A Gentleman's Vow (Saints and Sinners 2)

She had no idea the thoughts she put in his head with her innocent remark. He couldn’t control Jessica, but he longed to put her in her place. Beneath him would do, and since she seemed to want that, too…

And then he had a very hard time erasing that image from his head.

Despite the temptation, Gideon moved a bit closer. “I’ll know.”

“Did I tell you I’ve had the talk seven times? From different people. I swear my family and friends are more obsessed with my love life than they should be.”

He blinked. That was quite a lot. No wonder she seemed different. Bolder than ever. “Seven times?”

“Mother, Rebecca, Fanny, and even Mrs. Hawthorne and Natalia have had their say, although Natalia hardly speaks from experience. My last governess spouted a lot of nonsense mother said should be ignored.”

“You said there were seven. Who else?”

“Samuel.”

“Dear God, I hate to think what advice your wayward brother might give to you.”

She smiled quickly. “He said that only I would know who I wanted, and that I shouldn’t be bashful about saying so when I had decided. He said the gentleman would appreciate a woman who didn’t play games.”

Well, that explained a lot about the changes he’d noticed in Jessica. She was certainly more direct in telling him what she wanted. “I’m not sure whether to thank Samuel or strangle him.”

“I’ve been thinking of the gift I gave you for your birthday, too. Samuel was astonished that I was so particular about what I had made, so perhaps I’ve been thinking about what you need longer than I ever realized.”

He glanced her way. “What do you imagine I need?”

“Hmm.” Shivers raced over his skin at the sound. “Oh, look, a shooting star!”

“Where?”

When she pointed, he leaned closer to share her view, but there wasn’t another following the first.

After a moment of waiting without another sighting, he realized she’d just tricked him into moving closer. “There was no star, was there?”

Jessica chuckled. “Only the one tonight.”

When he inhaled, his lungs filled with the sweet, familiar scent Jessica always wore—lavender from his own garden. He looked her way reluctantly, only to be disconcerted that she was looking right back at him—and she was very close.

Moonlight illuminated her face, making her seem ethereal and delicate and utterly spellbinding. An angel. He had known this woman as a child, but he was having a difficult time remembering the little girl in the face of her bright beauty.

Her fingers rose to touch the tip of his chin, and she lightly brushed against the grain of his night beard. “I like that you want to protect my reputation, Gideon, but I don’t ever need

protection from you.”

“Yes, you do,” he confessed, rolling away from her, onto his back.

She laughed. “Would you kiss me again, please?”

He concentrated on the stars wheeling in the heavens above them as he considered her request. Not a good idea given the early state of their courtship. They shouldn’t even be together now. “We should go to bed.”

Jessica spluttered.

“I didn’t mean together,” he rushed to promise. “I meant to our own beds. Separately. You on your side of the manor, me on mine.”

“I’m not going to bed till I’ve had my kiss for today, and I don’t mean the kind you gave me the first time.” Jessica rolled onto her stomach and crawled closer. “Kiss me like you did last night, just to be sure I remembered everything you’ve taught me.”

Gideon couldn’t breathe as she crawled even closer and positioned herself nearly on top of him. Her knees where both at his side but he could easily imagine pulling her down until she straddled him. Gideon was trapped by his own lustful thoughts and felt his control of the situation slipping from his grasp yet again. He could barely think beyond the yearning to fulfill her request to kiss her.

Her fingers moved to his cheek, and then her fingers threaded into his hair at his temple. She was becoming very seductive in the way she touched him, and against his better judgment, if he’d ever had any, he lifted his head. He pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss, intending it to be as short as the last one.