Page 63 of Reforming the Rakish Marquess

“I should also take my leave,” he said.

He rose to depart, and she grabbed his hand. He was clearly upset, and she couldn’t let him leave without seeing what he was about.

“It isn’t what you think.”

He pulled his hand away. “You are on a first name basis with the man, and he seems quite friendly with you. You’re telling me that he isn’t interest in more than a polite conversation over tea?” His neck was red and flushed and noticed his hands formed tight fists while his jaw clenched.

Juliana laughed. She couldn’t help it. He had things so backwards and wrong. The silly man had no idea that she was completely and wholly in love with him, even if he was a jealous fool.

“What is so funny?” he asked, his expression showing no sign of finding anything about the situation amusing.

“Nate and Edward were in love.”

She paused and watched the realization wash over his face. He released the tension in his jaw and stared at the floor.

He closed his eyes, his face now red for a different reason. “My apologies, Juliana. Will you forgive my idiotic outburst?”

She grabbed his hand again, and he didn’t pull away this time. After a few moments, he finally looked at her and she saw what she believed was love and affection in his eyes.

She touched his cheek with her other hand, and his hand covered hers.

“How could I not forgive the man I love?” She said the words because she knew he needed to hear them. He had gone through too much of his life not knowing love, and it was time for that to change.

“What? What did you say?” he asked, his voice soft, and staring at her with an intensity that heated her entire body before he cupped her cheek with his hand.

She pressed up on her toes and brushed her lips against his.

“Make love to me, Jude.”

Chapter Twenty

His entire body hummed, and his brain attempted to process the words she had spoken. She loved him. Him. He had earned the love of the one woman in the entire world whom he wasn’t sure if he could fathom living a life without.

He pulled her against him and kissed her with abandon in the middle of her drawing room. Scooping her into his arms, he didn’t break the kiss until he reached the stairs. He carried her up each step with her arms wrapped around his neck, her eyelids heavy from desire.

Once they reached her chamber, he kicked the door closed behind them and set her on the bed. He ventured back and locked the door, not taking any chances that they’d be interrupted.

“Can you help me with the buttons on this dress?” Juliana asked. She had shifted to stand, positioning her back to him and glancing at him over her shoulder.

She was a temptress. His temptress. He rushed back to her and worked at the blasted buttons that stood in the way of him and her naked form. His cock fought harder against his breeches with each button he unfastened.

He pushed the dress off of her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He sent silent thanks that she wasn’t wearing stays. Spinning her to face him, he kissed her fervently. Their tongues danced with a passion unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Breaking their kiss for only a moment, he pulled her chemise over her head and tossed it to the floor before taking her lips again.

He plunged his fingers into her hair, and a few pins fell to the floor.

“Juliana,” he whispered against her lips.

She reached for her hair to remove the remaining pins, and he took the opportunity to rid himself of his jackets and shirt. She stepped out of her slippers, leaving them in the center of her dress on the floor.

“You are breathtaking,” he whispered, fighting back a rush of emotion.

Given it was still daylight outside, he could see the blush that reached her cheeks and neck, which only made him desire her more. She stood before him wearing nothing but her stockings up over her knees, her long tresses hugging her shoulders, and biting her bottom lip. He knew at that moment that he couldn’t live without her by his side for the rest of their lives.

Jude closed the distance between them and took her in his arms, kissing her with a hunger unlike anything he had ever experienced. He had needed nothing or no one more than he needed her at that moment.

He edged her back against a bedpost. Taking her hands in his, raised them over her head and held her wrists together against the post with a single hand so that he could explore her body with his free one. He cupped her breast, running the tip of his thumb across her tight bud. Breaking their kiss, he released her hands, and she gripped the bedpost while he dipped his head to take her nipple into his mouth.