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His frown deepened. “Jessica, you are humoring me. I am not a child. I have a strong aversion to being humored.”
“If you do not wish to be humored, then you should stop fussing about everything in the world and say plainly what the matter is.” She returned her attention to the wrestlers. “I am not a mind reader.”
“Fussing?” he echoed, his hand falling away from her. “Fussing?”
“Like a two-year-old who’s missed his nap,” she said.
“A two-year-old?”
She nodded, her eyes ostensibly upon the match, her consciousness riveted upon the out-raged male beside her.
He took one—two—three furious breaths. “We’re leaving,” he said. “Back to the carriage. Now.”
Dain did not make it to the carriage. He barely made it to the outer edge of the spectators, and the carriage was a good distance beyond, thanks to their late arrival and the mass of vehicles that had preceded them. Crested coaches were jammed against lowly farm wagons, and the disgruntled beings left to mind the cattle were relieving their vexations by quarreling loudly among themselves.
Having vexations of his own to relieve, and convinced he’d explode long before he found the carriage, Dain hurried his wife to the first unoccupied area he spotted.
It was a burial ground, attached to a tiny, crumbling church in which Dain doubted any services had been conducted since the Armada. The grave-stones, their inscriptions long since eroded by salt air, listed drunkenly in every direction but upright. Those, that is, making any pretense of standing. Nearly half had given up the attempt ages ago, and sprawled where they’d fallen, with the tall weeds huddled about them like pickpockets about a gin-sotted sailor.
“It’s as though the place didn’t exist,” Jessica said, looking about her and apparently oblivious to the big, angry hand clutching her arm as he relentlessly marched her along. “As though no one has noticed or cared that it’s here. How odd.”
“You won’t find it so odd in a moment,” he said. “You’ll wish you didn’t exist.”
“Where are we going, Dain?” she asked. “I’m sure this isn’t a shortcut to the carriage.”
“You’ll be very lucky if it isn’t a shortcut to your funeral.”
“Oh, look!” she cried. “What splendid rhododendrons.”
Dain did not have to follow her pointing finger. He’d already spotted the gigantic shrubs, with their masses of white, pink, and purple blooms. He’d also discerned the pillared gateway in their midst. He supposed a wall had once been attached to the gateway, either enclosing the church property or the property beyond. For all he knew, the wall might still be there, or parts of it, hidden by the thick mass of rhododendrons. All he cared about was the “hidden” part. The shrubs formed an impenetrable screen from passersby.
He marched his wife to the gateway and hauled her to the right pillar, which was better concealed, and backed her up against it.
“A two-year-old, am I, my lady?” He tore off his right glove with his teeth. “I’ll teach you how old I am.” He stripped off the other glove.
He reached for his trouser buttons.
Her glance shot to his hand.
He swiftly undid the three buttons of his small falls, and the flap fell open.
He heard her suck in her breath.
His rapidly swelling shaft was pushing against the fabric of his French bearer. It took him nine seconds to release the nine buttons. His rod sprang out, throbbing hotly at attention.
Jessica sank back against the pillar, her eyes closed.
He dragged up her skirts. “I’ve wanted you the whole curst day, drat you,” he growled.
He had waited too long to bother with drawer strings or anything like finesse. He found the slit of her drawers and thrust his fingers inside and tangled them in the silky curls.
He had but to touch her—a few impatient caresses—and she was ready, pushing against his fingers, her breathing quick and shallow.
He thrust into her, and scorching joy bolted through him at the slick, hot welcome he found, and the low moan of pleasure he heard. He grasped her bottom and lifted her up.
She wrapped her legs round him and, clutching his shoulders, threw back her head and gave a throaty laugh. “I’ve wanted you, too, Dain. I thought I’d go mad.”
“Fool,” he said. Mad she was, to want such an animal.
“Your fool,” she said.
“Stop it, Jess.” She was nobody’s fool, least of all his.
“I love you.”
The words shot through him and beat upon his heart. He couldn’t let them in.
He withdrew almost completely, only to drive again, harder this time.
“You can’t stop me,” she gasped. “I love you.”
Again and again he stormed into her in hard, fierce thrusts.
But he couldn’t stop her.
“I love you,” she told him, repeating it at every thrust, as though she would drive the words into him, as he drove his body into hers.
“I love you,” she said, even as the earth shook, and the heavens opened up and rapture blasted through him like lightning.
He covered her mouth to shut out the three fatal words, but they were spilling into his parched heart even while his seed spilled into her. He couldn’t stop his heart from drinking in those words, couldn’t keep it from believing them. He had tried to keep her out, just as he’d tried not to need more from her than was safe. Futile.
He never had been, never would be, safe from her.
Femme fatale.
Still, there were worse ways to die.
And Carpe diem, he told himself, as he collapsed against her.
As he might have expected, Dain emerged from paradise and walked straight into a nightmare.
By the time they’d left the churchyard and begun hunting for their carriage, the ludicrous match had ended, ludicrously, in a technical dispute. The spectators were streaming out in all directions, a part of the mob heading toward the town proper and another part away toward the mass of vehicles.
A short distance from the carriage, Vawtry hailed him.
“I’ll wait in the carriage,” Jessica said, slipping her hand from Dain’s arm. “I cannot possibly be expected to conduct a rational conversation at present.”
Though he doubted he could, either, Dain managed a knowing chuckle. Letting her go on to the vehicle, he joined Vawtry.
They were soon joined by several others, Ainswood included, and in a moment Dain was caught up in the general indignation about the grievously disappointing wrestlers.
Vawtry was in the midst of reviewing the disputed throw when Dain noticed that Ainswood was not attending at all, but staring past him.
Sure the man was gawking at Jessica again, Dain bent a warning frown upon him.
Ainswood didn’t notice. Turning back, grinning, to Dain, he said, “Looks like your footman’s got himself a bit more than a handful.”
Dain followed the duke’s amused glance. Jessica was in the carriage, out of reach of His Grace’s leering gaze.
Meanwhile, though, Joseph—who, as first foot-man, danced attendance upon Lady Dain—was struggling with a ragged, filthy urchin. A pickpocket, by the looks of it. Sporting events attracted them, like the whores, in droves.
Joseph managed to get the ragamuffin by the collar, but the brat twisted about and kicked him. Joseph bellowed. The guttersnipe answered with a stream of profanity that would have done a marine credit.
At that moment, the carriage door opened, and Jessica started out. “Joseph! What in blazes are you about?”
Though well aware she could handle the contretemps—whatever it was—Dain was also aware that he was supposed to be the authority figure…and his friends were watching.
