JMcNaught - Something Wonderful (17 page)

"I doubt that," Jordan said with certainty.

"Oh, but he would! He said I should love a noble man."

"He
told
you to love a nobleman?" Jordan repeated in disbelief.

"No, no. A
noble
man. Which you are."

Unaware that he already owned several, far more beautiful gold watches, Alexandra said, "I sent one of your footmen to my house and Penrose fetched the watch for him. Your grandmother said it was all right."

Jordan's hand closed over the watch. "Thank you" was all he said.

She had given him the two most precious things she had, Alexandra realized, her love and the gold watch. And all he had said each time was an uncomfortable "Thank you." Obviously, her gifts made him feel uneasy.

The awkward silence that occurs whenever someone realizes they've revealed too much about themselves fell over the coach.

Eventually the gentle rocking motion of the chaise, combined with the large hot meal she'd eaten earlier, made Alexandra drowsy. Despite the luxurious interior of the vehicle, however, she could find no comfortable way to sleep. She tried leaning her head against the side, but every time the coach gave a small lurch, her head banged against it and woke her up. Sitting up straight, she crossed her arms over her chest and tried leaning her head back against the squabs. The wheels hit a rut and her entire upper body slid sharply to the right. Bracing her hand on the seat, Alexandra levered herself upright.

Across from her, Jordan chuckled and patted the seat beside him. "I will be happy to offer my shoulder as a pillow, my lady."

Alexandra accepted the invitation with sleepy gratitude and shifted onto the seat beside him, but instead of merely offering his shoulder, Jordan lifted his arm and put it around her so that her head was cradled snugly in the curve of his arm and chest.
My lady
, Alex thought sleepily. How lovely that sounded when he said it. She was asleep almost instantly.

Twilight had fallen when she awoke to the horrifying realization that she was lying almost completely atop him. Sometime during her nap, Jordan had shifted their positions so that his back was against the side of the coach with his legs stretched diagonally across the seat Alexandra was lying on her side, wrapped in his arms, her legs tangled with his, her own arm curved around his waist.

Horrified that he might awaken and find her sprawled across him in this undignified fashion, Alexandra carefully lifted her cheek from his hard chest. Trying to think of some way to extricate herself without awakening him, she peered at him beneath her lashes. Sleep smoothed the harsh planes of his tanned face and softened the contours of his square jaw, she thought fondly. Seen like this, he looked much less forbidding, almost boyish, and… awake!

His eyes opened and he tipped his chin down, looking at her. Puzzlement registered on his features for a split second, as if he didn't quite recognize her, then he smiled—a deliciously warm, languid smile. "Did you sleep well?"

Alexandra, who had been too stricken to move, nodded and tried to lever herself up. His arms tightened, holding her. "Don't go," he whispered, and his heavy-lidded gaze dropped to her soft lips, lingering on her mouth for a long moment before he slowly lifted his eyes to her widened blue ones. "Stay here with me."

He wanted her to kiss him, Alexandra realized with mingled joy and apprehension—the invitation was there in those warm, compelling grey eyes. Shyly, Alexandra put her lips on his and felt his hand settle on the small of her back, stroking slowly upward, comforting her and encouraging her. His lips moved against hers, lightly exploring, inviting her to do the same, and when she began to follow his lead, his free hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers sliding tantalizingly against her nape while the other hand continued sensually stroking her back.

He kissed her endlessly, long drugging kisses that shook her to the core of her being and made her want more and more. His tongue traced the line between her lips, coaxing them to part for him, then it slipped between them, lightly exploring her mouth, then gently plunging and retreating, teasing and tormenting her, until Alexandra, feverish with the need to make
him
feel as
she
felt, touched her own tongue to his lips. The instant she did, the kiss exploded. He crushed her to him, drawing her tongue into his mouth and caressing it with his own. His other hand suddenly shifted, curving round her bottom, pulling her tightly to his hardened body, while his tongue began thrusting into her mouth and retreating again and again in some wildly exciting, forbidden rhythm that sent jolts of fierce pleasure rocketing through Alexandra's body.

Not until she felt his hand cupping her breast, then sliding inside her silk shirt, did she jerk free of the whirlpool of mindless pleasure where she was willingly drowning. And then it was surprise and guilt, rather than revulsion, that made her rear back.

Bracing her forearms against his chest, she tried to catch her breath, and then she raised her head, dragging her embarrassed gaze to his smoldering grey eyes.

"I've shocked you," he murmured huskily.

It was true, but Alexandra saw the amusement in his sultry eyes and stubbornly refused to admit it Accepting his unspoken challenge, she put her lips against his again, and this time when his tongue slid between them, her body automatically fitted itself closer to his. A muffled sound that was part groan, part laugh, escaped him, but when she would have pulled away, his arms tightened around her and his mouth became more insistent Alexandra surrendered to the heated demands of his mouth and hands, kissing him back with all the awakening desire flooding through her.

When he finally let her go, his breathing was almost as labored as hers. Lifting his hand, he rubbed his knuckles along her heated cheek. "So soft," he whispered. "So incredibly innocent."

Alexandra interpreted "innocent" to mean "naive" and jerked away from him in angry hurt. "I must be a dreadful bore for a man of your obvious sophistication."

His hands clamped her arms and hauled her right back. "That was a compliment," he retorted, his face only inches from hers, and the taut sound of his voice made her wonder a little wildly what he must be like when truly angry. Giving her a little shake, he clarified shortly. " 'Unspoiled—unsullied—without artifice or pretense,' do you understand?"

"Perfectly!" Alexandra flung back, reacting to his tone and not his words, and then the absurdity of it all made her burst out laughing. "Are we having a quarrel over how
nice
I am?"

Her irresistible smile doused his momentary exasperation and brought a reluctant answering smile to his eyes. "So it would seem," he softly replied and, with inner resignation, Jordan finally faced the fact that he could no longer pretend the insistent, throbbing desire he felt for her didn't exist. She laid her cheek back on his chest and he stared fixedly over her head, mentally reminding himself of all the logical reasons why he would be making a mistake if he took her to bed tonight:

She was young and naive and idealistic.

He was none of those things.

She wanted to give him her love.

All he wanted was her body.

She wanted to be loved by him.

The only "love" he believed in was

the kind made in bed.

She was infatuated with him.

He did not want to be burdened with an

infatuated child.

On the other hand,

She wanted him.

He wanted her.

His decision made, he tipped his chin down. "Alexandra?" When she lifted her face inquiringly, he said in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, "Do you know how babies are made?"

The unexpected question jolted a stunned, embarrassed laugh from her at the same time hot color washed over her cheeks. "Do—do we have to discuss this?"

His lips quirked with self-mockery. "Yesterday, I would have said there was no need. An hour ago, I would have said it. Now, I'm afraid we do."

"What made you change your mind?"

It was Jordan's turn to Took blank. "Our kissing," he said bluntly, after a pause.

"What has that to do with babies?"

Jordan leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed with exasperated amusement. "Somehow, I
knew
you were going to say that."

After studying his odd expression, Alexandra sat up and self-consciously straightened her clothing. Mary Ellen had tried to convince her two years ago that babies were made the same way puppies were made, but Alexandra's intelligent mind had rejected that piece of appalling nonsense. Human beings would never behave in such a way, she knew, and only someone as corkbrained as Mary Ellen would believe such an absurd thing. But then Mary Ellen also believed that if you turned your back on a rainbow, you'd have bad luck, and that fairies cavorted under mushrooms in the forest. Which was why Mary Ellen walked backward whenever it rained and refused to eat mushrooms.

Alexandra stole a sidewise look at her husband and decided to ask him a simple question about something which young girls were kept in ignorance of, but which she felt she was entitled to know. Her grandfather had oft said that ignorance was a disease for which questions were the only cure, and so, with bright, candid interest, she inquired, "How
are
babies made?" Visibly startled, Jordan turned and opened his mouth, as if he intended to speak, but for some reason no words came out. At first Alexandra was puzzled by his involuntary silence, but then understanding dawned. She shook her head and sighed with sympathy for their mutual plight. "
You
don't know either, do you?"

Jordan's sharp crack of laughter exploded like a pistol shot, and he threw his head back, laughing with uncontrollable mirth until he finally managed to drag enough air into his lungs to choke, "Yes, Alexandra… I do know." He had laughed more in the week he'd known her, Jordan realized, than he had laughed in an entire year.

A little wounded by his reaction, Alexandra said, "Well then, how is it done?"

The remnants of mirth gleaming in his eyes slowly dissolved as he laid his hand against her cheek, running it back to tenderly smooth her hair. Finally he said in an odd, husky voice, "I'll show you how it's done tonight."

He had scarcely spoken the words when their coach turned off the road and pulled into the yard of an inn with lamps burning brightly in all the windows.

«
^
»

C
andles flickered cheerfully
on the mantel and on the low table between them, left there by the maid who'd come to clear away their dinner plates. Curled up in a pretty chintz-covered settee, her stockinged feet tucked beneath her and Jordan's arm around her shoulders, holding her nestled into the curve of his arm, Alexandra had never felt so luxuriously, sublimely cozy.

Lifting her wineglass to her lips, she sipped the wine Jordan had seemed determined to press upon her for the last hour, wondering when he planned to retire to his own room. She wasn't entirely certain he even had a room of his own tonight. While she'd bathed in her room before dinner, he'd bathed in the small room adjoining hers, but there was only a narrow cot in there, obviously intended for use by a valet or lady's maid. Alexandra had no maid and was perfectly able to fend for herself; Jordan had said he preferred to leave his valet behind when he was only going on a short trip. Since neither of them had servants, she wondered if the inn was full and he therefore was forced to sleep in the adjoining room.

Firelight danced in the grate, dispelling the slight chill of the spring night, adding to the cozy atmosphere of the room, and her thoughts drifted lazily from their sleeping accommodations to babies. Jordan had promised to show her how babies were made tonight. She couldn't imagine why married people persisted in keeping the method cloaked in so much mystery. However it was done, it couldn't be a dreadful thing, because English couples obviously did it often enough to keep the country's population growing.

Perhaps it was kept secret because Society didn't want girls like herself, who would have liked a baby with or without a husband, to go around getting babies on their own.

That, evidently, was it, she deduced logically. Since the beginning of time, men had made the rules and men had obviously been the ones to decree that a girl was "ruined" if she had a baby without marrying one of them first. That made sense. Still… the theory had certain holes…

A baby, she thought wistfully. A baby.

As an only child, the thought of having a dark-haired baby boy to cuddle and nurse and play with filled her with delight. Moreover, she'd read enough history to know how important a male heir was to men with titles—particularly titles as illustrious as Jordan's. The sudden realization that she would be the one to give Jordan his heir filled her with a poignant pride and joy that was almost past bearing.

She stole a glance at him through her lashes, and her heart skipped a beat. He was lounging back against the cushions, his white shirt open partway down his muscled chest, his tanned skin a golden bronze in the firelight With his dark, slightly curly hair, ruggedly chiseled features, and wonderful physique, Alexandra thought he looked like a god.