Chapter 23

London, 1820…

"I have a question," Elizabeth murmured, rolling onto her side to face Jason, who was lying beside her, the bowl of fruit resting on his stomach.

She'd hoped when they came to bed it hadwould be been to do other things besides eat, and they'd coey came quite close;, tumbling around in the sheets, their hands roaming over one another in the dark, but when she'd stiffened, felt the familiar, burning pain, Jason pulled back, worried about hurting her again. Before she could protest, he was on her again, his mouth moving over her body, moving lower and lower until he did things with his mouth that she didn't know was possible. It left her so exhausted that she thought she'd melt into the mattress, and she was secretly awaiting her chance to return his sentiments.

Of course, she had no idea what to do exactly, but something told her Jason Morgan was the type of man who had no problem giving instructions.

"Hmm?" he asked, easing the bowl off his stomach as he rolled to face her.

"Why don't I remember you?" she asked seriously, smiling tiredly when he held out a slice of peach, tracing her lips before sliding it into her mouth.

"You don't?" he asked, arching an eyebrow, his mouth torn between a grin and a frown.

"Should I?" she asked, chewing slowly, biding her time. "Your accident – it would have been what – ten years ago?"

"Ten years and four months," he answered quietly, his eyes darkening. They looked almost menacing in the candlelight that filled the room, but she knew differently, and the fiery gaze only drew her closer to him.

"I was young then," she blushed, dropping her gaze to the sheets. She hadn't thought about how much older he was, how she was practically a child when he'd been in her home. "Only twelve or thirteen."

"You grew out of your awkward phase," he teased, gently shoving her curls from her face.

"Am I supposed to remember you?" she asked, feeling embarrassed. She just didn't know how she could not recall his face.

He shrugged, poking around in the bowl. "You spent the summer at your grandmother's. If I remember correctly, she was ill. You tended to her for a few months and then came home. I left a week or so after your return, so…" He sighed, biting into a slicebite of peach and wiping his chin with the back of his hand. "I thought you would. You're so keen with details."

"We met," she said in disbelief, nibbling her lip. She could see in his eyes that he wanted her to remember, and she worried that there was something more, something she was missing.

"Briefly," he nodded, grinning as he chewed. "Honestly, from the way you looked at me the first night I came, I thought you might have remembered."

"I'm afraid I've forgotten," she admitted sadly, closing her eyes as she tried to remember.

That summer had been so long, so dreadful with her sick grandmother and being away from her father for so long. She missed him every day, but knew she had to stay. She still felt guilty with how she waited for her grandmother's death, anxious to return to the city, but her grandmother lived well into the following summer, and one more after. It was as if she wasere trying to repay Elizabeth for all those awful thoughts she had.

"It's nothing to feel bad about," he said, cupping her cheek in his hand and stroking it with his thumb.

"Jason," she sighed, her eyes fluttering open, "you're hardly forgettable." She laughed at her confession and leaned into his palm. "I'll remember. I know I will. It's the least I can do for…" She shrugged, not wanting to bring up everything he had told her in the kitchen. They weren't focusing on her secrets, so it didn't seem fair to bring up his.

"What?" he pressed, dropping his hand to the curve of her neck and gently running his hand down her arm. He linked their fingers together and lifted her hand to his mouth, pressing her lips to his skin.

"I feel as though I should remember," she murmured, smiling when he kissed her hand again. "You were so open with me." Nibbling her lip, she lifted her eyes to his. "I just hope this doesn't jeopardize my chances of that happening again."

"It's difficult for me to admit what happened then – to explain how ugly I was," he replied, his lips tightening in a frown. "But – well, there shouldn't be any secrets between us, Elizabeth."

"You trust me," she said softly, squeezing his hand.

"How could I not?" he asked seriously. "I only wish to return the same sentiments you've given me. I have a much harder time letting go, I'm afraid."

"Perhaps all you need is a little encouragement," she whispered, inching closer to him so that the only thing separatinged them was the bowl of fruit. Pulling her hands from his, she grabbed a slice of peach from the bowl and brought it to his lips. "I wish…" His lips curved in a smile as she traced them with the tip of the slice. "You could be as free as you make me feel."

"That's a different kind of freedom," he said slyly, his eyes darkening.

"It may be the best kind," she replied, slipping the fruit into his mouth. She gasped in surprised when he nipped at her finger, his tongue snaking out to lick the tip of it. "You wouldn't allow such." She traced his tender mouth again, her fingertips making their way down the side of his face, his neck, and coming to rest on his chest. "I know it sounds silly, but I only want you to give me yourself the same way I did you."

"I think you're trying to seduce me," he rasped, swallowing hard. He sucked in a breath when her hand moved to his side, her palm smoothing across his hip until she reached his bare thigh.

"You might like it." She eased herself up off the bed and gently tugged the cover away. "If you'll give it a chance."

"Elizabeth, I wish you would wait. You're already sore-"

"The pain is worth the pleasure," she interrupted, fighting a grimace as she moved to push him onto his back and straddle him. Grinning, she wiggled her hips. "See? It's not as bad as you think."

"No, it's not," he murmured approvingly, his eyes sweeping over her delicate form. Normally, a gaze like that would have made her blush and look away, but this time it reignited the flame that burned low in her belly.

His hands slid up her thighs, squeezing gently as she pressed herself into him, gasping when she felt him slowly harden beneath her. "Does this mean you'll let me have my way with you?"

"Elizabeth," he growled, his back arching as her hands pressed into his chest, molding his skin with just the right amount of roughness beneath her palms.

"I only want to make you feel as good as you made me," she whispered, running her hands up to his shoulders to brace herself as she leaned forward. Her silky curls tickled his skin as she moved over him. "And I think I'd like you to be loud too."

His eyes widened and she took his mouth in hers before he could reply, kissing him slowly, her hips bucking against his when he sank his teeth into her lip. "Uh-uh," she scolded, pulling her mouth away from his.

Shrugging, he lifted his hands behind his head and laced his fingers together. "If that's how you want it, Elizabeth Morgan," he said roughly, "then I'm yours."

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her mouth to his, only this time the kiss was rougher, harder, and when she slid her teeth across his lips, he let out a throaty growl that caused her to moan. "Louder," she murmured, laughing softly against his mouth when he groaned again. She nuzzled his face with her cheek, her lips blazingtracing a lazy trail to his ear where she traced the lobe with her tongue, trying to remember his movements, the way he touched her, because surely that was how he wanted to be touched too. "Jason…"

"Hmmm?" he mumbled, gasping when she nipped his earlobe, her breath hot against the shell of his ear.

"Louder," she teased, pressing her hips into his, and chuckling when he bucked off the bed, pushing himself against her. He felt harder than she remembered, warmer, and she fought the instant desire to feel him immediately, to experience the same tightness, the hot friction she'd felt before. "I plan on taking my time."

"I have no intention of stopping you," he whispered, panting softly.

"Do you think I'd let you?" she challenged, tracing an intricate path with the tip of her tongue. She lapped at the curve of his neck, suckled at his fiery skin, her mouth inching its way to his chest. "Mmmm." She rubbed her cheek against his skin, reveling in the smoothness of his muscles. Pressing her lips against his skin, she gasped, surprised by how warm his chest was to her mouth, and the heat of her breath caused him to let out another throaty groan.

She lifted her head to look at him, watched the way his mouth curved in a smile as she caressed him, how his lips parted slightly when she kneaded his muscles in her hands. Grinning, she lowered her lips back to his chest, her tongue kissing him lazily, moving over his nipple, as she and raked ing her teeth over the hardened tippeaked. He swore, the most delicious of dirty words she ever heard, and she repeated her movements, her stomach tightening when her name came raggedly from his lips.

Stiffening, she started to pull away when a hand came from behind his head, and she was sure that he was through with letting her have her funway with him. Instead he smoothed his hand over her head, tangling his finger in heris curls, and lowering her face back to his chest. She took his cue and returned to her slow assault, carefully moving down his chest when he gently pushed her, his fingers tightening in her hair.

Her tongue snaked over his belly button, her hands slipping down his sides to rest on his thighs. "Elizabeth," he groaned loudly, his hips lifting from the bed as her breasts brushed against him, her mouth moving lower and lower. She hesitated briefly as she loomed over him, swallowing hard when he twitched, her stomach tightening.

Shaking her head, she ducked her head, pressing a delicate kiss to the tip of his length as she brought a hand up to wrap around it. He groaned again, twitching in her hand as she squeezed, stroking him in her warm palm. He was warmer than she remember, like crushed velvet, and she couldn't help but admit that it all still terrified her– but in a very exciting way.

"Elizabeth," he repeated, his fingers still tangled in her curls. "You don't have to…" He trailed off as he watched her lick her lips, her plump lips parting before lowering her mouth over him. He swore again, his hips bucking from the mattress. Taking her time, she moved her mouth over him, reveling in how smooth he felt against her tongue, how sweet he tasted.

"Yes, like that," he hissed, tugging her hair as she swirled her tongue around him. She grew bolder and bolder, tightening her lips as she moved up and down, holding him tightly in her fist. "Elizabeth…" Her stomached tightened when he said her name, and she knew he was almost to the delirious peak that he had forced her over, and that she had brought him there. "I can't…"

"Jason!" she cried out, as he tenderly pulled her away and flipped her onto her back, his mouth taking hers before she could stop him. She tasted him in heris mouth, groaning at how he seemed to taste even sweeter. She was immediately caught up in his hands and mouth as they moved over her. Panting, she tossed her head to the side to catch her breath, her chest heaving. "You weren't supposed to-"

"Pleasure works both ways," he interrupted, resting his elbow beside her head, his other stretching across the mattress. His hand returned with a piece of fruit, and she looked over to see that he'd knocked the bowl over when he turned her onto her back. "It's not just give and take." He pressed the peach to her mouthlip, pinching the slice so that juice trickled across her lips. "It's give and give. Together."

His lips crushed hers, their tongues fighting one another to taste the sweet fruit, battling to please one another. She closed her eyes as his hands skimmed over her, fisting her own in his hair as his mouth moved over her chest. His mouth was so warm, so wet against her, and she knew there were things that would feel better than this.

She was vaguely aware of him shifting over her, and when she opened her eyes again, she found him gazing at her with a devious glint in his eye. "I didn't think this could be any sweeter," he murmured, tracing the slope of her breast with the end of the peach slice. "That you could taste any better." Grinning, he squeezed the slice between his fingers, and she gasped as the warm, sticky juice spilled over her, his head dipping immediately to lick it away. "Mmmm."

His hands moved over her thighs, shoving them further apart on the bed. "Actually," he whispered roughly, "this may be the best peach I've ever had."

Her eyes shot open when she felt the smooth curve of another slice press against her – slide into her, and she knew it should have been wrong, dirty even, but she only wanted more and more. "Jason, please, I can't…" She trailed off as she watched him bring the slice to his lips and suck it slowly into his mouth. Grinning, he lowered his mouth to hers, and immediately, their mouths fought to taste. He won out when he pressed against her, slowly inching his way inside her. Lifting her hips from the bed, she slid him in further, pressing her eyes closed when she felt the familiar burning burst through her, like she was being spread from the inside out. "Oh, God…"

"Elizabeth, I-"

"No," she cried, digging her nails into the small of hiser back and doing her damnedest to lift herself so he would slide into her. Giving in, he collapsed against her, sank into her completely. She bit her lip, clenched her eyes shut, and waited for the pleasure to replace the pain, urging him on with her moans.

His hands stroked her thighs, easing them over his arms as he cupped her bottom, squeezing her gently before sliding them up to rest on her hips. Pleasure ripped through her when he pushed her legs up, his length pressing against all the right places, and soon it was only the sounds of their cries, each louder than the last, as if they were trying to out do one another, was all that filled the room.

She kept her eyes opened, watching the way his face slacked with each other throat, his shoulders slumping as every slow tremor built inside him. "Jason," she panted, her hands cupping his face as he thrust into her. "Op – open your eyes."

He growled in reply, his lashes fluttering open to reveal a deep, pool of blue, and that was the last thing she remembered seeing. His hand slid over her belly, his fingers pressed into her, forcing her over the peaek she'd wanted to cross with him, and there was nothing but sparks behind her eyes. She was still floating, still caught up in her release when he went over the edge, his forehead against hers as he raggedly whispered her name.

"No," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him when he started to roll away. Fortunately, he didn't fight her and collapsed against her, his body partly braced on his arms whichthat were on either side of her head. She snuggled against him and buried her face in his neck, desperately wanting to know if he felt like she did – if this was something he wanted forever.