The Cursed Countess, page 11
“You certainly don’t sound like you come from Cornwall.”
She smiled into her wine glass before sipping it. “My mother was from London and made certain we spoke perfect English.”
“I see. And your father?”
Her smile faded into a deep scowl. “He was banker but in Cornwall.”
Jack sensed there was more to this story than the little she’d told him so far. “So, your father was a banker until his death eight years ago. But not in London as everyone believes, but in Cornwall.”
She hesitated a bit too long before whispering, “Yes.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Tessa?” he urged her softly. “I know you’re hiding something but I don’t understand why. I thought we were friends, no, more than friends.”
“That is all there is to say about my father,” she answered in a frigid tone. She took a long swallow of wine and placed the glass on the table. “I believe you should take me home now.”
“Not yet, Tessa.”
She rose and walked unsteadily toward the door as if to leave. “Then I shall have your footman arrange a hackney for me.”
Before she could reach the door, he scrambled out of his seat and moved between her and freedom. “Not yet, Tessa,” he whispered again.
“What more can I tell you?” she muttered. “I have told you everything.”
“I know.” He pulled her into his embrace and stared down at her. “I believe you,” he said even as he doubted his own words. He cupped her soft cheeks and then kissed her slowly letting the heat between them rise.
Just as he thought she would never give in to his kiss, her lips softened and responded to him. She trailed her hands up his chest until they wound around his neck and she clung to him, as if desperate for contact. He skimmed his tongue across her lips until she opened to him, allowing him access to her sweetness. As their tongues met and wrapped around each other, desire shot to his cock. She tasted sweet from the wine she’d been drinking. He pressed her body tightly against his until she gasped at the fullness nestled between them.
He broke away from the allure of her mouth to kiss her jaw and then up to her earlobe. Nibbling around her ear, he heard her moan sweetly. “Come upstairs with me,” he breathed into her ear.
“No, everyone will see us,” she whispered and then shivered as his lips moved down her neck. “Besides, I am still annoyed with you for your behavior tonight.”
“You must accept my apology and then we shall make up as all couples do.”
“We really mustn’t go upstairs. Think of the gossip,” she whispered as she tilted her head so he would have better access to her neck.
“Then I shall take you here and everyone will hear what we are doing.” Peppering kisses on her collarbone, he whispered, “No one is out there but a footman who I will dismiss.” He cupped her breast and let his thumb caress it until he could feel her nipple straining against the silk of her dress.
“Damn you, Jack,” she whispered. “Dismiss the footman.”
Jack smiled against her neck. “As you wish, my lady.” He disentangled himself from her embrace and cracked the door open. “Finn, you may retire now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jack waited until he heard the footfalls sound down the corridor and the servants’ door close then he picked up the wine glasses and bottle. “Come along.”
She nodded. Tessa grabbed a candle to light the was as they walked upstairs. “That footman will tell everyone that I never left,” she commented as they reached the top step.
“Then he shall lose his position here...and he knows it.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course I am.” He led her down the hall to his suite of rooms that thankfully were away from his brother’s family rooms. Not that it stopped his nieces from waking him at the break of dawn when they there were here.
She laughed softly when she entered the masculine room. “This is exactly how I would have pictured your room.”
He came up behind her and kissed her neck. “And how many times have you pictured my room?”
“Only a few.”
“And why were you picturing my room? Were we doing anything special here?”
“I believe you had removed all of my clothing,” she whispered.
“Did I now?” He kissed her neck until she shivered. “Then what did I do?”
“You asked me to kiss...”
“Just a kiss? While you were completely naked? That doesn’t sound like me,” he said with a laugh.
“You asked me to kiss you in a specific place.”
His shafted hardened even more as he pictured her lips surrounding his cock and drawing him in and out of her mouth. He groaned softly.
“Do you want me to do that?” she asked.
“God, yes,” he said hoarsely. Just the idea of her doing that had him half ready to come.
She turned in his arms to face him. “Good, because you’re the first man I’ve actually wanted to do that to.”
Before he could say a word, she kissed him. He let her control the kiss and she had no issue taking the lead, opening her mouth and letting her tongue swipe across his lips. He opened for her as he took a step closer to the bed. As she kissed him, she worked on the knot holding his cravat in place. He pushed her hands away and untied the cravat until she swatted his hands away. With each piece of clothing that she removed from his body, he walked her closer to the bed.
Suddenly, she pushed him away with a smile. “Sit down on the bed.”
He did as she commanded and watched as she slid his shoes off his feet, followed by his stockings and breeches until there was nothing left but his linen drawers now tented by his hard cock.
She skimmed her nails up his legs until she reached his drawers and slowly slid them down over his hips. “Oh, my,” she whispered. “It’s only been a few days but you seem even bigger.”
Entranced, he watched as she bent over him and eased his cock into her warm mouth. Her tongue swirled around the tip of him, teasing and making him groan. This was hardly the first time a woman had done this to him, but there was something different with Tessa. Maybe he just wanted it to be different with her. He wanted to believe she was innocent in this entire mess and it was clouding his judgment. And right now, he didn’t care. Her mouth and tongue had him so close to the edge, he had to stop before he couldn’t.
He leaned over and pulled her up to him then kissed her soundly. The taste of him on her tongue was a heady aphrodisiac. He wanted to rip her gown off her but knew she would not be pleased, instead, he pulled away from the heat of her lips and flipped her over on her stomach.
“What are you doing?” she asked but sounded a bit muffled until she turned her head.
“I believe in this fantasy of yours, you were naked, not fully clothed.”
“Oh.”
After a few minutes of working on pins and laces, he decided mothers must design women’s fashions to keep men from seducing their innocent daughters. He brought Tessa up on her feet and slowly slid the garments off her shoulders and over her hips until she stood completely naked in front of him. Ivory skin gleamed in the candlelight. He wanted to touch and kiss every inch of her body.
“Dear God, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
A flush enveloped her body as she smiled at him. “Jack,” she started then stopped.
“Yes?”
“Would you teach me something new?”
“What would you like to do?” he asked as his cock pulsed with anticipation.
She stared down at the carpet as if embarrassed to ask for what she wanted from him. “I have always done this on my back. I’ve heard women talk about being on top and—”
“Hell, yes,” he said hoarsely. He couldn’t believe none of her husbands had let her ride them. He moved to the bed and lay down, waiting for her to make a move. “Come over here, Tessa.”
She moved to the bed then sat down on the edge. Staring at him, she skimmed her hand up his leg until he hissed. “Can I kiss you?”
“Anywhere you like.”
With a seductive smile, she climbed up on the bed and leaned over the point where his knee met his thigh, and placed a light kiss. Emboldened, she trailed her tongue up his thigh and then down to his sac. As she ran her tongue over him, he could have sworn she was trying to kill him. “Tessa,” he moaned.
“Not yet,” she whispered. She skimmed her tongue up his long length and circled the tip of him before moving to his belly. His muscles clenched as she kissed his belly and then brought a small nipple into her mouth.
“Tessa, you are killing me.”
“Good.”
Jack positioned her hips so that her warm folds nestled his shaft in moist heat. He then slid her hips against him until she picked up the rhythm. As she slid to the tip of him, he lifted her just enough to enter her warmth. She gasped as he thrust deep inside her.
“Rock your hips, darling.”
Not needing another instruction, she rocked her hips making them both moan in pleasure. “Jack, I do like this.”
“I knew you would.” He sat up to suckle her breast. Her nipple hardened beneath his ministrations and she squirmed in pleasure. Finally, she pushed him away with a seductive smile so he was reclining against the pillows once more. She placed her hands on his chest and slid his cock in and out of her. Watching his cock disappear inside her was his undoing. He was so close to coming now.
But he didn’t want this to end yet either. She was passionate woman, eager to learn about the sex act. He couldn’t help but wonder why her husbands couldn’t see the fire inside her. It burned brightly, making a man want to burn himself just to get close to her.
He reached between her legs and rubbed her sensitive nub until she moaned in pleasure. Watching her face, he knew she was just as near to release as he. “Faster, Tessa.”
She increased her speed, sliding up and down on him and he felt her muscles tighten around him. He caressed her little nub harder until she threw her head back and shouted in release. Unable to wait any longer, he moved her to her back and thrust into her a few more times before pulling out and spilling his seed on her belly.
He lay on top of her, trying to come back to reality while his body wanted a languid nap and then more of her. It was as if he couldn’t get enough of her. Even when she made him angry, he still wanted her. He couldn’t stop this desire not just for her body but to get to know her even better than he did now.
He had a dreadful feeling that he was falling in love with the Cursed Countess.
And he could not let that happen.
CHAPTER 14
Tessa laid her head against Jack’s chest and closed her eyes. This was all too much. He was all too much. How could she have told him about Engleton? Cornwall? Never had she told a soul about her background. Not even Louisa knew the truth about everything. No one could ever learn that much about her family.
So why did she feel the need to tell him? Was it just the wine that had loosened her tongue? She should never have touched the wine last night. And why did what he thought of her matter? Neither had expectations of marriage.
Dear heaven above, there was only one answer to those questions. She could not be in love with a man she’d only known for a week. It was madness to even imagine such a thing. Yet, it did explain her need to tell him about Engleton when surely she could have produced a believable lie. It could not be love.
“No,” she mumbled.
“No what?”
She had uttered that aloud! “I was starting to fall asleep, and I don’t want to do that yet.”
His breathing altered slightly. “So you told yourself no?”
“Exactly.” It sounded inane even to her ears. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She had to get him off this topic before she told him even more of her confidences. “Now that I have told you a secret, you must give me the same confidence. What is one of your secrets?”
He glanced away briefly before returning her stare. “My father had quite a gambling problem and left the estate in near ruins.”
She shook her head. “I said a confidence. Something intimate that no one else knows. Everyone knows about your financial position. It’s talked about in all the salons.”
He leaned up on his elbow, effectively ruining their intimate their moment. “They talk about my financial prospects?”
“Of course. Although, not just yours. Any man of society who sparks the interest of a woman is fair game.”
“And which lady was so enthralled with me that she needed to know my yearly income. You, perhaps?”
She laughed softly. “I didn’t even know you...only of you as Bideford’s brother. Besides, I was married at the time your name was mentioned. I believe it was Eliza Sutton.”
He scrunched his face in thought. “Eliza Sutton? I don’t even know who she is, and yet those gossipy twits were talking about my income.”
Tessa cupped his check and caressed it with her thumb. “There is no need to get upset. Every man is discussed as such. I hardly doubt it is much different than men talking about a woman’s fortune or if her hips are wide enough for breeding.”
He tilted his head back and laughed. “I honestly cannot remember one conversation regarding a woman’s hips for breeding. Fucking maybe, not breeding.”
She slapped him lightly across the cheek. “Don’t be crude, Jack.”
“You don’t like fucking?” He leaned over her and kissed her soundly. “I seem to remember you quite enjoyed it a few minutes ago.”
“You know what I meant.” Her cheeks heated as she remembered just how much she had enjoyed this evening. “And yes,” she whispered. “I did rather like it.”
He pulled her hand down to his cock. “And would you like it again?”
Feeling his cock grow beneath her fingers, she smiled. “I believe I might.”
“And do you want to try another position?”
“There are more?”
He rested his body on top of her and nuzzled the nape of her neck. “There are so many more, Tessa. And I want to show them all to you.”
“Yes, Jack,” she whimpered as he moved to her breast and suckled her. “Show them all to me.”
“I will, darling. Everyone I can think of and maybe some from a book.”
She shivered as his tongue circled her nipple. “There’s a book?”
“I’ll show you some day.”
God, she hoped that day would be soon. But as his finger reached between their bodies to caress her folds, her thoughts disappeared as lust swept her away. A thick finger dipped deep inside her, thrusting in and out until she moaned with desire. “Jack.”
“Up on your hands and knees,” he commanded.
“Pardon?”
“Hands and knees.” He helped her turn so her face was toward the headboard. Coming up behind her, he said, “You wanted to try another position.”
Slowly he entered her, almost as if he were afraid to hurt her. “Are you all right?”
“No,” she whimpered. “If you continue that I’ll be done in no time.”
He leaned over and kissed her back. “Good because you are driving me mad.” He thrust deeply inside her, making her shiver and groan.
She was in too deep with a man she barely knew. A man she wasn’t certain even trusted her. And yet, she didn’t care. She was falling in love with a man she could never completely have and definitely couldn’t marry.
As he moved to slide back out, Tessa realized the advantage of this position and pushed back against him until he was completely inside her. She circled her hips and smiled as he groaned in pleasure.
“If you want control, take it,” he said, stopping his movements.
Tessa had no issue with that and slid him in and out of her until she felt the flames of desire burning her. “Jack, now.”
He took over by clasping her hips and thrust deep inside her until she had to close her eyes and let passion take control. As she fell back to earth, he continued to thrust deeply in her and then he was gone. Sliding his cock between her rear cheeks, she felt him shake and spill himself.
They both fell back onto the bed and he turned into her like they were spoons stacked together.
She wanted more than just a lover and knew he would never be anything else unless she let him inside. “Jack,” she whispered in case he had fallen asleep.
“Yes, darling.”
“I need to tell you something.”
“And what might that be?” His arm wrapped around her like a vice, but his thumb gently caressed her arm.
“I haven’t been entirely truthful with you.”
The slow movement of his thumb stopped. “Oh?”
“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I...I have never told a soul this.”
“What it is, Tessa?”
“My marrying a wealthy man wasn’t wholly my mother’s idea.” Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered those trying days.
“Whatever do you mean?” His voice sounded soft but there was an undercurrent of tension in his voice.
“I planned it. After my father...died, we were destitute. There was nothing for us in Cornwall so we left for London. My uncle took us in with the condition that we had to find suitable lodging by the end of the Season. My mother had never done any manual labor so what could she do? She was in mourning so marrying was out of the question. That left me, a nineteen-year-old who knew the power of beauty and thankfully had been blessed with it.”
“How did you meet the duke?”
“Just as I said, except, I noticed he was reaching for a book so I reached for the same book. I was certain that striking up a conversation with such a kind looking man could only help me.” She felt him nod against her head.
“And he did exactly that,” Jack commented.
“Yes.” They both went silent in their thoughts. “Are you disappointed in me?”
He released a long sigh. “I suppose you had no other choice given your situation.”
“My uncle would have put us out. My mother would have gone to debtor’s prison and my sisters and I to a workhouse.” Tears welled in her eyes as the memories of those days haunted her once more. And again, she had told him something that no one knew, save her mother.
