Page 70 of A Lady's Past
It was impossible not to laugh, her cheeks were on fire. “Still, I should not have eavesdropped.”
“Perhaps not, but there is no harm done. Nothing I will ever say is a secret from you. I cannot control what other people say, and listening at doors often leads to misunderstandings.” He gently pushed her hair behind her ear.
At the gesture, so sweet and caring, Diana’s heart felt like it might burst. It also reminded her she likely had red, swollen eyes and nose. “I need to wash my face.”
When he stepped aside, she rushed to the washbowl and pitcher on the table. Splashing water on her face took some of the fantasy out of the last few moments. Jacques Laurent was in love with her. Truly and wonderfully in love. It was impossible to believe and yet it was real. “What made you come here tonight? You have not visited my room in over a week, and since you didn’t know I’d behaved like a ninny, why did you come?”
As she dabbed the water from her face with a towel, Jacques’s arms came around her waist. He pressed his body firmly against her back. He was hard in all the places she was soft, and they melded together in harmony. “I thought I had been issued an invitation after the waltz. Was I mistaken?”
Lord, so much had happened in just a few hours, she’d forgotten. The dancing in the parlor seemed like days ago. The space below her stomach tightened and she flushed from head to toe. The desire for Jacques overwhelmed any good sense. “You were not. It was an invitation.”
He nuzzled her neck. “I am so relieved to hear it. However, if the events of this evening have made you uneasy, Diana, I will wait for you. I have no desire to pressure you into anything you are ambiguous about.”
Turning pulled her out of his arms. The last thing she was unsure of was him. She had doubts about herself and her worthiness of his adoration, but he had always been sure and true. One at a time, she tugged the bows at her shoulders, and her nightdress slid down her body, pooling at her feet. Every place the soft material touched tingled with longing for Jacques’s hands and mouth. Standing naked before him, she should have been embarrassed, but the desire in his eyes emboldened her. “I am not ambiguous.”
The firelight glowed in his dark eyes with an intensity that might have frightened her when she was younger. Knowing Jacques would never harm her in any way assuaged any worry, leaving only desire in its place.
Jacques placed the back of his hand just under her throat and traced a path downward with his knuckles.
Diana’s breath hitched as his fingers passed between her breasts. Looking down, she followed his darker skin against her pale flesh as he touched her stomach, then lower, to the patch of hair between her legs. She let out the breath she’d been holding and shuddered as sparks of something new and wonderful lit inside her.
Instead of continuing, he placed his palm on her hip, then slid it to her waist and higher, cupping her breast. His thumb grazed her nipple.
She clutched his shoulder to keep her knees from buckling. “I’m off-balance.”
“Good. I would hate to be the only one.” Leaning down, he took her nipple in his mouth and suckled.
She wanted to scream and laugh at the same time. Knowing Honoria was sleeping just one room away kept her quiet, but it wasn’t easy. Despite her best efforts, the wondrous delight he caused with his mouth elicited a long moan as she dug her fingers into his back. She tried to find some stability as everything tipped out of control.
He released her breast, lifted her in his arms again, and carried her to the bed. He removed his blouse and shoes and stretched out next to her, running his fingers lightly from her neck to her thigh.
“I need to tell you.” It was difficult to get words out with him touching her so intimately.
“Tell me.” He kissed her shoulder, then just behind her ear.
“To get out of prison… I…” She drew a long breath. “I’m not a virgin.”
His fingers stilled.
Pushing up on her elbows, she reached for the blanket to cover herself.
“Diana, I have had little doubt about what you had to do to escape France. I am not a virgin either.” His smile put all her fears at ease.
Years of shame swamped her, but she let his words sink in. “You don’t mind?”
Threading his fingers through her hair at her nape left his palm at her cheek. He rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone. “I only mind that you have suffered, and gave away something you cherished. I cherish only you.”
“Most men would throw a woman back for being soiled.”
As another wave of shame threatened, he opened his mouth on hers and devoured her. His lips demanded and coaxed her to respond. Worries fled as his kisses addled her brain. Body on fire, wanting more, she pressed against him.
He broke away and trailed kisses down her jaw to her throat.
Each spot his lips touched caught on fire. When he reached her breast, she arched into him, longing for more.
“You are perfect. Please do not say such a thing again.” Jacques gripped her hip and continued his path down her body.
Unsure what to do with her hands, Diana reached for any part of him she could touch. She found his strong back, and when he pulled away to kiss her abdomen, she ran her fingers through his soft hair, pulling it free from its ribbon. As his head moved lower, his hair was silk against her skin.
