“I want you to share the bed with me.”
No doubt she was being utterly foolish, Sophie thought an instant after issuing her impulsive invitation. She was still angry and distressed by Jack’s outrageous machinations, and yet his heartbreaking confessions had thrown her own emotions into turmoil. She wanted to shake him soundly while holding him to her breast to comfort him.
According to his cousin, Jack rarely ever revealed anything of himself, and Sophie had witnessed his strict reserve for herself. He guarded his feelings so fiercely, it was remarkable that he’d let her glimpse that wounded young boy inside of him. The anguish she’d heard in his voice made her heart hurt.
Clearly she was letting her too-soft sensibilities overrule her head.
On the other hand, she finally realized how monumental a sacrifice he was prepared to make for her sake. She could only imagine how loathsome he would find it, reuniting with the man he blamed for his mother’s death. If Jack was willing to suffer such a concession in order to preserve the chance to wed her … well, she couldn’t simply ignore his entreaty to accompany him on his journey.
She was merely following her instincts by inviting him into her bed, Sophie told herself. And in truth, he had gone to significant trouble, arranging her abduction. Some small, decidedly feminine part of her was even secretly thrilled that he wanted her badly enough to consider changing his entire life for her—
Sophie winced inwardly at her absurd rationalization. She couldn’t excuse Jack’s abominable behavior. He had forcibly imposed his will on her with no thought for the potentially disastrous consequences to her reputation or her future.
No, she wouldn’t let him off with no retribution. On the contrary, a plan was forming in her mind about how to turn the tables on him, one that entailed her taking the initiative.…
Therefore, Sophie repeated her brazen invitation to share the bed. “I won’t be able to sleep, knowing I banished you to the floor,” she explained softly.
She had surprised Jack, she could tell by his resulting silence.
“You are asking me to join you?” he finally said.
“Yes.”
Rising, he came to stand beside the bed. He looked a little wary at her sudden about-face as he gazed down at her. “Aren’t you concerned about propriety?”
“Yes, but we have already committed so many shocking improprieties that one more will hardly matter. I see no reason we must be uncomfortable. We can sleep in the same bed together.”
When he hesitated, she added, “Perhaps you are right and we can avoid a scandal entirely. No one ever need learn about my absence from Paris, especially with help from my aunt. Speaking of discomfort … will you help me out of my corset? It is much too tight.”
Jack’s suspicions didn’t fade, but he obliged her when she sat up and offered him her back.
Sophie let him undress her down to her shift, then lay down on the bed once more. When he fetched the pillow and blanket from the floor and made to join her in the bed, though, she stopped him. “You have on too many clothes. You need to remove your shirt and pantaloons.”
His eyebrows rose slightly, but he complied, stripping down to his drawers. When Sophie shifted to make room for him, he stretched out beside her on the bed so they were lying face-to-face.
Setting her plan in motion, she deliberately splayed her fingers against his bare chest. As she should have expected, however, Jack took over. With an arm around her waist, he drew her close, locking her against him. Instantly his body heat enveloped her, as did his musky male scent. She could feel her breasts swelling against the solid wall of his chest, her nipples peaking beneath the fine cambric of her shift. As usual his embrace set her to trembling.
He must have felt her instinctive shiver of reaction, for he smiled faintly. His tender expression told her clearly that he understood how much she craved his touch.
Sophie dropped her gaze to stare at his sensual mouth, remembering the tantalizing feel of his kisses on her skin. A fresh shiver washed through her at the scorching memory of his mouth on her breasts. Then he tangled his fingers in her curling hair and brought her face even nearer.
His breath was a husky rasp against her ear when he whispered, “Let me pleasure you, sweetin
g.”
Sophie went rigid, bracing herself for the contact, but her resistance was made even harder because she knew what bliss awaited her. Sure enough, his teeth grazing lightly over the side of her neck created a lightning bolt of sensation along all her nerve-endings. And when Jack kissed his way down her throat, her heart leapt against her rib cage.
He pressed his mouth to her breast, his tongue laving the engorged crest. The moist heat through the fabric felt intensely erotic. So did his rhythmic tugging as he suckled her.
Sophie’s back arched; she couldn’t help herself. In answer, Jack’s searching hand moved over her belly, gentling her, soothing her, before moving lower to raise the hem of her shift and slide between her thighs.
The feel of his hand, so warm and intimate against her, made Sophie feverish. And then he slid a finger inside her.
“So wet …” Jack murmured approvingly, using his thumb to stroke her, rasping over the tender bud of her sex, spreading her moisture over her feminine folds.
A soft moan of delight escaped her. She was dazed by the heat and strength of his body, the hot, throbbing maleness of him, the deliberate seduction of his touch. It was impossible to think with his voice caressing her name, his fingers caressing her flesh. A fiery flush of pleasure spread throughout her body until she was awash in sensations.
This is a mistake, Sophie struggled to warn herself. She could feel herself surrendering to Jack again—and not just physically. The swift and paralyzing intimacy had returned to overwhelm her.