Suddenly You(53)

“What is it?” The sound of her own voice, thick and pleasure-fogged, was unfamiliar to her.

“If we are to be lovers for such a short time, then I am going to make the most of it. I want you to promise that you’ll withhold nothing from me.” His hand moved down her side in a long caress as he whispered, “I want to do everything with you, Amanda.”

“How would you define ‘everything’?” she parried.

He laughed softly instead of replying, the sound reverberating along every nerve.

Amanda turned to him with a defensive frown. “I can hardly be expected to agree to something if I don’t know what it is!”

Jack’s mouth twitched with suppressed amusement. “I gave you a copy of Gemma Bradshaw’s memoirs,” he said, straight-faced. “That would have provided a considerable amount of enlightenment.”

“I didn’t read all of it,” Amanda replied pertly. “Only certain parts…and then I found it much too lurid to continue.”

“I wouldn’t have thought a lady who was willing to lose her virginity in a carriage would turn out to be so prudish.” He grinned at her reproving scowl. “Here’s our bargain, then. We’ll end our affair in three months, per your request, as long as you are willing to do everything described in Gemma’s book with me.”

“You’re not being serious,” Amanda said, utterly appalled.

“Within reason, of course. One can’t be certain that everything in that book is anatomically possible. But it would be interesting to find out, wouldn’t it?”

“You are depraved,” she informed him. “You are corrupt and degenerate.”

“Yes, and for the next three months, I’m all yours.” He surveyed her with a wickedly speculative gaze. “Now, exactly how did Chapter One begin?”

Amanda was torn between laughter and horror as she wondered just how much of his outrageous proposal was in earnest. “I believe it started with a particular gentleman being shown the door.”

Jack covered her mouth with his in a deep, sweetly invasive intrusion. “I seem to recall that it started this way,” he murmured. “Let me take you upstairs and demonstrate further.”

Amanda led him to the staircase, but paused before ascending the first step, feeling a surge of bashfulness. In the dark confines of his carriage, it had been easy for her to surrender her hold on reality. However, here in the familiar surroundings of her home, she was all too awkwardly aware of what she was doing.

Seeming to understand her twinge of uncertainty, Jack stopped and pinned her against the banister, his fingers curving around the polished wood on either side of her. His lips held the hint of a smile. “Shall I carry you?”

She stood a step higher than he, so that their faces were level. “No, I am too heavy. You’ll drop me, or tumble and break both our necks.”

His blue eyes sparkled with devilish amusement. “I’ll have to teach you not to underestimate me.”

“It’s not that, I’m just—” She squeaked in surprise as he bent and lifted her easily in his arms. “Oh, don’t! No, Jack, you’ll drop me.”

But his grip on her was solid, and he appeared not to feel her weight as he carried her up the stairs. “You’re not even half my size,” he said. “I could carry you for miles and never miss a breath. Now stop squirming.”

Amanda threw her arms around his shoulders. “You’ve made your point,” she gasped. “Set me down, please.”

“Oh, I will set you down,” he assured her. “Right onto your bed, as soon as we reach it. Which room is yours?”

“The second door down the hall,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest. She had never been carried anywhere like this, and while she felt slightly ridiculous, there was a certain primitive appeal about it. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and allowed herself to enjoy the sensation of being swept up in the arms of a powerful man.

They reached her bedroom, and Jack closed the door with his heel. He set her carefully onto the large bed with its barley-sugar twist posts and yellow-gold damask hangings. Curls of steam rose from the ewer of hot water that had been placed on the corner washstand. Tendrils of flame danced in the fireplace as kindling ignited into a sputtering blaze.

Amanda watched Jack with wide eyes, wondering if he intended to undress right there in front of her. He tossed his coat onto the nearby dressing table and removed his waistcoat and cravat.

Amanda cleared her throat, while her heart picked up an agitated pace and her blood stirred with restless heat. “Jack,” she murmured, “we aren’t really going to do Chapter One, are we?”

He grinned as he realized she was referring to The Sins of Madam B. “I confess, peaches, that my memory needs refreshing. I can’t recall how the damn thing begins…unless you would care to enlighten me?”

“No,” she said abruptly, making him laugh.

Jack approached her with his shirt half unbuttoned, the lamplight gleaming over the muscular surface of his chest. He reached for the teardrop earrings that dangled against her jawline. He removed them gently, and rubbed her sore earlobes with his thumbs and forefingers. Setting the jewelry aside on the night table, he unpinned her hair. Amanda closed her eyes, her breath coming in unsteady swishes. His every motion was slow and careful, as if she were some fragile creature that required extremely gentle handling.