Free Lover Be Mine: A Legendary Lovers Novel by Nicole Jordan Page B

parlor door a short while later.
     Desire came rushing back to tighten his loins and thrum in his blood. She looked incredibly
     lovely in a morning gown of pale green muslin, her dark hair spilling down around
     her shoulders in a riot of curls. He could envision those long, silky coils wrapped
     around him as their bodies writhed together. At the erotic image, hunger knifed through
     Jack, sharp and insistent.
    Her deep blue eyes held an unmistakable flash of pleasure at seeing him, as well as
     wariness and a hint of suspicion. “My Aunt Eunice says you wrangled an invitation
     from her to join her house party along with your cousin, Lady Skye. Yesterday you
     claimed you were not set on stirring up mischief, but why else would you insist on
     attending if not to make trouble for me?”
    “Because I mean to court you. I have your aunt’s blessing, by the way.”
    Sophie’s brow creased. “You actually cajoled my aunt into aiding your courtship? I
     am all astonishment. What did you do, cast a spell on her?”
    “I did my best to enchant her.”
    She laughed unwillingly, then shook her head in exasperation. “You are truly unbelievable.
     I always heard you were a bold rogue, and now this.…”
    “I told you, I don’t intend to skulk in the shadows,” Jack contended as he moved to
     stand before her.
    “Well, you cannot court me in public. My father would be livid. And in any case, you
     don’t want to marry me.”
    “Actually, I believe I might.”
    She looked startled. Her lush mouth parted as she stared up at him in shock.
    In truth, Jack had surprised himself by joining the lists for her hand. His reasons
     for pursuing Sophie were innate and intuitive rather than overtly comprehensible,
     but it felt right.
    “You have a vexing habit of rendering me speechless,” she muttered after a moment.
     “I still think you are up to no good.”
    “I assure you my motives are entirely pure,” Jack retorted. “I wouldn’t think of wooing
     you if you actually loved Dunmore. It wouldn’t be honorable.”
    “Oh, now you are concerned with honor?”
    He grinned. “Occasionally the concept crosses my mind.”
    He took a step closer to Sophie. “Can you deny wanting to know if we are a match?”
    Her lengthy hesitation spoke volumes. “No … but my father would never permit me to
     marry you.”
    The prospect of betraying her parents troubled her greatly, Jack knew. “Then I will
     have to woo your father as well as you. Attending your aunt’s gathering will give
     me time to soften his animosity. And who knows? Perhaps we can even find a way to
     end the squabble between our families.”
    Sophie frowned. “It is hardly a squabble. I told you how much the title means to him.”
    “So you did,” Jack said more soberly.
    “Then why won’t you abandon this futile quest?”
    Reaching up, he pressed his fingers to her lips. “Because the stakes are too high.
     I am asking you to trust me, Sophie.… Will you do that much?”
    The look that crossed her lovely features was one of hope, of wistful yearning. Then
     as she gazed up at him, sexual awareness suddenly joined the other expressive emotions
     in her beautiful eyes.
    As his thumb stroked her lower lip, Sophie went still. Jack stepped even closer, breathing
     in her sweet scent, feeling the heat of arousal rising inside him. She could feel
     it too, he knew.
    Desire shimmered between them, alive and palpable. And yet there was more to it than
     simple physical hunger. It was as if a powerful rush of need linked them together.
     A bond, a connection, of tenderness, of intimacy.
    A visible shiver ran down her spine, and Sophie shut her eyes for a moment, as if
     fighting herself.
    Jack was fighting against the same craving. He badly wanted to take her in his arms
     and kiss her final resistance away. Even so, this was not the time or place. He would
     have his chance in two more days, he promised himself.
    Reluctantly, he exhaled the breath that had