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The longer Jacqueline focused on Kincaid, the more agitated she became. Why, the bounder flirted with Lady Noel. Kincaid never flirted. He thought himself too above the simple act. She should know. Jacqueline had attempted to gain his attention many times when she was younger. And each time, he’d ignored her and showed no interest. It wasn’t until she threw herself at him in the secret passageway that he’d taken any interest. Then neither one of them could deny the attraction that sizzled between them.
“What did he whisper in her ear to draw such a reaction?” Jacqueline muttered under her breath.
“I beg your pardon?” Sinclair asked.
Jacqueline stilled. Had she spoken aloud?
“Yes, and you still are,” Sinclair quipped.
Jacqueline closed her eyes in exasperation with herself. He was making her lose her mind.
“Who?”
Jacqueline swung around and found Sinclair regarding her with a troubled stare. “Who?”
Sinclair gave her a pensive stare. “Yes. Who is making you lose your mind?”
“Nobody.”
“Mmm. So you say. But I think a certain gentleman has you in knots, my dear friend.”
“Nonsense. No gentleman holds my interest. Also, I refuse to fall into the same trap as my sisters.”
Sinclair shrugged. “Perhaps you already have.”
Jacqueline refused to answer. She gave him her best mind your own business stare, but he only laughed.
“If it is any consolation, I feel Kincaid is worthy of your love and the best mate for you. I give my approval.”
Jacqueline glanced around to see if anyone had overheard their conversation. When she noticed no one paid them any mind, she tried to convince Sinclair how wrong he was on his assumption. “I have no clue to what you are implying.”
Sinclair stretched out his legs and laughed. “If that is how you wish to continue, then I concede. However, please hear me out. All right?”
Jacqueline nodded.
“Love is rare. The members of this family who have embraced the emotion are lucky souls. Do not let your fear or your worries stop you from embracing your own happily ever after. If so, you will regret losing him. There are few blokes I respect and give my seal of approval to. But Kincaid is one gentleman I will give that honor to. Give him a chance to prove himself. I promise you will not suffer disappointment.”
Tears rushed to Jacqueline’s eyes at Sinclair’s speech. Through the years, they’d formed a close friendship, and when he married her younger sister, Charlie, in the spring, their bond had only strengthened. For Sinclair to hold a high opinion of Kincaid only reaffirmed the gentleman’s character.
“Why do you assume Kincaid is the gentleman I fancy?”
Sinclair coughed into his hand. “I might have seen him using the secret passageway when I was pursuing your sister.”
Jacqueline arched a brow. “Do you not mean to imply when you scandalously ruined Charlie?”
Sinclair arched a brow in return. “And the same act Kincaid is guilty of himself?”
Jacqueline sighed. “Fine, you are correct. Kincaid has me tied in knots. But look at him.” Jacqueline discreetly pointed across the room. “He is on to charming his next conquest.”
Sinclair laughed. “Believe me, he is not. I have never seen another gentleman grimace so much as Kincaid has this evening sitting next to Lady Noel.”
“Mmm.” Jacqueline had observed a different scene.
“I think Lord Kincaid is attempting to make you jealous. You have made him a desperate man indeed.”
Jacqueline tilted her head, trying to see what Sinclair saw. When she noticed Kincaid’s eye twitching at Lady Noel’s giggles, she realized her brother-in-law was correct. “I see your point now.”
“And my advice?”
“I will take it into consideration.”
Sinclair patted her hands. “Excellent. Now shall we show these people how to win at this game?”
Jacqueline gave him a sparkling smile. “Yes, let us show them how.”
Kincaid had failed. He attempted to make Jacqueline jealous, yet he suffered from the green-eyed monster. Once again, she favored Sinclair with her attention. Lady Forrester had partnered them together for charades, but did they need to sit so close together? When Sinclair offered her comfort, Kincaid wanted to storm across the drawing room and shove him away. His thoughts led him down an irrational path. Sinclair held devotion to only one woman alone, his wife, Charlie. Kincaid had witnessed their love and knew Sinclair only held a brotherly affection for Jacqueline. His reaction was from losing Jacqueline’s affection over the past week.
When Jacqueline and Sinclair stood up to perform the next charade, they drew forth a round of laughter. Jacqueline no longer appeared upset, and instead joy radiated from her. When their teammates guessed the correct answer, Sinclair wrapped Jacqueline in a hug and swung her around. Soon her sisters joined in the celebration. Sinclair stepped back as they twirled around in a circle. Kincaid couldn’t help but chuckle at their childlike exuberance.
“It would appear we have lost, Lord Kincaid.”
Kincaid turned toward Lady Noel, taking notice of her pleased expression as she gazed at the Holbrooke sisters celebrating. “So we have. However, you are a good sport. Perhaps we will beat them next time.”
Lady Noel nodded and smiled at him. “Perhaps we will. Have a pleasant evening, my lord.”
Kincaid rose and helped her from the chair. “You too, my lady.”
Kincaid smiled, watching Lady Noel join the other ladies. She placed a hand on Jacqueline’s arm, congratulating her. Perhaps he’d thought unkindly of the young miss. There was more to her character than a silly debutante. Any gentleman who set out to win Lady Noel’s heart would be a lucky bastard indeed. His gaze encountered Jacqueline, and she gifted him with a shy smile and a tilt of her head. The secret signal to visit her bedchamber.
He gulped. Was he forgiven? He tilted his head in agreement, and Jacqueline bit her bottom lip, nodding at his answer. Her look spoke volumes. And he would grasp at any sign from her because it proved she hadn’t given up on him yet. Nor would he give her a chance to. His only purpose was to win Jacqueline’s love.
A hand slapped him on the shoulder as Gray stepped up next to him. “Another round, Kincaid? I need to win my money back.”
Kincaid never took his gaze off Jacqueline. When she overheard Gray, a doubtful expression crossed her features. However, he reassured her of his intentions. “No. I am turning in early. Perhaps another time.”
Before Gray could change his mind, Kincaid strode off, wishing everyone a good evening. Once he entered the hallway, his stride quickened as he hurried to his bedchamber. He wanted to prepare himself for a night of loving Jacqueline. At least he didn’t have a valet awaiting his return. Sometimes it was frustrating not having a servant to attend to him. However, it was only a minor setback. Soon his station would improve, and he could enjoy the luxuries in life again.
Kincaid stripped off his clothes and freshened himself with the water provided. He looked in the wardrobe and pulled on a fresh shirt and pants he could remove quickly. He threw a robe on, in case he met anyone in the secret passage. While he encountered no one whenever he snuck to her room, he knew he pressed his luck.
Kincaid paced back and forth as the minutes ticked away. He should have stuck around and waited for Jacqueline to retire first. After an hour passed, he decided he’d waited long enough. He would risk going to her bedchamber and hope her maid had retired for the evening.
When he turned toward the mirror, he stopped in his tracks. He didn’t need to leave because she’d come to him. She stood against the mirror, wearing the nightgown from the night before. When she gained his attention, she untied the ribbons, and her robe fell around her feet. The tiny ribbons of her nightgown teased him. He needed no other encouragement.
His fingers trembled as he untied one ribbon after another. Her hair tumbled around his hands when she bent her head to watch him. With each ribbon, he revealed her softness. Silky. Sensuous. And very scandalous. Exactly the way he wanted her. No other way would do. He slid the garment off her shoulders, baring her before him. Jacqueline was exquisite.
Griffen tipped her chin up and gazed into eyes filled with passion that needed to be explored. He lifted her in his arms and lowered his head, taking her mouth slowly, savoring her sweetness. She tasted of the sugary candy she kept hidden in the stand next to her bed. His tongue licked along her lips before sliding inside to stroke alongside her tongue. He carried her over to the bed, not once breaking his lips from hers. After he laid her on the mattress, he stepped back and gazed down in wonder. Every time she lay before him, it was as precious as the first.
She stared at him with adoring eyes, dazed from their kisses. Her plump lips begged him to return his attention to them. Jacqueline’s creamy skin glistened in the candlelight. Her breasts rose with each deep breath she claimed, and her nipples tightened when his eyes raked her form. He licked his lips, eager to suckle them while he caressed her generous curves. His gaze lowered, taking in her stomach and the flare of her hips. Hips his hands would cling to as he made love to her. Then there were her long limbs that would stretch around him and cling like a vine. His eyes traveled back up her legs to where his lips would claim the sweetest juice ever to pass between his lips.
He tore off his clothing, eager to join their bodies, to have their skin slide against one another. At his perusal, Jacqueline gave little whimpers of need. They fueled his desire, but he kept them waiting, drawing out the suspense of when their bodies would become one. When Jacqueline stretched out and shifted her legs apart, Kincaid was a fallen man. He could no longer resist the fetching goddess spread across his bed. Nor did he want to.
Jacqueline gasped when Griffen tugged her toward him with a determination she had never seen before. The fierceness in his gaze caused her to tremble. She eagerly waited for the touch of his caress and the stroke of his tongue against her quivering flesh. He gazed at her for an eternity, and she wantonly spread herself across the bed, with a need so fierce it no longer frightened her. Instead, she wished to embrace the unknown, no matter the consequences. As long as he never stopped his fascination.
When his hand stroked up her leg and spread her thighs apart, Jacqueline sighed in pleasure. However, he never lowered his head. Instead, his fingers teased her by drawing close, then deliberately trailing away. Her anticipation built into a frenzy, with her hips rising from the bed, seeking his touch. Griffen lowered his head, his tongue following his fingers, placing soft kisses on the insides of her thighs.
“Griffen,” Jacqueline moaned.
Griffen refused to respond to her moans. His lips trailed a path of sin between her thighs. He inhaled the heady musk of her passion, but still, he denied them what they both desired, building on the temptation. With each rise of her hips, his lips were but a brush away from caressing her. The glistening dew of her wetness tempted him closer. Soon her hands dived into his hair, urging him closer. However, he kept plying her thighs with soft kisses, waiting for the moment when she fell apart without a single kiss.
He knew she rode the heady waves of pleasure. Her desperation was declared with each tightening of her fingers and how her thighs spread wider. Her moans and whispers begged him to pleasure her. Jacqueline shook beneath him, her moans growing louder, her mind floating toward abandoning her doubts.
Jacqueline couldn’t stand the agony. Her body hungered for a mere touch or a kiss to slide over her wetness. Griffen held back from giving in to her demands, torturing her with his simple touch when her body craved his domination. He strung her out where she was ready to explode from the sheer anticipation. Why must he deny them?
When he spread her farther apart and hovered close, Jacqueline tried to press closer. But he held her thighs still with his fingers, gripping their softness. She watched him lick his lips. The slow caress of his tongue slid over their fullness. Then his smile turned wicked and a devilish glint shone from his eyes right before he blew a soft breath across her core.
“Ohhh.” Her breathy moan echoed around the room.
He didn’t stop at one. No, he tortured her with many. Each one different. Some of them were slow and lasted for seconds on end. Others were short blasts of a warm sensation of heaven, that teased her into a frenzy. In between stealing her senses, his tongue lingered, barely sliding across her wetness. She thought she imagined the gentle caress, but her body knew otherwise. Jacqueline was unraveling, falling over the edge only to soar again when his tongue struck out and eased the ache consuming her.
Griffen caught Jacqueline and devoured the flood of her desire. His ravenous mouth explored her hidden desires, demanding her submission. Each lash of his tongue claimed her soul. His relentless strokes sent her soaring again. When his fingers slid inside and drew forth more of her passion, she tightened around him, sending him to his knees. With each vibration of her need, he was on the verge of losing the control he tried to keep tightly contained. However, her soft moans, the sweet flavor on his tongue, and her body shaking around him urged him to join her.
Each time Jacqueline floated down from her release, Griffen strung another one out of her. She lost a piece of herself with each soar to paradise, only to feel more whole when she settled in Griffen’s arms.
That evening, their lovemaking shifted into unknown territory. Each one was unsure of where their relationship lay, making it more desperate. Neither one of them wanted to lose the other. They were clueless about how to proceed. While indecision rested in the back of Jacqueline’s thoughts, the sensations he drew with each kiss were all she needed.
Griffen rose above Jacqueline, and she wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into her body. He slid in with one long slow thrust, sending them spiraling into a higher existence they had never traveled to before. Their gazes clung to one another while their bodies became one. He wanted to whisper endearments of his love, but he didn’t want to shake the connection they had settled in with their unspoken lovemaking. He drew on his patience and expressed his love with each kiss. Each caress. Each stroke. She had to see how much he adored her. How could she not?
Every emotion Griffen expressed with his lovemaking rushed through Jacqueline. He held back from declaring his love because he knew she wasn’t ready to confront the truth of their relationship. She didn’t deserve him, but she refused to release him. She tightened her grip, fearful he would slip through her arms. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and she pressed herself into him, clinging with need.
The agony of losing his love made Jaqueline feel desperate. Her kiss turned frantic with each pull of her lips. His body answered her cries of fear. With each thrust, they lost themselves in each other’s souls.
Long after they reached satisfaction, Griffen kept placing soft kisses across her body, even once Jacqueline dozed in his arms. He would wake her soon. However, for now, he was more than satisfied with watching her sleep.
The angel of his dreams.