Captivated by the Viscount (The Captivating Debutantes Series Book 1) (5 page)

Lucy was
silently crying.

She opened
her eyes and their gazes met. Everything seemed to still in that moment. The
rain. Their breaths. Jasper even felt as though his racing heartbeat stilled
for that moment. He became so so aware of her face near his, of her body
tightly pressed against his. Her breasts, hips and legs entwined with his. Lust
roared through his veins. This is where he wanted Lucy Lazenby to be, and he
was a fool to himself if he came up with any other reason. He bent his head and
lightly brushed his lips over hers. She didn’t move, but neither did she start
to struggle against him, she merely accepted the outcome as though it were
inevitable.

It was, and
he lowered his head again.

Lucy felt
Jasper’s mouth descend on hers and the horrors of the past few days started to
slip away. Her mind emptied, unable to cope with both sensation and thought.
His mouth was firm, moulding her lips to his, moving in an exquisite timeless
motion. He pulled back slightly, but only to nip on her lower lip in rebuke.

“Kiss me
back,” he murmured against her mouth his voice husky.

Lucy opened
her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Jasper looked at her open
mouth, muttered something unintelligible and kissed her again. This time his
tongue gently caressed her lips as though seeking permission before he started
to explore further.

Lucy couldn’t
hold back the small whimper as pleasure coursed through her body, seemingly
touching every part of her. She met his tongue with her own and Jasper made his
own low groan, his hands tightening reflexively on her wrists. His body shifted
slightly and every nerve ending seemed alight with sensation. His mouth moved
away and she felt bereft, but he continued over her cheek and down to her neck.
She was so sensitive there and she couldn’t help but arch her back and move her
neck to the side, a willing offering for the greedy marauder.

She shivered
as he pulled her earlobe into his mouth, gently tugging. Then his mouth moved
on, seeking new terrain. It found the wildly responsive pulse point in her neck
which beat violently against the lap of his tongue. He pulled the skin into his
mouth and she felt his teeth graze over the flesh; his tongue then laving the hurt.

He did it again
and again and Lucy felt like screaming over the pleasure, it wasn’t enough and
yet it was too much. Her hips moved under his, she couldn’t seem to help it;
she had no control over her body’s motion.

Jasper
grunted with her actions, but his mouth never moved from her neck. Instead his
body dragged over hers and she felt the full force of his hips, pushing her
into the soft layer of leaves beneath her. He thrust again and Lucy cried out,
her body arching. She could feel him through his wet breeches, hard and eager
pressing against her softness. He thrust again, but this time it was Jasper who
moaned, he let go of her neck and lifted his face from its safe haven. His face
was tightened with pleasure.

“God, Lucy,
please…” his words guttural and laboured.

It was the
voicing of her name that brought her to her senses. The image of Jasper telling
her she was a friend came into her head closely followed by the picture of Eloise
Hamilton clinging onto him, and then….Eloise crying out in pleasure.

Jasper was
kissing her collarbone now through the wet material of her dress and his
nipping mouth was headed lower. She knew if he touched her breast she would
never be able to stop him, they seemed to ache too much for his touch already.

“J..Jasper,” Lucy
said quietly but determined. “Jasper, we can’t do this. Let go of my arms.
Jasper?”

His hands if
anything tightened on her wrists, but Lucy did not feel afraid, in fact she
felt in control. It was Jasper that now needed to be calmed.

“No.” The
word sounded almost feral. A wolf not willing to let go of its prey.

“Jasper, I
will come back to the house but I’m cold and wet,” and indeed her body started
to tremble in tandem with her words.

Jasper had
raised his head, his eyes still glazed with passion, but he saw the shivers
starting to rack her body.

“Lucy I...”
he panted.

“Let’s just
go back Jasper; we will talk in the house.”

He finally
nodded and Lucy sighed in relief. His hands released her wrists reluctantly
trailing down her arms, and then he pushed himself off to stand. Lucy instantly
felt cold, bereft and somewhat like crying although it wasn’t her habit to do
so. She accepted his outstretched hands and was pulled to her feet. Jasper
turned and stood facing away, his breathing still heavy in the silence of the
forest.

Only a
moment, and he turned back, his face unreadable. He bent over and snapped a long branch off a tree.

“Follow
behind me Lucy, exactly in my footsteps, do you understand? There are mantraps
in this forest.”

“Of course
Jasper,” Lucy whispered.

She followed
as Jasper swept the long stick before him. Was this why he had been so worried
about her? That his pawn might be maimed by a trap. A sick feeling entered her
stomach. When he had kissed her so ferociously she had thought...a violent
shiver overtook her and she could not tell if it was a chill or the thought of
returning to the looming house ahead.

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“Honesty is
always the best policy. Don’t tell bouncers. If you have stolen that biscuit it’s
best to tell me now Blinky.” Aunt Augusta

“Come
downstairs when you have changed Lucy, you’ll need some sustenance to warm you
up.”

Lucy nodded,
she was dreadfully weary and shivers wracked her but she knew she needed
something more than just dry clothes.

She didn’t
have the energy to put on another day dress and said a silent apology to the
maid who would find her wet dress, petticoats, stays and stockings in the
corner of the room tomorrow. She put on a new chemise and then a rather large
burgundy robe that she had found at the back of the closet which she was able
to wrap round herself several times. She looked in the mirror. It covered her
from chin to feet and indeed, was more covering than most evening gowns but she
still felt rather naked. Still, what did it matter anymore, she couldn’t be any
more ruined than she already was. A little voice said she could, but she chose
to ignore it and made her way downstairs, entering the study.

Jasper had
changed as well and wore a loose banyan over his shirt and breeches, it was a
deep blue colour and he looked glorious in it. She had felt the strength of him
tonight and she realised that Jasper body although slim was also strong and
firm.

His eyes
gleamed black as she entered the room and he took in her clothing. The fire
burnt fiercely with new logs and Lucy crossed to it, holding out her hands to
try and absorb some warmth into her body. She felt Jasper behind her, close,
his body almost touching.

“You look
most fetching in my robe.” Lucy gasped, she really did feel naked now and this
time a pleasurable shiver ran down her body. This was Jasper’s robe; it had
been next to his naked skin….she felt…feverish.

A glass
appeared in front of her.

“Drink
slowly, its brandy. I don’t usually drink the stuff myself but I didn’t think
whisky would be your thing.”

She sipped at
it. She had drunk brandy and whisky with her aunt before and quite liked both,
but she kept quiet. Generally, the high alcohol content firstly made her blurt
inappropriate comments and secondly sent her off to sleep. She did start to
warm-up however, although whether that was due to the brandy, or Jasper’s still
continued close proximity she couldn’t tell.

“Why did you
run Lucy?” Jasper asked.

Where to start
with that one? Lucy considered for a moment. The brandy was making her head slightly
swim. She’d be honest she thought.

“I ran
because all other options had been taken away from me.” She turned to face him.

“I ran
because I know I’m not here just to be saved from the Duke of Ketridge. There’s
some other reason isn’t there?” Jasper nodded slowly.

“I ran
because…” Lucy thought of Eloise clinging to Jasper – no…she wasn’t going to be
that honest. But then she frowned suddenly. How had he got to the door so fast,
and how had he heard her over Hamilton the Harlot.

“Jasper, how
did you manage to hear me leave the house?”

The sudden
change of conversation made him look up in surprise.

“I was asleep
in the study and I think the bolts being drawn woke me. I then distinctly heard
the latch, but it took me a while to find my shoes. Why?”

“Asleep in
the study,” Lucy repeated sceptically. Jasper looked slightly ashamed.

“Well yes, it
does seem to have become a nightly episode. Need to lay off the whisky.” He
smiled sheepishly.

Lucy couldn’t
help herself. “You weren’t with Eloise?” she questioned.

This did
surprise Jasper. Why on earth would he be with Eloise? He knew the woman had
enough innuendo up her sleeve to write a bawdy play but surely Lucy could see
he wasn’t interested.

“Why would I
be with Eloise?” he said carefully.

“She is your
mistress, and I heard, erm….someone in her bedchamber.” Lucy felt her face
flush and looked down, oh god how embarrassing.

She felt
fingers under her chin lift her head.

“Look at me Lucy.”
She unwillingly dragged her eyes to Jasper.

“I have never
and will never bed Eloise. She isn’t my mistress. I have had no mistress or in
fact any other woman since I came back from the Peninsular. Considering Bill is
also missing I would presume it is he that is with Eloise. Say you believe me.”

Lucy’s mouth
gaped slightly at the thought of the elegant Eloise and…well, Bill.

“I..I believe
you,” and she did. “But why are you conspiring with her. Has it something to do
with my brother?”

Ah, the
moment of truth thought Jasper. He had realised whilst he was waiting for her in
the study that he could no longer lie to Lucy. She meant…more. The shock of her
running from him, of her nearly coming to harm – it had cleared his mind.

“Please sit Lucy,”
he said leading her to the couch by the fire. He settled her down and after
refilling her glass with more brandy, surely that would help he thought, he
drew up a chair opposite her.

She looked
beautiful. She’d left her hair down after their soaking and it was gradually
drying into soft ringlets. The brandy was doing its job too and a slight flush
heated her cheeks. Her eyes were large and she was biting her lip between her
teeth. He wanted to kiss her again he thought and a rush of heat ran through
him as he remembered her body under his.

He had nearly
taken her.

He would have
taken her if she had not asked him to release her.

He felt
slightly ashamed now; he didn’t know what had come over him. He’d felt….feral.
His eyes skimmed down her cheek and rested at her neck. She saw his focus and
pulled her robe up, but not before he saw the bright red mark his teeth had
caused, it was now slowly turning purple. At the time he had just wanted to
mark her.

He had chased
her, caught her and subdued her and she was his.

He cleared
his throat at this embarrassing self-admission. He’d never particularly
considered himself a possessive man. He liked woman, but had never felt the overwhelming
need for something permanent .

What must she
think of him at the moment? A beast? A rake? Or watching the flush on her
cheeks, had she liked it? That thought gave another pleasurable jolt to his
system. He remembered her passionate response to his kiss, her back arching,
her hips rubbing restlessly against his own. When she had done that he had very
nearly lost control.

“Is something
wrong? You look…angry?” Lucy hesitantly asked. Jasper realised he was clenching
his teeth in a grimace; little did she know it wasn’t in anger but
uncontrollable, unmitigated desire. He forced his face to relax and sipped some
whisky.

“No, not
angry. Except at myself. I hope I didn’t frighten you tonight?”

Lucy looked
down “no….yes….no, I erm don’t really know, I haven’t felt anything like that
before,” she admitted.

Jasper
sighed, neither had he but unlike Lucy he wasn’t going to admit that, not until
he had told her the whole truth.

“I need to
tell you everything Lucy please…Just listen to me, you can ask any questions at
the end.” Lucy nodded.

He began at
the beginning. Not a year ago but at his childhood, with Simon. Then she might
understand. He made her laugh with their escapades; he made her cry as he told
her about his return to find his brother dead. When he came to her brother’s
involvement she went quiet.

“I admit I
courted you in order to get closer to your brother and to gain some insight
into the situation.”

This was getting
much worse, Lucy thought. Previously he was at least ‘helping’ her escape
Ketridge. Now he was admitting he only did it to get back at her brother. He
continued, outlining the outrageous plan to court and abandon her, Eloise’s
involvement and the final kidnapping. She gulped more brandy.

Lucy now felt
sick. He’d lied to her. Not only that but he’d plotted to ruin her, what type
of man did that? The brandy must have been making her mellow as her heart
replied ‘one that loved his brother very much.’

She didn’t
have the energy to summon up any outrage, in fact now she just felt rather
numb. Numb and somewhat …fuzzy. Jasper was still explaining something and she
realised she hadn’t been listening.

“Why did you
kiss me? Tonight….in the woods?” Lucy blurted out. Damn brandy she thought, it
was going to her head and she bit her tongue.

Jasper looked
surprised; she had a notion she may have interrupted a monologue on some
important point.

A violent shiver
shook Lucy as she awaited his reply. She noticed his cheekbones had taken on a
ruddy hew and he was rubbing his neck. Her thoughts slurred
amaaazing
he’s
embarrassed. She closed her heavy eyes whilst awaiting the answer, stifling a
yawn. She pulled the robe close to her body and breathed in the scent of Jasper
that she could faintly detect on the material. It felt warm…warm and cosy.

Jasper looked
at his drink and hesitated; he couldn’t look into her hurt eyes as he said
this. His voice was low and soft as though voicing it out any louder would frighten
her too much.

“Lucy, I’ll
be blunt. I have enjoyed your company in the last month, which has made my
actions toward you even more despicable. I also….I feel…. more than just
friendly affection,” he rushed on. “I want you Lucy, in the most physical sense
as well, and in the forest to feel you underneath me, to finally have you so
close after all this time, I goddamn nearly exploded. I didn’t mean to be
so…savage and frighten you. Do you understand?”

 He looked up
just in time to see the glass fall from Lucy’s hand and roll onto the thick rug.
It was empty. Her head lolled to the side, her mouth slightly open.

“Bloody Christ,”
he cursed. He had just told her probably the most important bit of the evening,
and indeed he had meant to expand on it but she had fallen asleep. She’d wake
up tomorrow still thinking he was a bastard who didn’t care for her and that
was far from the truth.

He stood and
picked her up; she didn’t stir although a faint shiver ran through her body. He
clutched her close and carried her to the chamber, laying her on the bed.
Jasper pulled the blankets tight around her and smoothed the honey locks away
from her face. Had it really only been yesterday that he had her kidnapped? She
seemed so firmly entrenched under his skin. He pressed a hand to her cheek, it
still felt hot and he frowned, removing one blanket.

His eyes fell
on the love mark on her neck again. Of all the things to regret that wasn’t one
of them, he grinned. He could still taste her, clean and delicious. He wanted
to mark her everywhere and when he did he realised, he would never let her go.

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