AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Derek’s hand abruptly cupped the back of Jonas’ neck. “Thank God.”
The pressure of his fingers urged Jonas forward a step and their chests collided just before Derek’s lips captured his in a searing kiss. Jonas could not contain the sharp intake of breath and exhaled moan that followed, a purely primal response. The warmth and pressure of Derek’s mouth on his stole the strength from his legs and he would have buckled if not for the arm that suddenly came around his waist. Derek pressed his hand against the small of Jonas’ back and urged him closer, so close that they touched everywhere from chest to thigh.
A spark ignited between them, inducing a heat that originated in Jonas’ groin and swiftly spread outward. His cock twitched in his breeches, eager for even the barest brush of Derek’s body against him. Jonas tried his damnedest not to respond, to keep his hands limp at his sides and allow Derek to do what he would. His lips quivered with the desire to answer the siren’s call of Derek’s kiss with their own fervent passion, and he trembled with the force of the desire and lust tearing through him.
The battle was lost the moment Derek groaned into his mouth, increasing the pressure of the kiss and flicking his tongue at Jonas’ lips. The spark kindled into a roaring flame that consumed Jonas as he pushed back against Derek, seeking pressure and heat. He opened his mouth and met Derek’s tongue with his own, a deep growl rumbling in his chest at the feel of it, the taste of it, the sweet delight. Derek answered Jonas’ clumsy fervor with increased passion, his fingers clenching in the hair brushing Jonas’ collar and holding fast.
Jonas grabbed Derek by his biceps, telling himself it was for balance and loath to admit that his hands had itched for the feel of hard muscle and sinew at his fingertips.
In an instant they became a writhing mass of wandering hands, no longer two bodies, but one held together by raw need. Derek’s fingers slid up and then down Jonas’ back, along the contours of his waist, up the ridged plane of his torso. They wandered the expanse of his chest, then back down until he cupped Jonas’ buttocks and squeezed, pulsing his hips so that one erection pushed against the other.
Jonas slid his hands up Derek’s arms, determined to wrench him away and put a stop to the kiss. Yet his own hands betrayed him, skimming up Derek’s neck and cupping his jaw, tilting his head to the perfect angle. Jonas wrested control from Derek, his dormant hunger awakened to a feral, gnawing need. He licked into Derek’s mouth, tasting the claret on his tongue.
Issuing a rough laugh from the back of his throat, Derek swiftly pushed Jonas against the nearest wall and pinned him against it. He fought against Jonas for dominance, biting at his lower lip and then kissing a path across his cheek and jaw toward his neck. Jonas’ head fell back against the wallpapered panels. Harsh, panting breaths escaped him as Derek kissed and nibbled the column of his throat. He hissed through clenched teeth at the sting of a playful bite, then sighed when the stroke of Derek’s tongue followed.
“God, Jo,” Derek groaned against Jonas’ mouth. “How I missed this. I missedyou. God, the way you taste … the way you feel. My Jo … mine …”
Jonas was drowning, the tides of passion and desire and lust crashing and roiling against those of fear and shame, all of them washing over his head and pulling him into the depths of blissful despair. He never wanted the kiss to end, yet simultaneously wanted to run as far and fast from this room as possible.
Instead, he rested against the wall, his limbs turned to water and his chest heaving with labored breaths. The will to run did not outweigh the need to stay and revel in every second of this encounter, because he knew it could never happen again. But, oh, it felt so good to indulge just this once. Derek’s lips gentled against Jonas,’ his kisses now languid, teasing whispers, a prelude to the end.
Jonas nearly collapsed when Derek pulled away. He managed to stay on his feet but shivered at the chill air that whispered between their parted bodies. The heat generated by their closeness abated swiftly, leaving Jonas feeling bereft and abandoned. Yet, the urgency of his arousal lingered, his cock now painfully hard.
He blinked and shook his addled head, watching Derek cross the room while rolling down his sleeves. While Jonas stood there dumbfounded, Derek shrugged into his coat and adjusted his cravat. Within seconds he was the picture of a presentable gentleman again, save for the heat turning his eyes to hot coals. They burned straight through Jonas when Derek looked at him again, a soft, teasing smile playing about his lips.
“Good night, Jo.”
Here Jonas stood, hard and yearning, lips tingling and swollen, hands shaking from how badly he wanted to bend Derek over the nearest piece of furniture before divesting him of his breeches. Meanwhile, Derek looked as if he were ready to step into any London ballroom, as cool and unaffected as ever.
“Is that all?” he blurted before Derek could leave, too dumbfounded to question the wisdom of his words. “That was what you wished to claim as your prize?”
Derek flashed a knowing grin at Jonas, his laugh like the slow trickle of warm honey. “For now. Worry not, dear Jo. There will be other opportunities for me to claim further spoils.”
Without awaiting a response or even a look back, Derek left, the click of the door resounding like a gunshot in the silent room. Jonas glanced up and caught his reflection in a gilt mirror, ashamed of what he saw. He looked positively wild, his hair tousled beyond repair and his lips reddened and puffy from Derek’s kiss. His cravat sat askew, and the buttons of his waistcoat had been undone, leaving his shirt exposed. Funny, he could not remember Derek unbuttoning the garment, but the evidence was all too clear.
“Damn and blast him,” Jonas growled, snatching up his coat and yanking it on. He had become so undone that he hadn’t grasped the extent of what was happening until it was over. Had Derek pressed for further liberties, Jonas might be naked on a whore’s bed, spread and vulnerable. He clenched his teeth and willed his rushing blood away from his cock.
He had lost more than one game tonight; that much was clear. Derek had gained the upper hand, setting Jonas off guard from the moment he had arrived at Perdition. But it would not happen this way again. Jonas would come into the next round with a clearer head and a renewed will. One small setback did not equal failure. The next time Jonas sat across a table from Derek with a deck of cards between them he would not lose. He would not put himself and the people he loved at risk as he had so selfishly done in his youth. He would not fall prey to his baser instincts.
Derek lifteda champagne glass to his lips while glancing about the crowded ballroom. Disappointment sank his heart into his gut when he did not find Jonas’ towering, dark head above the others in the crowd. Of course, he had only been here for a quarter hour and the soirée had yet to reached full swing. His original plan had been to escort Julia to the ball, with her mother as a chaperone. However, he had received a note this afternoon from his would-be fiancée, informing him that Jonas had waylaid their plans.Hewould act as both chaperone and escort for Julia, likely in an attempt to force some distance between them. Derek had chuckled upon reading Julia’s note. Jonas was playing right into his hands, the adorable fool.
Jonas was a rare sight attonballs, much like Derek had been several months ago. But ensuring that Jonas knew about his courtship of Julia meant being seen with her in public as often as possible. In truth, Derek had spent most of his time at these parties searching for Jonas, hoping for even the slightest glimpse of his former lover. Tonight, Derek would have his wish, but hoped for more than the opportunity to lay eyes on Jonas. Insinuating that he would marry Julia was not enough. Jonas needed to see the possibility of the union for himself, to fully understand what was at stake. What better way to accomplish that than to lavish Julia with attention in front of theton;dancing with her, bringing her lemonade, promenading about the room to show her off like the jewel of beauty she was.
It would not be easy. Now that he had tasted Jonas’ lips again, Derek had lost a bit of his resolve. Before last night, Derek had not kissed anyone in seven long years. Acts of carnal pleasure were never off-limits for him, as proven by the string of anonymous, faceless lovers he’d had in the recent past. But some things were far too intimate to share with someone who only joined with him for the purpose of physical release. Even the pretty-faced Giles had inspired no affection beyond friendship. Their fucking had always been fast, hard, and fleeting, a morsel of sustenance for a starving man. Derek had always longed for more, but he only ever wanted it with Jonas. If he could not kiss Jonas, hold Jonas, whisper his secret longings to Jonas in the dark, then he would do those things with no one else.
Derek’s lips lingered on the edge of his champagne glass as he recalled the brief kiss. Derek had expected Jonas to balk at his defeat at vingt-et-un, but he should have known better. Jonas would not have defaulted on their agreement no matter how distasteful his loss might be.
But then … it had not been distasteful for either of them. Derek knew Jonas well. His former lover had resisted at first, not wanting to respond to Derek’s kiss. Derek had felt it in the stiffness in Jonas’ body, the unmoving listlessness of his lips. Disappointment had nearly claimed him, discouraged as he had been by Jonas’ lack of response. Having earned this pleasure fairly, Derek had been loath to end the kiss and cheat himself out of something he had longed for. So, he had pushed matters further and with nothing more than the touch of Derek’s hands, Jonas had turned into a feral storm of potent desire and need.
The kiss had changed from an awkward dance performed by partners who had forgotten the steps, to a skilled waltz of lips and tongues and breaths between practiced, accomplished dancers. Derek had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be on the other end of Jonas’ passion. His honorable, reserved Jonas, who was so restrained in other aspects of his life but became a swirling tempest of lust when aroused. Jonas had taken control of the kiss, cupping Derek’s face and tilting his head, thrusting his tongue deep.
Derek gulped down what was left of his champagne and handed the glass off to a passing footman. He chose not to have another, wanting to be clear-headed when he finally encountered Jonas. The kiss had made him eager for more, and anxious to push for their second game. He had pushed things as far as he’d dared with that kiss, needing to test the waters and discover if Jonas still wanted him, even just a little bit. Now that Derek knew passion had not died between them, he was more anxious than ever to have this entire matter done with. He was tired of waiting and wanting, despairing that he might never be happy again. He now knew what was possible. There would be no turning back now.
At last, he spotted Julia and Jonas at the entrance to the ballroom. They had just arrived and were greeting their host and hostess, drawing the gazes of a few curious guests. Julia was resplendent in a white evening gown kissed with silvery trim, her hair arranged in soft curls. Jonas was delicious in a black evening kit and stark white linen, his hair neatly brushed back from his handsome face. Derek’s fingers twitched at his side with the urge to take that lovely face in his hands and kiss it all over. They longed to do other things as well. Forbidden things. Wicked things.
Murmurs swept through the crowd as word began to spread that Miss Julia Thacker had arrived, and several pairs of eyes flew from her to land on Derek. Speculation over their courtship had become fodder for drawing room gossip, and their appearance anywhere near each other set off a firestorm of reactions. The entiretonseemed to wonder whether the infamous Derek Dryden, known rake and debauchee, intended to take Miss Thacker to wife. The alternative would prove far more entertaining should it turn out that the rakish Derek had only been toying with the young, inexperienced ingénue. Such widespread speculation had brought Jonas back to London, so Derek was willing to endure it for that reason alone.
Squaring his shoulders, Derek began weaving through the crowd. Curious stares followed him, but Derek ignored them in favor of his prey. Jonas noticed his approach first, a black scowl tightening the corners of his mouth. Derek grinned, ignoring the heated gaze of Jonas which clearly warned him to turn around and walk in the other direction.
