as man and wife.»
«I can’t let you go. I’m sorry, but I can’t. The thought of lying beneath the likes of Lord Gore…» Revulsion rippled visibly through Jessica’s body.
«Not all lords are brutal sots.»
She simply shut her eyes and shook her head. Candlelight twisted and ran through her hair like threads of fire. Wolfe’s fingertips traced one of the long locks so softly that Jessica didn’t feel his touch.
«There are young, handsome, decent lords in Britain,» Wolfe said, lifting his hand. «I’ll see that Lady Victoria finds one for you.»
«I would sooner marry the wind than suffer a man’s touch.»
«And ahalfbreed is somehow not quite a man, is that it?» Wolfe asked harshly.
Her eyes flew open in astonishment. «I never said that or anything like it!»
«Didn’t you?» Wolfe leaned over, flattening his hands on either side of Jessica’s body. «First you ask me to touch you, then you say you’ll never suffer a man’stouch.AmI not a man?»
«But you are so much more than other men,» she whispered. With trembling fingertips she traced the black line of Wolfe’s eyebrows and the fierce brackets on either side of his mouth. «So much more…»
Wolfe couldn’t prevent the primitive shiver of response that went through him at Jessica’s words, at her touch, at the emotion in her eyes.
«Jessi,» he breathed, shaken. He turned his head and kissed her fingertips, then spoke before he could think better of it. «There are ways of touching that will give you intense pleasure, yet leave you still a virgin. Do you understand me?»
Slowly, she shook her head, watching him with luminous eyes.
«I can give you ecstasy without taking your maidenhead,» Wolfe said simply.
Jessica’s eyes widened.
He smiled. «Oh, elf, the look on your face…»
«Is such a thing possible?» she asked, ignoring the heat creeping up her cheeks.
«Quite possible. There will be no pain for you, no risk of pregnancy. You will be a virgin still.»
«How can that be?»
Wolfe bent down and brushed his lips against Jessica’s ear. «I’ll show you, but you’ll have to help me.»
«How?»
«I’ll show you that, too.»
13
Very gently, Wolfe’s fingers slid into the wild, silky depths of Jessica’s hair. He rubbed her scalp slowly.
«You have wonderful hands,» she said, sighing. «They quite unravel me.»
Smiling, Wolfe traced the rim of Jessica’s ear with his tongue. She made a startled sound as sensations coursed through her, leaving a trail ofgoosebumps on her arms.
«Such a tiny cry,» he said. «Did I frighten you?»
Jessica shook her head and watched him with heavy-lidded eyes. The scent of roses curled up from her unbound hair. Wolfe’s nostrils flared as he took in the scent.
«Tell me how it made you feel,» he murmured.
«Is that how you want me to help you?»
«That’s one way.»
«You made me feel shivery and yet very still at the same time,» Jessica said, watching Wolfe. «I think a rosebud must feel that way at the first touch of the sun.»
Wolfe’s breath came out in a silent rush as he fought for control. «You humble me, Jessi.»
She would have asked why, but the tip of Wolfe’s tongue was tracing her ear once more, drawing forth another delicate tremor of sensation. Her breath caught again.
«I didn’t know,» she said.
«What?» he murmured against her ear.
«How sensitive my ear was.» She sighed and stretched her neck, silently offering herself to his mouth. «And how good my Lord Wolfe’s tongue feels.»
His heartbeat paused, then deepened as sleek talons of need sank into his body. He nuzzled Jessica’s soft earlobe before he caught it very gently between his teeth. He heard her breath break, then unravel in a shivering sigh.
«And your Lord Wolfe’s teeth,» he whispered. «How do you like them?»
Jessica’s answer was to arch her neck while her hands pushed her long hair above her head, baring her neck and ear to his mouth. With a rather fierce smile, Wolfe accepted her offering. His tongue traced her ear once more, spiraling inward until she gasped at the warm penetration. He continued the rhythmic strokes until her voice broke over his name. Slowly he released her and lifted his head, enjoying the sight of her half-closed eyes and her hair fanned over the pillow.
«Is that all?» Jessica asked wistfully.
Laughing softly, Wolfe shook his head. «Where would you like to be kissed next?»
«Where else would it feel that good?»
«There are places where it will feel even better.»
Jessica’s eyes widened as she read the confidence in Wolfe. «Truly?»
«Oh yes.» Wolfe looked from her parted lips to the curves of her body beneath the covers. «But you’ll have to keep helping me.»
«Does that mean I get to bite your ear?»
The combination of mischief and innocent passion in Jessica’s voice made Wolfe laugh even as he felt the vital hardening of his body.
«It means I want you to keep telling me how it feels when I touch you,» Wolfe said.
«I’d rather bite your ear.»
He laughed, delighted by the sultry teasing in her eyes. «Not yet, Jessi. It would distract me.»
«Distraction? Is that what you call those odd butterfly shivers in the pit of my stomach?»
«In a way. Those shivers are the beginning of passion, and passion is damned distracting.»
Jessica hesitated, giving Wolfe a look through lowered eyelashes. «That’s what I was afraid of. Being passionate.»
«Are you still afraid?»
«Not with you.»
Wolfe kissed her gently. «Good, because I suspect I’ve never known a more passionate woman, but exploring your passion will require physical intimacy. Not consummation. Just…intimacy. That kind of intimacy disgusted you before.»
«Do you mean…» Jessica flushed and swallowed. «After you bathed me, when you…?»
«Yes. When I put my hand between your legs.»
Jessica covered her flaming cheeks with her palms. «Dear God, Wolfe. I don’t know if I can speak of such things.»
«Too disgusting?» he asked neutrally.
She shook her head.
«Talk to me, Jessi. The last thing I want to do is frighten or repel you.»
«How about embarrassing me?» she muttered.
«I like that idea.» Wolfe looked at the curves of her body beneath the fur cover. «I’ll keep it in mind. Now talk to me.»
«Talk?» Jessica asked in disbelief. «I can’t even think at the thought of you touching me like that. I keep remembering how I accidentally caught your hand between my legs in the bath and your skin felt so much nicer than the sponge, but remembering makes me shiver and turns my heart upside down and I can’t breathe for the velvet butterflies filling me and you’re asking me to carry on a conversation as though we’re in Lord Robert’s
