A Gentleman's Wager Read Free

over his head, stood and removed his breeches.
    Bella blinked then gaped at his bare bottom. A warm glow of desire washed over her as her breath caught. Once she’d recovered from the shock, she realised that not only was he wealthy and fashionable, he was also attractive, something of a rare combination. Mostly, men of any standing or taste seemed unaccountably saddled with gout or else had two chins or none at all. Not so Lucerne Marlinscar: he was by comparison touched with angelic features, though undoubtedly far from angelic by nature.
    Lucerne dropped into the river.
    While he dipped below the water, Bella wriggled a little closer, eager for a better view. Despite the niggling doubts in her head about invading his privacy, her response was one of rapt fascination. His lack of modesty delighted her. Here was a man who wasn’t afraid of his body, who paid no heed to convention.
    Deep inside her, the spark of her thwarted orgasm rekindled. Moisture welled between her thighs, and she clamped her legs together. However, instead of reducing her need, the strain only fuelled it. She closed her eyes and could almost feel him beneath her fingertips: hot to the touch, his body heat great enough to evaporate the gleaming beads of moisture left from his swim. His skin was silky smooth, soft against her own. She gasped in anticipation and opened her eyes.
    Lucerne looked up, straight ahead to where she lay. A flicker of ice passed through his deep-blue eyes. Convinced she’d been seen, Bella shuffled backwards while her stomach did a triple jump. She lay still for what felt like eternity.
    He had seen her, hadn’t he?
    It was time she went, Bella realised, coming to her senses. He obviously hadn’t seen her. Reluctantly, for she was still drawn to him, she stood and began to dust herself off. A few too many twigs and her brother Joshua would ask questions. She was all ready to sneak away and force a path through the rhododendrons when a splash turned her head back to the water.
    Lucerne emerged from the stream, glittering like the morning dew on the grass. Upright and completely naked before her, he paused to tilt his head to the sun, and run his hands through his tangled hair.
    Oh, yes! Oh, my!
    Bella had to fight the crazy urge to undress and join him. All thoughts of departing vanished from her head. Mesmerised, she watched the water trickle down his body. His front was every bit as pleasing as his bottom had been. Long-limbed and lean, lightly muscled across the chest, hairless except for a thin golden line that trailed down from his navel to his groin, he was like the statue of David, and everything Bella admired most.
    Her focus narrowed down to one silvered droplet. She followed its winding downward journey as it traversed his abdomen, snaked across his hipbone and finally came to rest on his thigh. Bella stood open-mouthed, frozen like the statues of the fauns, but feeling unbearably hot. She hardly dared look, too terrified she’d be unable to contain a gasp of delight, but she was powerless to stop herself. Her gaze shifted slowly sideways from where the droplet rested to the dangling weight of his manhood, although dangling wasn’t quite what it was doing. The contrasting temperatures of the lazy afternoon sun and the cold water had done more than wash the toils of the day away. He stood glowing and half-erect.
    Apparently unaware of or unconcerned by his condition, Lucerne waded along the bank through the thick grass. Bella followed behind the treeline, drawn to him by an invisible thread. A few paces on he settled among the rushes and disappeared from sight.
    ‘No! No, no, no!’
    Bella looked around in frustration, seeking a vantage point. To her right stood a gnarled yew tree, with comfortable lower branches in which she could perch. She scrambled into its boughs with her skirts hitched to her knees, grazing her shins on the way up.
    The view was perfect.
    Lucerne lay sprawled out with his eyes closed, letting