Free Badcock by Debra Glass Page B

her hem and raced up the stairs. How dare he!
    She wanted to throw something. She wanted to cry. How could she ever go through with this marriage? She couldn’t bear the thought of that man doing to her the same things Jack had done.
    When she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and leaned against the wall of the dimly lit hallway. No one was still up. The house was deathly quiet. But even in the stillness of the silence, Sophia felt hopelessly trapped.
    Despite her circumstances, a shard of longing passed through her. What if Jack weren’t engaged? What if he wanted to marry her?
    She was merely being foolish. That would never happen. Why would a man give up an engagement to a countess for a minor viscount’s daughter?
    Forcing her feet to move again, she shuffled to her room. She dreaded ringing for her maid to come and undress her. The hour was so late and she hated to awaken Trixie , but Sophia saw no way to get out of her dress and corset without her.
    She twisted the knob and stole inside intent on tugging the bell pull.
    “Good evening,” a voice called from the shadows.
    Sophia gasped. Her hand flew to her heart. “Jack!” she cried. “What are—”
    He was across the room in an instant. “Hush,” he said as he crushed her in his arms.
    His mouth sought hers, his lips prying, tasting, nipping. Sophia melted, clinging to his shoulders as he kissed her. Was this a dream? If it was, she never wanted to awaken. Her heart soared only to come crumbling back down around her. She pushed at the hard wall of his chest, finally breaking free.
    “How did you get in here?” she asked breathlessly.
    A rakish smile played on his lips. “Evidently your father doesn’t pay his staff well enough. They are not immune to bribery.”
    “You’re awful,” she hissed, struggling to recall all the reasons she could not give in to her desires—to him. “Who do you think you are that you sneak into my very bedroom and…and—”
    “Strip you naked and fuck you?”
    At the seductive sound of his voice, her resolve wilted.
    “That’s it, love,” Jack told her, stepping closer so that he could gaze into her eyes. His thumb grazed the line of her jaw. “Allow me this.”
    She swallowed. Her body screamed at her to allow him anything he wanted. She couldn’t think. Everything that had happened tonight closed in on her. “W-why?” she managed to stammer.
    “Why?” he asked, unfastening her gown. “Because I can’t get you out of my thoughts. Because the idea of spending another minute without you naked and in my arms is unthinkable to me.”
    Her gown opened, revealing her corset and petticoat. She held her breath as the fine silk whispered down her shoulders. She made no move to stop him as he traced the lace-trimmed top edge of her corset with the tip of his finger. His eyes followed wherever he touched her. “Because I can’t let the sun rise before I taste your beautiful nipples or bury my cock in your luscious little—”
    “Stop,” she protested. She needed to distance herself. The scent of him, his heat, his voice all combined to intoxicate her. “You’re engaged.”
    “As are you,” he said, reaching behind her to deftly unlace her corset. The confining fabric discarded, he began untying the bow that held up her wide panniers.
    Sophia didn’t need to be reminded of her engagement. Not now. This was foolish and risky but she could no longer stop herself. Her panniers fell down her legs as Jack claimed her mouth again.
    Furiously, they pulled laces and tugged and unbuttoned until finally, Jack lifted her out of the pile of her clothes and carried her to the bed. Her body quivered as his naked form moved over her.
    “Just once,” he said. “Just let me sate this desire and I’ll pleasure you until the sun comes up, Sophia.”
    And then, before she could take her next breath, he was between her legs and inside her and Sophia thought she would die from the sheer heaven of completion. She buried