Last Dance in London (Rakes on the Run #1) - Sydney Jane Baily Page 0,64

to alight, he looked down the street. There was Miss Sudbury, ambling along.

Annoyed at the very sight of her, he had his driver pull up beside the brat nevertheless.

“What the devil?” he asked.

“I came by hired carriage. I didn’t want to use my sister’s again, nor tell her where I was going. But my hackney seems to have vanished.”

“You should never pay them until the end of your journey,” he snapped irritably. No one from Town would ever make such a mistake. “We might as well travel together in my carriage.”

“My reputation,” she reminded him.

“I don’t think a carriage ride can make anything worse, and we must speak privately.”

She let him help her into the two-seater carriage, and as she leaned back against the squabs, he realized she was shaking.

Sitting beside her, Jasper draped an arm around her shoulders.

“She’s as mad as a march hare!” Julia exclaimed after they set off.

“Nonsense. She’s quite sane.”

“But she said she didn’t care whether it was you or me.”

“Pleasure is pleasure,” he said, feeling weary. At least, he’d always thought that to be true. Now however, when faced with performing a service for the viscountess, one that ought to be pleasurable, he felt not a twinge of desire, nor even anticipation. What he felt was revulsion.

“Perhaps you’re correct,” he amended. “That woman has to be a little touched in the head not to care whether I want to participate.”

Silence met his words, then she said, “We could try blackmailing Lady Chandron in return.”

This caused Jasper to turn his head, bringing their faces close.

“I would say ‘continue with your plan,’ except I don’t think she has any shame, nor would she care about her reputation since everyone already knows about her many infidelities. She’s like a female rakehell,” he concluded. “Thus, she cannot be blackmailed. Even her husband already knows and cares not a whit.”

“We could toss her in the Thames,” Julia suggested with a bitter laugh.

“I’m not eager to dance on the end of a rope,” Jasper retorted.

“I suppose you could go to her and be absolutely offensive, unclean, disheveled, with bad breath and knotted hair, and try to put her off.”

“I could try,” Jasper said.

Julia sighed. “I would find it difficult to imagine you not being entirely desirable,” she said softly.

When he heard those words, he forgave her getting him under the hatches of trouble. Cradling the back of her head, holding her steady, he claimed her warm lips.

When she parted them, he swept his tongue into her mouth, stroking her, hearing her moan.

Her blossoming desire was evident, and he placed her hand upon his lap so she could feel his own. The rest of the ride passed with their mouths fused as one, and his only thought being when he could attempt to seduce her out of her clothing again.

Having the viscountess confirm his blonde baggage was on the game, spicing jewels from his peers, hadn’t dampened his passion after all.

Realizing they’d stopped moving and were probably conspicuously parked in front of the Countess of Worthington’s house, he drew back.

He’d hoped they would come up with a plan to get him out of tupping Lady Chandron but feared it was inevitable. And while holding Julia in his arms, he was dreading riding St. George all the more, when St. George would be the viscountess.

Would he even be able to put in a good showing, or would it be a dry bob?

“I shall get it over with,” Jasper said, half to himself, hoping Lady Chandron would be satisfied with a single ride.

Julia stared at him. Then she blinked and her gaze hardened.

He shouldn’t have mentioned it, not directly after kissing her. Where were his manners?

“YOU’RE THE TRUE RAKEHELL,” she bit out, reaching for the carriage’s handle. “Why don’t you go back there immediately and give her what she most wants. I’m sure you’ll manage to derive some enjoyment, about as much as any paid courtesan in London!”

When Jasper said nothing, Julia glanced up at him. His expression was stony.

“You know something, you’re perfectly correct. I should do exactly that. It is nothing to me whom I bed. I shall do it and set us both free from her threats.”

Julia bit her tongue and wished she hadn’t spoken out of jealousy. She didn’t believe for an instant he wasn’t discerning about whom he took to bed, although to learn he’d already had an affair with Lady Chandron had been a blow.

Besides, she must recall with whom she was dealing. That very night Jasper might