Page 26 of Reforming the Rakish Marquess

“It seemed like more than that,” Matt pressed.

Jude waved him off. “Don’t worry about him. It’s not a big deal.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed, and Jude averted his gaze, knowing his friend was assessing him.

“Hmmm. Well, hopefully the matter is resolved now.” Matt took a sip of his drink.

“Indeed.” Jude brought his own glass to his lips and drained the contents.

A couple of gentlemen approached them. “Interested in a game of whist?”

Matt motioned for them to take the two remaining seats. Matt was across from Jude, so they’d be partnered together in the game, and both quite the competitive pair. Jude appreciated the distraction of the card game to take his mind off of sneaking into Juliana’s bedchamber in just a few very long hours.

*

Just after midnight, Jude snuck in through Juliana’s terrace door, finding humor in the entire scene. Never would he have guessed he’d do so much sneaking around for his cock to spend, or more accurately, to ensure that Juliana experienced as much wickedness as he could give her. As a titled peer of the realm, he had access to many other women without such measures. It didn’t change the fact that he would scale the wall of her house if it were necessary to do so to ensure she achieved the pleasure she desired. He wouldn’t allow himself to ponder his level of commitment to their arrangement, but rather focused on remaining thankful that such acrobatic endeavors would not be required.

He slipped up the stairs and stayed in the shadows of the hallway that led to Juliana’s chamber. Reaching for the doorknob, he heard the click of it turning just in time to step back against the wall. From the shadows, he watched her maid exit, who thankfully continued down the hallway and left him unnoticed. Once the maid had disappeared, he hurried into the room, locking the door behind him.

Juliana sat at her vanity, facing her mirror, covered in the same silk dressing robe from the previous evening, her plait hanging behind her. He was releasing her hair tonight. He needed to see what it looked like falling down her back. His cock stirred merely from the mental image of doing so.

“Am I too early?” he asked quietly, smirking behind her.

She turned to face him. “Not at all, but you just missed my maid.”

“I’m aware.” He laughed.

She stood to face him, and he couldn’t help but glance where her dressing robe had opened, exposing him to a glimpse of the globes of her breasts. They bobbed just below her nightrail, calling to him.

“Jude?” she asked.

“Mmm hmm.” He refocused his attention, clasping his hands behind his back.

“I find that I very much need you to touch me.”

His primal urges taking over, he stepped close to her, their bodies pressed against each other. “A gentleman must honor a lady’s wishes, does he not?”

She giggled, and he pushed aside what the sound did to him. “It is only proper and polite, my lord.”

He lowered his lips so they almost grazed her ear. “I shall fulfill any desire you seek. You only need to say so.” He wanted to be the one to help her achieve all of her fantasies and desires. The things she might think to ask for, and even the things she hadn’t a clue about. Yet.

She reached out for him and tugged at his cravat before working at the buttons of his coat. He allowed her to remove his clothing, watching her face as she worked. Her eyes were dark and hooded with desire as she looked upon him, and he reveled in seeing her thus.

Once he was naked from the waist up, she ran her hands along his chest and stomach. She would be the death of him. No longer able to fight his desire to undo her plait, he pulled at the ribbon and ran his fingers through the braid so that her tresses were released.

He caught his breath at the way her hair shaped her face and her silky curls fell down around her body. Her lilac scent invaded his senses and drove him to distraction. For the first time in his life, he had the strongest urge to kiss a woman. Where had that come from?

Kissing wasn’t part of their arrangement, and it was the one thing he wouldn’t do. Kissing would lead to affection, and he couldn’t have affection with anyone, especially not the intoxicating woman before him. He could not allow her to wind up with a broken heart when their time together inevitably came to an end.

He spun her around to reduce the temptation to press his lips to hers, and slipped her robe from her shoulders so that it fell to the floor. He pulled her against him and cupped her breasts in his hands, the lilac scent even more intense with her back to him. Her sweet moans as he gently pinched and rubbed her nipples sent a surge of awareness through his body.

She spun around to face him again. “We still have far too many clothes on.”

Before he could respond, she started working the buttons of his falls, which only stoked the fire brewing beneath his surface. He put his hand over hers to stop her. “Allow me to remove my boots first.”

He sat in the nearby chair and did so as quickly as possible, then returned to her. She grabbed at his falls again and released his cock, which sprang between them. Stroking it with one of her hands, she pushed his breeches down with the other.

She was a goddess. Fanning the flames of his desire and driving him mad with the gentleness of her touch.