through Fielding’s tediously long, almost groveling dedication, Jasper began to read: “Book I. Containing as much of the birth of the—”
A tap at the door had him laying the book down. Thank God! He was bored already. Perhaps he should have jumped to the scene with Molly or better yet, with Mrs. Waters.
“Enter,” he called out.
Nothing happened.
What the devil!
“Enter,” he said more loudly, and the door whipped open and closed again just as quickly, leaving Julia Sudbury standing in his room.
Jasper rose slowly from the bed, although his heart was instantly racing. She had come. It could only mean...
Untying her robe, she dropped it to the floor at her feet, standing before him utterly bare.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“This paper is considering sending reporters to the far corners of Britain next year during the winter months, so our society column will not become the place of Grub Street scraps as it currently is. We apologize and hope you will not cancel your subscription.”
-The Times
She was even more beautiful than Jasper recalled, all hills and shadowed valleys in the flickering light of his hearth and the Argand lamp on his bedside table with its twin flames.
His mouth went dry as Brighton sand. For the first time in his adult life, he, an earl, didn’t feel worthy.
On the other hand, like Samuel Butler’s famed Hudibras, Jasper wouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth.
In the blink of an eye, he held her in his arms, and he had to wonder if he was dreaming. Precisely as he’d wanted to in the summer pavilion, he could touch her bare skin freely, letting his hands roam up and down her soft arms and then, with a groan, he pulled her against him, clasping her soft bottom.
Julia still hadn’t said a word. Her blue eyes gazed into his as her hands crept up his chest before she laced her fingers behind his neck.
His silk banyan wouldn’t scratch her creamy flesh, and he was glad he’d already undressed with nothing on underneath it.
“Did I surprise you?” she asked.
“Yes,” he croaked, looking down at her open, trusting face. He cleared his throat. “I had given up thinking we would swive. I certainly didn’t think you’d present yourself to me like a belated Christmas gift. I thought those were only for children.”
She smiled slightly. “Each time we’ve been alone, you’ve been very generous.”
“And you thought you would repay my generosity by giving me yourself, the rum doxy of my dreams,” he teased.
When her cheeks flamed, he realized he’d talked too much and embarrassed her — so unlike his usual polished love-making. Sweeping an arm behind her knees, he lifted her.
“Oh,” she startled delightfully.
Holding her naked in his arms, he was thoroughly aroused, and in two steps he was back at his warm bed, glad his amusement for the night had taken a decidedly better turn than Tom Jones. After laying her gently on the sheets, he chucked Fielding’s work to the floor and undid the tie of his dressing gown.
“You are a fine figure of a man,” she declared.
He nearly laughed. “If you tell me you’ve seen a few with which to compare me, I shall be most disillusioned but also flattered.”
“No,” she confessed, “only you, but I cannot imagine what you could be lacking or how your shape could be any better.”
That time he did laugh. “No, don’t blush further. I am not laughing at you. I’m just ... happy. Thrilled actually, that you’re here and that you find me appealing. For I find you to be the absolute loveliest creature I’ve ever had the honor to see bare.”
“And unlike me, you’ve seen quite a few,” she said.
“I suppose I’ve seen my share.”
At her raised eyebrow, he added, “And a few other men’s shares, too.”
“I should be annoyed by that, but your amorous adventures have caused you to be most skilled. You are, aren’t you?”
Jasper couldn’t help frowning. “I’ve satisfied you, haven’t I, in our previous encounters?”
“Yes, of course. Exceedingly so, and we haven’t even quite done the deed yet. But since you are the only one I know, I must ask you, are all men so ... that is ... when men and women make love, is it always ... do the women always...? Oh, for pity’s sake.”
She closed her mouth and her eyes, and her cheeks flamed.
“In my experience, sometimes even great skill doesn’t mean the greatest of pleasure. Yet with us, we give and receive enjoyment very easily with one another. Don’t you agree?”
Julia opened her eyes, and