“I will never understand why you like me so well.” The tiny dimple he’d first noted on the day they’d met winked at him. “But I won’t complain about my good fortune.”

Enamored with that dimple, he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward him. “Kiss me.”

“You like kissing. Not that I’m complaining. You are very accomplished.”

“I never liked the act prior to meeting you. Now, I cannot get enough. Sometimes the urge to kiss you is so fierce I have a damnable time resisting it.”

Her eyes widened. “Truly? I cannot fathom your disregard. I love your lips. And your kisses.”

“I never considered my mouth a particularly erotic part of my anatomy. There are other places on my body I preferred directing attention to.”

“Can I kiss you somewhere else?” A blush swept upward, over her chest to her cheeks. “Here, perhaps.”

Her hand moved lower and stroked him through his breeches.

“Bloody hell,” he hissed, unprepared for his impossibly swift reaction to her boldness.

“Too much?” she whispered, withdrawing.

“No.” He caught her retreating hand and put it back, mentally kicking himself for startling her away from an act he wanted as much as his next breath. The level of trust she was displaying-from speaking freely to indulging his lustful whims-humbled him. He’d done nothing in his life to deserve her.

“Have your wicked way with me,” he urged. “I beg you.”

Eliza raked him with a heated glance, from head to toe. He felt that gaze like a tangible caress. “Teach me how to please you. Show me the way to be the only woman you will ever need or want.”

Jasper yanked the placket of his breeches open and pushed his smalls out of the way. His cock sprang free of its confinement, straining toward his navel in a display of brute male arrogance.

“My God,” she breathed. “Every part of you is magnificent.”

The awed note in her voice sent relief rushing through him, swiftly followed by rampant desire. He watched as she reached for him, her slim white hands enclosing his scorching length in cool satin skin. His neck arched, his teeth gritting together in a bid for control. A few pumps of his hand and he could finish this. He was primed to blow after Eliza’s earlier display of total abandon. Her scent clung to his lips, filling his nostrils with every drawn breath, spurring his lust to previously unattained heights.

Her fingertips slid delicately up and down his cock, exploring. Jasper exhaled in a rush. His bollocks were drawn up tight, his seed churning and pushing its way up his shaft to leak out the tip.

Eliza touched the first drop, then lifted her finger toward her mouth.

“You might not like it,” he warned. “Some women do not.”

Her brow arched defiantly. Her mouth formed an O, and she pushed the glistening fingertip inside. She hummed softly, and that was his undoing.

“Put your mouth on me,” he said gruffly. “Wrap your lips around the head.”

She bent over him without hesitation. Her hair-still partially pinned-drifted over her shoulders, with some freed pieces falling to pool on his stomach. He reached up with one hand and pushed her hair out of the way of his view.

He watched her lips part, her head lower, his cock disappear inside her…Her mouth fastened on the plush head, and he groaned raggedly. The drenching heat and gentle suction were torturous.

“That’s good,” he gasped. “Take more.”

Her lips slid farther down, pushing his cockhead deeper into the narrowing channel of her mouth.

“Suck. Ah…yes, like that.” Sweat dotted his brow and upper lip. “God…your tongue…”

A moan vibrated along the length of his shaft.

Any worry he’d had that she would find the act distasteful vanished with that sound. Her hand pushed into his breeches and cupped his testicles. Her avid tongue rubbed the underside of his cock. Her head bobbed up and down his length, her mouth sucking so forcefully it was audible. The wet smacking echoed through the massive room, then rippled through him in a wracking shudder.

As frenzied as she’d been in her own extremis, she was similarly ravenous for his. Eliza worked his cock as if starved for the taste of him. The sight of her fervor, the feel of her hands and mouth, the sounds she made…it was all so erotic he lost himself to her.

“You make me so hard,” he growled. “Desist. Let me finish this.”

In response, she took him as deep as she could, her tongue pinning him to the curved roof of her mouth. She sucked him so vigorously his thighs shook with the pleasure.

“Christ.” His hips lunged upward. The first furious spurt of semen felt as if it was wrenched from his spine.

Eliza swallowed deeply and worked her hand on him, pumping his seed up the length of his shaft and into her eager mouth. Groaning and sweating, Jasper clenched his jaw shut and fucked his cock through her swollen lips, spewing his lust in an orgasm so intense it was painful. The rush of climax was endless, his cum spilling over her stroking tongue in thick, creamy washes. She took every wrenching pulse with unmitigated greed, urging him on with muffled moans.

Jasper collapsed to the floor with arms outstretched, muscles twitching from his calves to his shoulders, his lungs fighting for every serrated breath. His cock began to soften, as exhausted as he was, but she didn’t cease her ministrations. The tip of her tongue dipped into the tiny hole at the crown, drinking the last bit of semen he had left. He closed his eyes, drunk on the repletion sinking into the very marrow of his bones.

“Come here,” he murmured, needing to hold her.

As she curled against his side on the marble and entwined her legs with his, Jasper didn’t recognize the feeling gripping his chest in a vise.

It was hours later when he realized the sensation might have been joy.

“Good morning, Miss Martin.”

Eliza welcomed the distraction provided by the arrival of her man of affairs shortly after eleven o’clock two days later. Jasper had sent a note, excusing himself from their scheduled morning meeting, and while it expressed regret, the missive gave no explanation for why he’d canceled. The last time they spoke at length was during yesterday’s dance lesson in the ballroom-a space she would never think of in the same way again.

“Good morning, Mr. Reynolds,” she replied briskly, closing her ledger and smiling.

He stared at her, blinking, as if taken aback, which brought to her attention how readily she smiled of late.

Clearing his throat, he took a seat in front of her desk. She was pleased to see he’d procured a new satchel. Unlike his previous one, this one was made of butter-soft burgundy leather ornamented with gold hardware. He was a wonderful employee, one who worked hard and performed well, and she paid him accordingly. It was good to see him indulging himself.

“I understand congratulations are in order,” he said.

“Yes. Thank you.” Eliza linked her fingers on the desktop. “How is Mrs. Reynolds?”

“Very well.”

He told a story about his wife’s social pursuits that Eliza made every effort to appear interested in. She was grateful when he moved on and said, “I’ve also received word from my brother.”

“Oh?” A quiver moved through her tummy. Jasper’s agreement to be more forthcoming about his situation put her in an awkward position. She’d grown more and more apprehensive about sending Tobias Reynolds to Ireland. Although she had engaged Tobias before beginning an intimate relationship with Jasper, she was nevertheless circumventing the man she intended to marry by researching his past without his knowledge or consent.

Reynolds settled more comfortably into the chair. “He arrived safely and has begun the initial inquiries.”

She reminded herself to trust her instincts. “I would like to recall him. I have the information I need.”

“If you’re certain…”

“I am. He’ll still be paid the agreed-upon fee for his time, of course.”

“I never doubted it.” His fingers curled and uncurled around the wooden arms of his chair. “May I speak freely, Miss Martin?”

“Always,” she assured. “I value honesty above all else. I’d expect you would know that by now.”

“I do. However…” He inhaled deeply, then exhaled in a rush of words. “Have I been remiss in my duties or disappointing in some way? Have I given you cause to distrust me?”

“No.” Her spine straightened with alarm. “Why would you have such concerns?”

“You’ve always asked me to investigate your suitors. Therefore, I was startled to learn of your engagement to a gentleman whose circumstances I was not asked to explore. I know he is a friend of Lord Melville, but he’s also a possible investor and even in that capacity, you did not ask me to verify his solvency.”

Eliza was impressed. “Your thoroughness is laudable, sir.”

“I’m relieved to hear you say so.” He leaned forward. “I had only yesterday and this morning to inquire, but I must confess, what little I’ve gleaned has made me uneasy.”

“Uneasy?” Certainly Terrance Reynolds wasn’t the only enterprising and curious individual in town. What could be learned about Jasper through cursory inquiry?

“His residence is in a less-than-fashionable area of town. He has all manner of disreputable-looking individuals coming and going as they please. I’m not yet certain, but I believe he engages in trade. I suspect he makes a comfortable living, but it’s doubtful he has your means.”

“Few do. Regardless, Mr. Bond counts the Earl of West-field as a close acquaintance.”

“There is that,” Reynolds conceded. “Frankly, your betrothed is a bit of an enigma.”

Much obliged by his loyalty, Eliza felt it best to offer a truthful explanation for Jasper, so Reynolds would no longer be troubled. “Mr. Bond is a thief-taker.”