The Harlot (Taskill Witches 1)

Jessie watched him closely while he spoke, and he noticed that the look in her eyes seemed uncannily keen and assessing. Eventually she nodded and pointed down at the building.

“That is the servant’s entrance that you marked on the drawing, yes?”

“It is.” He quickly indicated the stables and outhouses.

She studied the building at length, and while she did so Gregor watched her covertly. She was keen and eager, and that pleased him. Nevertheless, doubts had begun to circle in his mind about whether it was the right thing to do. Why? He was about to address the question when she turned to him decisively.

“I will go down there and find my way around.”

Startled, Gregor shook his head. “No. If you are seen lurking there you will not be able to go back and ask for work.”

“They will not see me, and if I go down there now I can easily make sure there will be too much work for them to manage. I will be able to secure a position in the house before the week is out.”

She seemed quite serious, and she stared down at Balfour Hall with determination.

Gregor’s thoughts clouded. It was too soon. He hadn’t intended for her to approach the house, not today. The eager expression on her face concerned him. She wants to be on her way and done with this, he realized.

Unable to help himself, he reacted. He grabbed her into his arms and ran his fingers along the edge of her dress, where her bosom swelled so enticingly. “They will not see you? How will you manage that?”

“Trust me, I will see to it.”

“You will turn their heads.” She had turned his.

“Is that not why you employed me?” Her eyes sparkled.

“It is.” He couldn’t keep the rueful note from his voice. His cock hardened and he pulled her against him so that she would feel it.

She lifted her head. “You are not having second thoughts about my ability to do the task, I hope?”

After she spoke, she pressed against him, assuring him she was aware of his stiffening rod. He was about to respond when she danced from his grasp.

With a soft chuckle, she nodded his way. “For a moment there I thought you were about to sacrifice your cause for the sake of your own pleasure.”

He reached out to hold her a moment longer, but she hurried off.

“I won’t be gone long,?

? she called back. “Wait for me here.”

He stepped out from the cover of the trees, but paused. Whatever happened, he could not afford to be seen there, not now. Studying her outline, he glowered after her, fretful that she might be discovered.

A few minutes later she disappeared from view. Much like with her mount, she had a way of taking over his reins, nudging him off course. What if she was seen? She was not fully prepared. She looked far too…womanly today.

Gregor paced up and down between the trees.

His mood became darker and more unsettled the longer she was away. That was not good. He would have to leave her for several days, if she managed to find employment there. It is only because I am not prepared.

Desire kept nudging into his thoughts, making a mockery of his intentions. Jessie’s womanly wiles had got the better of him. She’s a whore, he reminded himself, trying desperately to force his thoughts onto the grand plan he had been building these past eleven years.

After what seemed far too long, he saw her wending her way back to him, hiking up the hill toward the woods. Never had he met a woman more sturdy and determined. Yet it was that very thing that also made her headstrong and wild, difficult to manage and rebellious. How easily she had broken free of him. At the present moment, they were attuned in purpose. With her, that could change at any moment.

Drawing to a halt before him, she put her hands on her hips, panting and puffing from her climb. Those blue eyes of hers were gleaming like gems. Her chest rose and fell, her breasts swelling enticingly from her bodice, the color in her cheeks high. What had she done down there?

After she caught her breath, she locked eyes with him. “What is his name?”

Was it time to trust her with more details? She would have to know soon enough. “Ivor Wallace.”

She considered Gregor at length. “Tell me what he did to you. I want to know.”