“True, not quite no, and not ‘no’ enough for me,” James continued. “I don’t think I’d be satisfied unless you had told the fellow you never wanted to see him again, and spat on his boots as a finale. I still want to throw him through a window.” He stood up and looked around the room. “Where’s my coat? I know where he lives. He has big windows; they’ll look positively amazing shattered to bits.”

“Oh, stop it,” Julia said, half laughing, and put a hand on his arm. “I didn’t come to tell you to make you feel jealous. Although it is a nice bonus.”

“Why did you come tell me then, minx?” He crouched down in front of her and took her chin in his hand. He stared intently at her, a roguish smile on his lips, his gaze hopeful.

The yearning in his eyes unsettled her, heated her, made butterflies flit through her whole body.

“I was so confused,” she faltered. “I knew what I wanted to say, but not what I should say. And now that I’m here with you, I know what I want to say again, but not what I should say.”

“Why not?” His clear gaze fairly burned her.

“Well, I know it would cause a nine-days’ wonder if it became known that Louisa had jilted you,” she began.

“It would,” he agreed, still looking at her intently.

“And also if anyone found out that I had rejected Sir Stephen’s suit. Especially if I then took up with you,” she continued.

“A positive scandal,” he agreed, drawing her face closer to his. The heat of his gaze was twisting her stomach into an excited knot.

“And I know your family’s very proper, and they would be mortified to be a part of a scandal,” she added. “Especially considering what your poor sister has already been through. Not to mention they wouldn’t be all that delighted to have you throwing yourself away on an untitled girl with no more than a passable dowry.”

“They are indeed, very proper,” he agreed, leaning forward to press soft kisses along the long line of her neck. She closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on the feel of his lips, the whisper of his breath. It warmed her through to her very core.

She drew in a gulp of air at the quick flashes of pleasure he awoke in her, then strove to continue. “And. . I. . you. . you know, we. . um. .”

Her head was foggy from his kisses. Her neck began to feel so pliable, her head so heavy, that she simply had to tilt it back to allow his mouth better access.

“Something you wanted to say?” he murmured, a laugh in his voice as he kissed his way down her neck to her collarbone and began to toy with the edge of her bodice.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I can’t think straight when you do that!” Julia exclaimed.

Obediently, James drew back and watched her patiently, still crouching in front of her chair. She felt disappointed and cold, and she impulsively held out her hands to him.

He grabbed them at once and raised them to his lips. “You said you didn’t know what you ought to say,” he reminded her, “but you knew what you wanted to say when you came here.”

His bright green gaze bored into her eyes, seeking the corners of her very soul.

“Why did you come? What did you want to tell me, Julia?”

She faltered. “I. .” She lowered her eyes, embarrassed. She had tried so hard to be a proper town lady, and she knew a proper lady would never, never say what she wanted to say.

“Julia,” he whispered, catching her chin again and bringing her face up to meet his eyes again. “Darling. You can tell me anything.”

There was such hope in his eyes, and his endearment was like a kiss in itself. She drew up her courage and told him.

“I don’t care about the scandal. I don’t care about anything else that might happen. I want you, in the way a woman wants the man she loves.”

It was all he needed to hear. He leapt to his feet and scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed less than nothing. He kissed her fiercely and then, still carrying her, strode quickly to the door.

“What are you doing?” she said, laughing shakily, hoping she knew the answer.

“You said you didn’t like this room,” he replied, nudging the door open. “I think it’s time you saw my bedchamber instead.”

Chapter 26. In Which Julia Realizes She Hadn’t Known What to Expect, After All


“Now this room I like,” Julia said wonderingly as James, still carrying her, booted open the door of his bedchamber and afforded her a first glance at the room.

It at once impressed her as warm, comfortable, and masculine, with red and gold pin-striped paper on the walls and a cozy chair in the corner. The room was dominated by a rather large mahogany-framed bed, its counterpane and hangings also in muted red tones. Rather. . passionate colors.

She gulped despite herself. Her nervousness had returned, though now it was a pleasurable tingling of anticipation. She didn’t quite know what she had gotten herself into, but she was ready to find out.

James set her down gently on the bed and sat on its edge next to her. “I’m very glad you like it,” he finally replied. “I tried to make this room comfortable and warm. I. . I hope you’ll spend quite awhile here.”

“I would like that,” she answered shyly.

He looked sharply at her. “Julia, do you know what you’re saying? No, you can’t possibly know.”

He stood up at once. “I need to be very clear about this,” he went on, his teeth slightly gritted. “It’s very hard to bring myself to say this considering the way I am feeling right now, but I owe it to you. If we go ahead and. . you know. .”

“Couple?” Julia suggested, now enjoying his discomfort. Oddly, it seemed to be more physical than emotional discomfort, judging from the look on his face.

He groaned at her reply. “If we make love, it will be irrevocable. You will give me a precious gift that you can never then give to any other man.”

“I wouldn’t want to,” she assured him. “You are the only one I could ever want.”

He groaned again. What was the man’s problem? Now she noticed, the front of his pants was bulging suspiciously.

Her eyes widened. Of course; it made sense now. She knew how the act worked from seeing the livestock mating, but she hadn’t quite realized that people had the same type of… equipment.

Or that the pleasure of anticipation could be so great.

She leaned back onto the bed and arched her back slightly, instinctively. “I told you I know what I want, and it’s you. Don’t you trust me to know my own mind?” she teased.

He yanked off his top boots, heedless of their fine craftsmanship, and tossed them into the corner of the room.

“Throwing your boots around? Your valet will be distressed,” Julia observed, smiling.

“Curse the man,” James replied just as cheerfully, climbing onto the bed and covering her small form with his long one. He propped himself up on his forearms and looked down into her eyes.

“I want this more than anything,” he began. “But I have to ask again if you’re sure about this. About me.”

“Of course,” Julia replied at once, stroking his cheek, the face she loved. “I trust you. And I want it, too.” Then she added conscientiously, “Although to be honest, I don’t really know what I’m talking about. I mean, I know the basics, since I grew up on a farm. I’ve seen animals coupling many times. And I can tell you have the same male parts, because of the way your pants are bulging.”

He snorted with laughter and silenced her momentarily with a kiss.

“But,” she finally managed, her lips still just a breath away from his own, “it never seemed to hold much pleasure for the females. And I feel such pleasure already.”

James laughed again and buried his face in her hair. He kissed her ear, and said, “My ridiculous darling. This is only the beginning.”

“It is?” she breathed wonderingly, as he continued to press kisses onto her face. She felt his hands beginning to roam her body, caressing and shaping her breasts, and she inhaled raggedly at the sudden wonder of it.

“Yes,” he confirmed, “and I’ll thank you not to make any more comparisons between us and animals. What you’ve seen is nothing, nothing, like what happens between people who love each other. Especially not between you and me.”

“Why especially us?” she couldn’t help asking, though her desire to speak was, admittedly, dimmed quite a bit by his long fingers, which had slid beneath the fabric of her bodice and were now stroking and toying with her nipple, driving her to distraction.

“Because,” he answered, “of what I’m going to do to you with my tongue.”

“Oh,” she answered, her thoughts reeling confusedly. What was he going to do? Was he going to. .

And then. . “Oh.” She understood, as he tugged down the bodice of her dress to reveal her breasts and, as he had the night before, began to lick and lightly suck at her nipples. “Oh, that’s lovely.”

“If you’re able to talk, it’s not lovely enough,” he growled against her pale skin.

She hated to feel him draw his mouth away, although it was only to raise himself off her and begin searching for the fastenings of her clothes. Obligingly, she turned onto her side so he could reach the buttons at the back of her dress. She had to laugh at his fumbling inability to slide the small beads from their openings.

“I’m not usually clumsy,” James said in his defense, a look of intense concentration on his face. “I just really want this dress off you this second. I can’t keep my hands steady.”

Julia was, she had to admit, a bit proud of this proof of her appeal. She had made a grown man forget how to work buttons! But she savored the feeling for only a moment. She had no idea what he was going to do next, but she was as impatient for it as James seemed to be.