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Jacqueline stared out into the garden, watching Griffen saunter deeper into the lush oasis. That was how she viewed the garden, a paradise to lose oneself in. There were many twists, turns, and hidden spots to hide in. Trees and bushes filled every spot with their greenery. Flowers decorated the garden with amazing colors when in full bloom. She tracked the direction Griffen traveled by the lantern he carried. The soft light beckoned her to follow him.
When he waited for them in the foyer this morning, she’d realized he meant to fulfill his terms of the bet even though they’d never finished their game. He’d even kept his irritation in check when Lord Falcone joined them and never once gave Jacqueline any reason to ask him to leave. He’d kept his distance from the marquess, showing Jacqueline why she fell in love with him. Jacqueline smiled, remembering how he’d carried every package Lady Noel purchased. After each purchase, Jacqueline had giggled behind her gloved hand at his gallantry. However, Noel had muttered her frustration at his attention. It seemed the lady had moved her infatuation away from Griffen and to Lord Falcone. The marquess now held the title of the most divine. She wondered if Griffen suffered a bruised ego. She highly doubted so, but one never knew.
He’d never visited her bedchamber the previous evening, and she realized how complicated the madness of their relationship was. While he poured out his soul to her, she refused to do the same. By holding herself back, she filled his heart with doubt.
Did she have the nerve to fulfill her end of the bet? After all, she’d only promised him a midnight stroll through the gardens, nothing more. However, it was the scandalous bet that tempted Jacqueline to steal away into the night with Griffen. The whispered promise of wicked acts urged Jacqueline to follow him. She slipped on her robe and stole through the secret passageway and into the garden. She knew he waited in the secret spot they had deemed theirs. They had shared many intimate moments wrapped in a cocoon of the garden’s wildness. And this evening, they would create more pleasurable memories.
Jacqueline took off on a run, eager for Griffen to hold her. She wanted him with an ache that overtook her senses. Every second without him caused an arrow to pierce her soul, tearing it wide apart. Only his touch would soothe her gaping wound. Only his kiss would comfort the pain. Only his whispered words of love would heal her broken soul.
Griffen heard the soft footsteps hurrying along the path, and his heartbeat quickened. When he left his room, he’d allowed hope to guide him toward their secret hiding spot. He’d refused to glance at her window to see if she watched him. He didn’t intend to make her feel obligated to fulfill the bet when he’d honored his side of the wager. Griffen had done so because he knew Jacqueline would find amusement from the simple act. And every smile and giggle showed she had. Now he stood waiting with his vulnerable heart for any attention she might show him.
He stepped out of the shadows and onto the path. The white robe she wore shimmered in the moonlight, flowing behind her as she came closer toward him. Her beauty held him spellbound. It wasn’t until she drew closer that he stepped forward and swept her into his arms, twirling her around as his lips met hers.
Their kiss started out slow and sensual, each of them falling into the bliss of their passion. His lips drew her sighs in while she absorbed his moans of pleasure. Slowly, their tongues stroked one another, drawing their need to new heights. Griffen lifted Jacqueline into his arms and stole into their sanctuary. He lowered her to the ground onto the blanket he had prepared earlier with the hope she would follow.
He pulled away from the kiss, brushing her hair back. His fingers trailed across her cheek as he stared at her in amazement. The soft light of the lantern cast a warm glow around her. Her arrival left him speechless, unable to describe his emotions. Every time she gave herself to him, she affected him profoundly. It was in these moments Jacqueline let her guard down, and he felt honored she trusted him enough to bare her soul.
Jacqueline trembled under Griffen’s intense gaze. He’d regarded her in the same manner when they made love before. Yet, this evening, the mood had shifted. Her senses heightened to a new level she’d never experienced with him, causing her ache to grow unbearable. His gentle touch trailed over her cheek and up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
He bent his head and pressed his lips under her ear, whispering, “You came.”
His warm breath against her neck caused a shiver to race through her with anticipation of the scintillating pleasure to come. His stare raked her body, boldly undressing her. His eyes transformed in color, changing from a soft blue sea to a turbulent storm of desire. But he held himself back from the storm with steely determination.
While Jacqueline wished he would unleash his wildness and wreak his destruction on her soul, she realized she needed him to breathe his love into her and soothe the battle her soul fought to hold. She no longer wanted to keep hold of her love, but allow his love to consume her with its powerful need. Jacqueline wanted Griffen to hold the power in his hands.
Griffen knew the exact moment when Jacqueline surrendered to his love. It shone from her eyes when her emotions clicked into place. She softened under his touch and reached for him, drawing his head down to kiss her again.
Jacqueline brushed her lips across his before whispering into their kiss, “Yes. Now love me. My body yearns for your touch. For the taste of your lips on mine. For our souls to join as one. I need you, Griffen.”
“You have bewitched me.” Griffen’s voice trembled with awe.
His soul-declaring whisper washed over Jacqueline. When he swept the nightgown off her, his touch set her on fire. She burned from his gentle caresses that drew out her ache to an unbearable torment.
She tore at his clothing, needing to feel his skin against hers. His hard body pressed into her softness, staking his claim. Jacqueline needed him to possess her heart and soul. She swept his shirt off and pressed her palms to his chest, his heat searing her. When she pressed her lips against his rapidly beating heart, the vibration sent a tingling sensation through her. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his breeches.
“Damn buttons,” she muttered as they resisted her attention.
Griffen chuckled at the curse his temptress let out. “Allow me.”
He guided her fingers, allowing each button to slide out of its hole before moving to the next one. When they finished with the buttons, their hands slid to his cock and released it into the open air. He hissed as her hand stroked under his. Her soft touch brought him to the brink of a desire he must satisfy if she continued. He tried to pull her hand to his mouth, but she would have none of it. She rose to her knees and pressed him back onto the blanket.
“Jacqueline,” he moaned.
Before she lowered her head, a wickedly seductive smile graced her lips. Those lips soon hindered him incapable of denying either of them. She offered him no gentle teasing. Instead, her mouth devoured him with one swift slide down the length of his cock. Her tongue left a trail of fire the deeper she took him in. Over and over she tormented him with the exquisite strokes. Each demanded his surrender.
He looked down his body at the siren who sent him spiraling to the unknown. He didn’t care as long as she never left his side. She captured his gaze as her tongue twirled near the tip, licking his wetness onto her tongue before sucking the tip of his cock in her mouth. Her lips molded around him, tempting him with anticipation of pleasure.
“My God,” he moaned into the night, his body shaking with a need to release.
She lowered her lashes coyly before sliding him inside her mouth deeper, her hair billowing around her. Her long tresses brushed across his thighs with every plunge.
Jacqueline sensed Griffen losing control with each stroke of her tongue. Her mouth curved into a smile at his incomprehensible praises. Griffen was a very skilled lover who always seduced her with his wicked promises. To have him unable to speak a coherent word while she made love to him brought her much delight. The proper viscount who always showed his ability to appear most dignified unraveled before her.
His hands sank into her hair, guiding her to his pleasure. At each pull of her lips, she struck a chord in him. Pleasing him intensified a need in her that only Griffen could appease.
With one last kiss, she slid up his body and whispered, “Love me, Griffen.”
He rolled them over and ravished her mouth. His cock pressed into her core, and she bucked her hips against him, wanting him inside her. However, he would deny her and strike out with his own blissful torment.
Griffen wanted to take his time and draw out their desires in slow, agonizing caresses until Jacqueline writhed underneath him, begging for him to take her. While her body already made those demands, he hungered to savor her sweetness in return. His need overtook him and staked his claim with every kiss and caress he brushed across her velvety skin.
Griffen held her breasts in her hands while his tongue teased them, pulling them between his lips and nipping at them. Moving back and forth between the luscious buds, he savored their sweetness. Their flavor only enticed him to slowly move his kisses lower.
“Griffen,” Jacqueline moaned. “Please.”
“Please what, love?”
“Love me.” Her fingers feathered through his hair.
“But I am.”
“No, you are tormenting me with your kisses.”
He kissed her. “Patience, my love.”
Before Jacqueline could voice her objections again, Griffen slid his hand between her thighs and to her wetness. She coated him with her need. He brushed his thumb across her clit and heard her breath hitch. When he slid a finger inside her, Jacqueline whimpered a moan. He lowered himself between her legs, his head dipping to her core, and stroked his tongue along her center.
Her thighs clamped around his head, and her fingers dove into his hair, holding him to her. Griffen’s appetite grew ravenous at the first lick and wouldn’t find satisfaction until he devoured her. His tongue struck out, drawing forth her release.
Jacqueline floated away at the sensations Griffen drew from her body. With each slide of his finger and lick of his wicked tongue, her body fed him with her desires. Still, it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more. She didn’t think she could meet his needs. However, her body surprised her by gifting him with her trust. With his tongue flickering back and forth, he slid another finger inside her and played her like a violin. Jacqueline cried out as he sent her flying.
Griffen rose above her with a wickedly smug expression. Then he slid inside her and she forgot every coherent thought in her head. Griffen surrounded her, wrapping her within his soul. He drove them to new heights, and Jacqueline clung to him, hoping he would never let her go.
He stared into Jacqueline’s eyes, never once losing sight of the expressions crossing her delicate features as he loved her. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Love filled her gaze, and it warmed his soul. He didn’t need her to whisper the words when her body expressed them. When she was ready, she would tell him. All he could offer her was his patience. In the meantime, he needed to express his love for her.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Tears streamed from Jacqueline’s eyes at his tender words. He linked their hands together while he sent them soaring into an unchartered atmosphere. He lowered his head, kissing each tear away, and gathered Jacqueline close.
“Griffen?” Jacqueline trembled his name.
“Shh. Let me hold you before we must return. There will be time later.”
“Will there?”
“Yes.”
Jacqueline’s fingers tightened around his. “Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
He heard the fear in her voice, but he had no words to calm her. A promise was all he could make until she trusted in their love. He would patiently wait for her to do so.
They lay in each other’s arms, staring up at the stars. Griffen whispered soft endearments, reassuring her of his affection. When the moon dipped to welcome the sun, he helped her dress and wrapped her in a blanket. Then he carried her back to the manor. By the time he laid Jacqueline on her bed, she had fallen asleep. He pulled the covers over her and sat watching her sleep. He brushed the hair from her forehead and leaned down to place a kiss.
“Sweet dreams, my love. I hope you fill them with me.”