A Gentleman's Wager Read Free Page A

the sun dry his skin. One hand was combing through his short hair, while the other travelled an erotic, unhesitant path down his body, over his chest and across the flat plane of his stomach to his groin, where a sizeable erection lay. His penis, pale and perfect, splashed with blue veins, curved slightly to the left. The tip, to which he pressed a finger, was flushed deep plum.
    Bella’s mouth watered. Her body hungered for him. Fascinated by every movement and eager for more revelations, she watched him touch himself. His hand worked while he writhed luxuriously against the grass as if it were soft silk. His handsome face twitched with longing. Soon his movements became more focused.
    Bella stifled her desire to go to him by biting her lip. Unconsciously she rocked herself back and forth against the branch. To touch his pale skin, tangle her fingers in the knots of his hair, were her only thoughts. Lucerne was everything. Not even the wren chirping above her head caught her attention. She wanted to come with him, but her balance was too precarious.
    Lucerne reached climax with a deep groan, and painted a sticky fountain over the nearby grass. In the afterglow, his hands came back to his head and he relaxed, letting his erection slowly fade. He turned his head to one side and opened his eyes.
    ‘What in hell?’ Lucerne jerked upright, his gaze fixed on Bella perched in the tree.
    Panicked, Bella came crashing down. Regaining her wits faster than him, she dashed from the underlying bush while he stared after her dumbfounded.
    ‘Jesus! Hellfire and damnation!’ she cursed. In a straight race, he would easily catch her, and that could only mean trouble. Her only hope was to weave a path through the tangled web of rhododendrons to the drive. It was unlikely that he knew the grounds as well as her.
    Back on the main path, Bella sprinted down the final stretch of canopied pathway, her thighs chafing badly to remind her of the earlier race. Only when she was safely through the gates did she stop running.
    She held on to the wrought iron, panting, her breath dry and heavy in her lungs. At the far end of the avenue, having given up his pursuit, Lucerne Marlinscar watched her.
    Bella turned her back on him and walked away.

2
    ‘LOUISA!’ BELLA SCREAMED and ran towards her friend, her feet crunching noisily on the gravel drive of Wyndfell Grange.
    Louisa Stanley dropped her vanity case and opened her arms to greet her. ‘Bella,’ she said. ‘I’m so glad I’m here. The coach was stifling and I had to sit opposite the same gouty reverend the whole way here.’
    Bella grimaced sympathetically. ‘Oh dear,’ she said, then clasped Louisa in a bear hug. It was two years since they’d last seen each other and Bella had been looking forward to having her friend to stay for the winter. Louisa gasped, and her warm breath buffeted Bella’s cheek. ‘No exciting adventures with ghosts or highwaymen to share, then?’ Bella’s gaze flickered eagerly over her friend’s pale face but Louisa shook her head.
    ‘Um, no. Afraid not.’
    Unchecked by the admission, Bella’s smile grew wider as Louisa’s trunk was lifted from the carriage. ‘Never mind. You’re here now and I’ve loads to tell you. Lauwine is occupied again. Can you believe it?’ She gave a small laugh. ‘Viscount Marlinscar has taken residence and, oh, God–’ Her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘–Joshua’s invited him and a friend of his to lunch tomorrow. They called yesterday to formally introduce themselves, but I was out visiting Mrs Castleton.’
    ‘Why the whisper?’
    Bella shook her head. ‘I’ll tell you upstairs. Come on.’ She snatched up Louisa’s vanity case and tugged her towards the front door.
    In the guest-room, Bella sank into the mattress of the old bed and fingered the heavy embroidered drapes as she watched Louisa unpack. Two years of life in the capital had greatly changed her friend. She’d always been delicate, but London had