Sylvia Day: Pride and Pleasure

“There’s nothing like falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves,” he murmured. “I intend to lay a blanket on the sand and ravish you in the moonlight.”

“Jasper.” Eliza was scandalized…and intrigued. “Outdoors?”

“In sunlight, and in rain. On the beach, and beneath the trees. Also indoors, in every room in the house.”

Her smile was wry as he helped her up into their carriage. Melville and Regina were in a separate equipage behind them. Although the two claimed to be no more than friends, it was clear there was a connection between them. Eliza had initially been surprised to learn of their affection, until Regina explained that Melville had courted her long ago. In the end, he felt it would be best for her to marry a man who spent the majority of his time connected to the rest of the world, and Regina had assumed Melville simply didn’t love her. Eliza and Jasper’s delayed wedding provided the time and opportunity for the two sweethearts to reconnect. So far, their renewed relationship seemed highly promising.

“I don’t see how you expect to schedule all these hours of sexual congress,” Eliza said, as the carriage lurched into motion, “while attempting to make a success of a sugarcane plantation.”

“Is that a challenge, madam?”

“Could be…”

“There is a guesthouse. Melville and Lady Collingsworth will be no deterrent. With unhindered access to you, the possibilities are endless.”

Eliza smiled. “Melville intends to cultivate a variety of seeds while he’s with us, taking advantage of the warmer weather.”

The light in Jasper’s dark eyes was wicked. “I suspect it will be Lady Collingsworth he will be cultivating and tending.”

“You have a lascivious mind.”

“I do,” he purred. “But my claim is bolstered by the indefinable magic of the tropics that stirs a man’s blood.”

“Ah.” She nodded sagely. “Now your true intentions are revealed.”

He leaned back into the squab and watched her with slumberous eyes. “Didn’t I tell you the first day we met that seduction was my method of choice with you?”

“Yes. I’d forgotten.” She hadn’t, but in the weeks since they wed, she learned that teasing him led to delicious results.

“Shall I remind you?”

She licked her lower lip. “You are welcome to make the attempt.”

He moved quickly, grabbing her by the waist and dragging her over him. “Wifely satisfaction is a point of pride with me, Mrs. Bond.”

“I fear you may be too handsome for the task.”

“Oh?” Jasper grabbed fistfuls of her skirts. “Considering the shortness of the distance to the docks, that’s likely a boon.”

“In addition,” she went on, her voice growing husky, “it’s impossible to disguise the air about you which distinguishes you.”

“Pray tell me what that is.” He reached into the opening of her pantalettes and parted the lips of her sex. He found her slick and hot for him.

“You are a predator. A dangerous man.”

“Dangerously aroused,” he agreed. “And madly in love.”

She reached for the placket of his breeches and pressed her lips to his. “And mine.”

“Always.”