Are you finished with the pint?” If there was one thing that was true, Lady Tuesday Inwood had been nothing but trouble to him for the last four years.

Tuesday nodded
. She watched as Jack took the decanter from her hand and drained it.

“I’m not trouble,
” Tuesday complained.

Jack retrieved his precious cargo he had
earlier hidden away. He stopped n front of her. “You are trouble,” he bent his head and placed a sweet kiss to her lips, “but I am not adverse to trouble, I rather like it. Walk behind me into the yard, sweeting, and stay very close to me. Close enough that I can touch you if need be.”

Tuesday nodded
numbly. She wondered how everything had gone so completely wrong and Jack now believed they would marry. What had happened? She was not certain she understood how this had come to be.

She pondered that same question over the next hour as they rode toward Menadue. Apparently, Jack was a terrible weakness for her. She could not resist him.

Tuesday hadn’t slept the entire night before, she felt herself growing sleepier by the minute
. She dozed off once and caught herself slipping to one side in the saddle.

“Ho!” Jack said as he reached for the reins to her horse
. “Tuesday you stayed up the entire night to watch when I left Swandown, didn’t you?”

Tuesday glared at him
. “I have not been able to sleep much at all since Charlie was killed, Jack!” How did he know what she had done?

“There’s a stream over there on the other side of the road.
You can splash some water on your face. We will rest, eat our food and then be on our way,” Jack said as he moved in front of her, pulling her horse behind him.