Captivated by the Viscount (The Captivating Debutantes Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Lucy, my
sweet,” he leant over caressing her forehead, her cheek, her neck. “Wake up,
its Jasper, no-ones going to hurt you here, you are safe. Lucy, wake up.” He
kissed her mouth gently and her eyes opened.

“J…Jasper,”
she whispered.

“Yes love.”
He kissed her again. Slightly less gentle this time but tender. “I’m here,” he
whispered in between kisses. Jasper’s common sense had fled the moment he came
into the bedchamber and seen Lucy lying across the bed. And now she was in his
arms, pliant, yielding and wanting. He kissed her again, nipping at her bottom
lip. “Open for me Lucy.” Lucy obeyed his command and his tongue swept in to
claim her sweetness.

He was
propped up on his right hand but with the other he started to explore. The
smooth length of her neck, the rounded shoulder. He groaned into her mouth as
he found her breast topped with a tight nipple. He flicked his thumb across it,
grazing the peak. She cried out beneath him, her body arching in supplication
and desire. She kissed him back. Hard and demanding and in all the ways he’d
ever imagined.

Lucy’s
fingers were at his sensitive nape, and he felt the hard graze of her
fingernails there, the sensation went all the way to his groin – tight and
searing. His hand continued its exploration, all the time their mouths met and
parted only to meet again in hot appreciation.

He followed
the path from breast to stomach bunching up the silky material as he went. Her
thighs were slightly parted and Jasper welcomed the open invitation, sliding
his hand down in eager anticipation. He was slightly rough, too eager as he
caressed her but her whole body curved against the sensation. She was so wet it
made Jasper’s whole body clench. He couldn’t make love to her. Not here and not
now. He wanted her as his wife, and he wanted it to be proper, decent and
honest.

“Please
Jasper…I need you,” she breathed. Her words made his body burn. He’d give her
what she pleaded for, maybe he could bind her to him with this passion they
had, but he’d damn well hold back from taking her virginity whilst all the misunderstanding
stood between them.

He turned her
on her side and slid behind her. This way he could resist. Resist the sweetness
of her lips, her pleas, and her heat. The arm under her caressed her breast
while the other returned to her core.

He caressed,
he cajoled and he rubbed until she was panting in his arms. Her body had caught
the rhythm, grinding against his hand. Jasper’s mind was focused on her
pleasure but his body had its own agenda. Her buttocks ground against his groin
and his hips started their own dance, thrusting against her softness. She came
apart suddenly in his arms, her cry loud in the stillness of the chamber. Hips
arching, her arse rubbed against him in exquisite agony. Jasper tried to stop,
he gritted his teeth but to no avail, his body was too far gone, his hips kept
pumping until it came.

Hard, fast,
satisfying. His cry stifled as he sank his teeth into the curve of her
shoulder.

When he could
lift his head he pulled back. Their clothes stuck together, sticky and sweaty.
He pulled her onto her back; he needed to see her face. She slowly opened her
eyes. She was beautiful. Her eyes were slightly glazed and her breathing was
fast and loud through lips that were swollen and red. Jasper caressed her face.

“What a
lovely dream…” she panted softly. Jasper’s hand faltered.

“Tis no dream
my sweet, I’m real. Feel me.” He bought his hands to her cheek but her face
scrunched up.

She shook her
head closing her eyes “jus’ a dream.”

“No, I’m real Lucy. Taste me.”
He bent down to take her mouth
again but she mumbled and turned her head away.

Suddenly
nothing felt right. He pulled away, and his eye caught the glass on the bedside
cabinet.

“Lucy, Lucy
did you take a sleeping draught tonight?” but it was obvious she had. He flung
himself onto his back. God, she was half out of her mind on that stuff, no
wonder she thought it was a dream. Why did he never consider that? He put his
arm over his eyes. He’d almost taken her virginity when she’d been too drugged
to know what was happening. He’d been only moments away.

Sickness
arose within him. Could he do nothing right by Lucy? He had to leave. He
started to push himself up when he suddenly felt a soft hand on his chest; the
movement sent erotic chills down his body which he tried to smother.

“Don’t leave
me Jasper, I was so scared….don’t leave me again,” she whispered, the words
garbled. Jasper’s body which had so soon been sated ran hot again. He
ruthlessly suppressed the feeling and took her in his arms and closed his eyes.

“I won’t
leave you Lucy, I’ll look after you,” Jasper vowed. Even if that meant he had
to take her to Scotland as she wished.

►▼◄

“ ‘The cat
will mew, and the dog will have his day.’ I didn’t misquote that. And don’t
tell Blinky that phrase; it will go to his pug head.” Aunt Augusta.

Lucy awakened
slowly and opened her eye to the dawn of the day. She felt….well. That was a
surprise. She also felt warm, safe and…and ….there was a male arm round her
waist. How….indecorous. It also felt very, very, very nice she admitted to herself.
She knew it was Jasper. She knew it by the smell of sandalwood, by the shape of
his hand and an innate knowledge that she couldn’t begin to explain.

She also knew
because she remembered last night. She remembered everything.

She wanted to
stay, but the need for the water closet was becoming a pressing matter. She
tried to wriggle out from the arm but it tightened around her and she felt a
mouth mumble in her hair, it sounded like “Lucy love” but she didn’t dare hope.
She wriggled again but this time she heard him make a distinct humming noise
and then shift his hips against her lower back.

She froze as
she felt that ‘thingy’ of his thrust against her. She wished she knew what to
call it as she used ‘thingy’ to mean other things…quite a lot and well….now she
couldn’t, as she would always think of …THAT. What if she forgot the word for
salt at dinner and asked someone to “pass the thingy” and then she thought of
THAT. She would flush and then melt into a puddle of embarrassment. And
although Aunt Augusta had been quite liberal, they had never discussed the
finer points of a man’s body. She knew the mechanics as she’d grown up in the
country, but it had never been openly discussed. She also didn’t know it got
larger when they were asleep, how remarkable, it had a mind of its own.

Lucy felt
herself get quite flushed, and she tried to pull away, gently but quickly. The
hand clutched for her but she was too fast, and she shoved the pillow at him
instead. He grabbed hold of it possessively. Lucy wasn’t sure she shouldn’t be
annoyed at a pillow being an acceptable substitute.

She did her
morning ablutions, dressed simply for she was without the maid and then looked
out of the window. The garden sparkled with dew. Everything looked clean and
fresh. Careful not to disturb Jasper she decided on an early walk in the
gardens to clear her lungs. She tiptoed down the stairs, and gently drew the
bolts opening the main door.

She walked along
the side of the house to the old kitchen garden. It was slightly neglected and
had more than a few weeds in amongst the growing vegetables. She had discovered
the garden before she became sick; although ill-tended it was peaceful and calm
and facing south received its fair share of sunshine.

Early-rising
bees hummed through the air seeking breakfast and Lucy sat on one of the
benches appreciating the rising of the sun, bathing her face in its weak
warmth.

It had been
the maid’s voice that had first lured her into this garden. Elspeth was trying
to coax some life into some rather limp parsley by telling it that if it didn’t
perk up she would plant some mint in its place. Having been on the end of
Elspeth’s threats regarding her sleeping draughts, Lucy had little doubt that
the parsley would comply.

A light
breeze wafted through the garden and Lucy shivered, although she wasn’t sure if
it was the cold or the remembrance of last night.

A nightmare
had besieged her. She’d been back in the hall with her brother, but this time a
shadowed figure was there as well. Richard was shaking her hard, telling her
she was to be married to the cloaked figure. She’d refused and he slapped her.
She’d fallen to the floor and was confronted by the hem of the cloak. Nervously
she had looked up, terrified. The cloak slowly dropped from the body and there
before her was a skeleton.

If she hadn’t
known better she would have sworn she’d been reading a Mrs Radcliffe gothic
tale before sleeping.

She had cried
out in terror and then suddenly Jasper was there. He was stroking her hair and
kissing her soft and sweet. Telling her he would never let anyone hurt her.
She’d felt such joy, this was the Jasper she wanted, protective, passionate and
sweet.

The need for
him had burned through her body, but for some reason he’d held himself back
from taking her fully and instead - Lucy blushed even though there was no-one
to see it. She remembered his hand soft and gentle at first and then growing
rougher as he made his way down her body. She’d been a positive wanton, arching
into his caresses, but in the dark of the night, free from deceit she had only
felt Jasper’s want.

And he had
wanted.

She wasn’t
that innocent. Jasper had continued to thrust his hips against the softness of
her derriere. His movements - rough and erratic, till he too groaned his
release, his teeth nipping at her. She’d never felt anything so sensual in all
her life.

That night
she’d drunk a few sips of the sleeping draught, but only enough to send her to
sleep, not to make her groggy, (the rest went into the chamber pot – Elspeth be
damned) however lassitude from the pleasure combined with the draught had made
her drowsy afterwards.

She’d opened
her eyes reluctantly as Jasper was moving her onto her back. He had been
staring at her. And he was staring at her with such tenderness and love that
she’d closed her eyes again. Vaguely she remembered muttering that it must all
have been a dream. Whilst Jasper protested with more kisses her thoughts had
started to slip away.

The hands of
Morpheus had been on her cheeks, dragging her into a warm darkness, then his
mouth was on hers, breathing out his sleep inducing breath.

Then she
didn’t remember anything else.

Lucy started
back to the house. She needed to get back to Jasper, to see if that look of
tenderness and love had been real, to know if his endearments of ‘Lucy love’
were true. And if it was true, then she’d let her own feelings be known.

She’d been
harsh last night at dinner. Perhaps he did have her welfare in mind, but at the
time it had felt as though he was continuing to pursue her brother, not caring
that he hurt her in the process. Whatever the reasons…they just needed to talk.

She rose from
the bench and started to cross the kitchen garden path back to the house. The
garden was walled and had two entrances. One led to the main house, the other was
a small side door that led out to the open neglected estate. Lucy frowned, the
side door was open. She could have sworn that it had been closed when she had
first entered. She crossed the brick path to secure it as she could only
imagine the devastation that a wild deer might cause in the garden – it was in
a bad enough state as it was.

She was
nearly at Elspeth’s parsley, and it did indeed look healthier. A gloved hand suddenly
fastened around her mouth. Tight. She struggled for a breath. Then a voice
spoke in her ear, close, whispering with menace.

“Not a
whimper sister dear. I have a rather sharp knife in your back.” Lucy felt the
truth suddenly prod hard into her lower spine. “Will you keep quiet when I
remove my hand? Even small cuts can hurt quite considerably you know.”

Lucy nodded,
the leather gloved hand was suffocating, and she could hardly breathe as it
covered both her mouth and nose. Richard removed his palm from her face, and
Lucy gulped in the fresh cool air. She could still feel the pressing of the knife.

“You always were
the early bird. I’ve been waiting for you. Now move slowly to the side door and
no screaming for help. I also have a pistol and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it
on anyone who might come to your aid.”

Lucy wanted
to scream…loudly. However she knew Jasper was fast asleep with his pillow on
the other side of the manor and that this early, it was likely only Elspeth or
Robinson would be awake and she had no doubt that Richard would carry out his
threat.

He was
dangerous, she could feel it. A desperate danger that seemed to seep from him
like a destroying miasma and it made her heart beat fitfully. She looked up at
the house but the kitchen garden only faced unused rooms, habited only by
unseen ghosts of the family.

“Move Lucy,”
the knife prodded again. She tripped on her skirts as he pushed her forward and
she fell to her hands on the brick path, scrapping her palms. “Stupid little
shrew, get up.” Lucy felt his hand on the back of her dress dragging her up,
but she made herself a dead weight. When her hands had fallen on the path her
mother’s bracelet had sparkled at her and an idea had come to her. As Richard
pulled her up she ripped the bracelet from her arm and dropped in on the path,
moving her skirts to cover it from her brother’s view. Richard’s arm came round
her waist now hauling her up and this time she felt the knife at the back of
her neck – she could feel the blade biting at her nape. “I don’t think you’re
taking this seriously Lucy,” and he pressed the knife harder.

“I’m sorry
Richard, I’m just scared” she whispered. She felt the knife retreat slightly.

“Then move,
and quickly. We’ve been here too long.” He pushed her again and this time Lucy
did as she was told, walking quickly to the side door of the garden. On the
other side a tethered horse lazily eyed them up whilst chewing at the knee high
grass. This side of the estate had not been tended for a while. It was open
arable land with forest beyond, and a few trees dotted the bucolic scene.

Richard
hefted Lucy onto the horse and she nearly slid off again, but he quickly
mounted the horse behind her, holding her firmly in place before him. He always
had been an expert horseman and he set the gelding off at a bruising pace
across the meadow, heading to a copse of trees in the far distance. Lucy looked
back at the manor house, but nothing stirred. It was as though the whole dwelling
was ignoring her plight, turning its back on her.

Not properly
seated on the horse, she could feel every stamp of the hooves reverberate
through her body, but still she tried to speak to her brother. “Richard, why
are…” she started to plead.

“Shut up,
just shut up,” he shouted now, out of breath and free from having to whisper. “The
trouble you’ve caused. I need the blunt Lucy, can’t you understand. I need it.
If you were a loving sister, you’d do it for me.” Lucy closed her eyes against
the shudder of the horse’s movements and Richard’s….madness. There was no
reasoning with him she now knew.

Once they
came to the small copse of trees, she could see a large old battered door inset
into the boundary of the estate’s brick wall. At the sound of hooves, a man
slid from behind one of the trees and opened the doorway. He was dressed in a
black cloak and hat and Lucy felt that the gatekeeper to hell couldn’t have
looked more threatening. They both had to duck as they went through and then she
could see that a dark, dank lane ran between the wall and the forest. Sitting
looking out of place was a closed carriage with a set of horses.

Richard
dismounted and Lucy ignobly slid off. The unknown man opened the carriage door
and before she could protest she was pushed into it. Lucy eyed her brother
warily as he sat down opposite. He rapped the roof and the carriage set off,
swaying precariously on the rutted path.

Lucy got her
first good look at Richard. His face was white with large black rings round his
eyes. He was sweating profusely and he looked like he’d slept in his clothes
for days. Lucy would of liked to think that he had been worried abut her, but
he was more worried about the money. Still he looked very….ill. “Richard, you
don’t look well.”

“Is it
surprising. I’ve been without…never you mind. You’ll soon be someone else’s
problem.”

“What’s
happening?” Lucy asked, trying to keep her voice strong.

Richard
suddenly looked cunning. “Told Ketridge you were a bit unwilling. Had to stall
him somehow until I had found you. Let him know you had run to friends. He has
no problem with the unwilling bit, in fact I think he’ll like that,” he smiled
slyly and Lucy’s stomach roiled with sickness. “However, purity is an issue.
But you still are, aren’t you Lucy? Stickler like you shagging before the ring
is on your finger, I don’t think so, despite what Eloise said.”

“Eloise,” Lucy
gasped in shock.

“Oh yes, she
was very forthright. Stupid trollop. Still seemed to think I was interested in
her. And as for Danbury, well, Ketridge will make sure he’s destroyed.”

“Where are we
going now then?”

Smiling he
peered at her. “Going to meet your future husband Lucy. No need to wait now,
Ketridge is bringing a parson.”

“But the
bans…” Lucy protested.

“No need for
them if you have the blunt, and Ketridge is swimming in lard. Now quiet, I need
some kip, I didn’t sleep last night.” He opened one eye. “And no escaping Lucy.
We are going rather fast, and you are likely to injure yourself if you jump. You’ve
seen my driver Nick? He’s also very handy with a pistol. Just so you know.”

Lucy settled
back. No he was right, she wouldn’t escape now and risk injury. She must bide
her time and await her opportunity.

►▼◄

Jasper yawned
and slowly came to life as he felt rays of sunlight warm his face. He wasn’t in
his own chamber, he also for once wasn’t in the study He was also clutching a
pillow like a child clutching his favourite toy – he let it go quickly. What in
the hell….the smell of jasmine enveloped him and with that came all that had
transpired the night before. He rolled over cursing.  He was an utter bastard,
yes he wanted Lucy but not in those circumstances. The only thing to be
thankful for was he hadn’t taken her. No lasting damage…..except to him.

The chamber
felt her lack of presence and cold seeped into his bones. What did Lucy think
when she woke. He sat up suddenly; she wouldn’t try and leave surely. He’d made
a promise he would see her to Scotland, but after finding him in her bed this
morning she might have thought the worst of him and taken flight again.