Page 27

“W ell, arena ye a sight for my tired eyes?” Seeing Joss waiting for him in his bed when he walked into his chambers had his cock roaring to life and fighting to burst out of his trousers.

The tension from the day eased from his shoulders, and his disappointment that she’d fallen asleep alone in her own room disappeared.

He loosened his cravat and stalked to the bed, quickly stripping out of the rest of his clothes.

Joss watched him, her lower lip caught between her teeth as her eyes roamed over his body, an appreciative smirk on her face.

“I missed you today.”

He slid under the covers and pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head, breathing in the cinnamon scent from her favorite soap.

“No’ as much as I missed ye. I knocked on your door and when ye didna answer I thought ye had fallen asleep.”

She looked up at him, a smile lifting her lips. “I heard you. It took all my control to not go to the door and let you know I was in here. I wanted to surprise you.”

Kissing her lips, he smiled against her mouth. “Surprised I am indeed,” he murmured.

“Are you mad?”

He frowned as he met her gaze. “Whye’er would I be angry?”

“Because I snuck into your room.”

He barked out a laugh. “Joss, ye can sneak into my room e’ery night for the rest of my life, and I will ne’er get angry or tired of it.”

She grinned, snuggling into his side. “How did it go with Theodore?”

“Good, I suppose. I am now the proud owner of The Toad’s Well pub.”

With wide eyes, she laughed. “That’s an interesting name.” She giggled. “I wonder how he came up with that one?”

“Silly, isna it? I dinna ken. But I think ’tis going to need a rebranding.”

“Did Theodore take it well?”

He harrumphed. “No’ really. I believe I may have broken his jaw.”

She pulled away to look in his eyes. “No!”

He shrugged. “Och, aye. He’s lucky I didna do more than that after what he’d done. He e’en tried to serve us my own whisky he’d stolen from my inventory.”

“Oh my. That is daring.”

He squeezed her close, his hand dropping to run lazy circles along her rib cage. Her nightdress was so thin, it was as if she were naked under the covers.

Which she would be soon.

Her face grew serious. “But he signed the pub over to you. How?”

“’Twas quite easy actually. The sod was flanked by Nicholas and Alexander, and we gave him the choice. Either sign the deed o’er to me since I’d funded the endeavor, or I was going to turn him in to the authorities. He could rot in prison for all I cared.

“Well, he didn’t want to do that, obviously.” She shivered. “I can’t blame him. That would be most horrible.”

He dropped his hand lower, caressing her buttocks as she began to squirm beside him.

“Aye, so he signed the deed and then we forced him out, and I told him I didn’t want to see him in my town again.” He squeezed her cheek, and she squealed.

“Enough about that. I’ve had ye on my mind all day.” He shifted so she was lying beneath him. With a devilish smile, he licked his lips, “And I’m verra hungry.”

He scooted lower, pushing up her nightdress as he went, until he buried his nose in the nestle of curls that smelled so sweet.

His tongue darted out, swiping up the seam of her lips, and he chuckled against her as she gasped.

Her hands flew to his hair, not long enough to grasp, but she could still run her fingers through the short strands, her nails trailing over his scalp. Which she did. He was quite sure he’d have nail marks in the morn that would show everyone just exactly what they’d been up to this night.

Sucking the bud of nerves into his mouth, he drew hard on it, as his fingers worked into her moist heat.

Her legs fell open and she ground her hips up.

Smiling, he continued, working her up into a frenzy. Kenning that he had this effect on her was nearly as intoxicating as the act itself.

He felt her body start to stiffen under his hands at the same time she tugged at his shoulders.

“Gunn. I want you. Filling me. I want to feel you.”

He growled possessively. “Ye needna tell me twice, love.”

Moving up her body, he sank into her wet folds and seated himself fully in her with a shuddering groan.

She gasped, her nails moving to score his back, and he loved every minute of it.

Every scratch would be a reminder, a memory for later.

Her hands moved to his buttocks, adding pressure, spurring him on to move faster.

Much obliged to give her what she wanted, he pumped his hips harder, sweat breaking out on his brow.

Her body went taut, his name spilling from her lips over and over, and with two final thrusts, he moaned loudly. An involuntary shudder shaking him to his core as he emptied himself into her.

If this was how life was to be with Joss, he never wanted to ken another way. In blissful silence he flipped them, reversing their positions.

He caressed her shoulder as their breaths slowed.

“Did ye think this was where ye would be when ye walked into my pub all those nights ago?” It seemed like he had kenned Joss forever, but it had only been weeks.

Yet in that short time he had come to the conclusion that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. By his side. Fathering her children.

The thought of her belly round with a bairn, made him happy. Surely, he would see it soon enough, and it didn’t matter to him that the bairn wasn’t his. It would be raised as if it were.

She sighed, stretching her arms above her head, her fingers brushing against the headboard. “I didn’t. The thought was furthest from my mind. I just wanted to be safe. Far enough away from Victor where he would never find me.”

Placing a kiss on her forehead, he let his lips linger there. “He will ne’er hurt ye again. I can promise ye that. As long as there is breath in my body, his hands will ne’er touch your skin again. In any way.”

She turned to him, lifting on her elbows. “How did I e’er get so lucky to find a man as kind as ye?”

“I think I am the lucky one.” He tucked her head under his chin. “Let’s sleep. ’Tis been a long day.”

She murmured something but he couldn’t make out her words and soon she had fallen asleep, her breaths slow and even as they fanned the hairs on his arm, tickling them.

For the longest time, he just lay there, listening to her soft snore. Reveling at the feel of her body against his, as if they were made for each other.

This was how he wanted to spend every night.

*

As the days passed, Jocelyn enjoyed her time getting to really know all of Gunn’s friends. He treated the women like sisters, and the men were truly his brothers.

But as much fun as the days were, she most looked forward to the nights. That was when she and Gunn would retire to his chamber and get lost in each other’s bodies.

By this point, she was certain she knew every nook and cranny of him. What each scar came from. The places where he was more sensitive to touch than others.

And most importantly, the things that made him growl like a wild animal, unable to control himself any longer.

She found she really enjoyed an out of control Gunn. Her face heated just thinking about it.

Gwen, always the intuitive one, noticed right away. “What has ye blushing this time, Jocelyn?” She giggled, already knowing the answer. They all did.

And instead of being embarrassed like she would have been before, Jocelyn joined in on the bawdy laughter.

They were outside, enjoying the day by playing a game of badminton. Playing in two teams of a pair each, Willamina sat nearby, keeping score, her hands taking turns between massaging her back and her very large belly.

“If I didna ken any better, Willa, I’d bet ye are having twins,” Gwen stated.

“Och, dinna say such things. The doctor said there is only one bairn growing.”

Gwen shrugged and Clarissa chimed in. “Doctors can be wrong. If ye dinna have two bairns in there, that one bairn is going to be birthed a tot.”

Willamina waved her hand in dismissal. “Enough talk about my incessantly huge belly. Let’s talk about something, or someone else.” She winked and focused her attention on Jocelyn.

“When should we plan on attending the wedding?”

Jocelyn flushed. “You know that can’t happen right now. Not until, well, you know. Until Victor is dealt with.”

“Hmm,” Lizzie said. “I must say I am surprised that between all the men, they’ve been unable to locate the louse. He must be hiding well.”

“But why would he hide?” Clarissa asked. “He surely, by law at least, has e’ery right to lay his claim and insist upon Jocelyn’s return.”

She hated how they spoke as if she were property, but she also knew it was true. In the eyes of the law, she was Victor’s property. Just as if she were a prized pig in the city square.

It was funny how she always felt that way with him, but when she was with Gunn, or any of his friends, watching how they treated their wives, with love and devotion.

As equals.

The feeling was completely different.

“Mayhap he will stay in hiding and ye willna have to deal with him e’er again.”

She sighed. The thought was tempting. “If he does, then Gunn and I will ne’er be able to marry. At some point, he must show his face. Either in Rochester or God forbid, here.”

“Malcolm has some associates watching around Rochester. If your husband shows up there, he’ll ken.”

If she and Gunn could get away with living the rest of their lives as they were today, with no repercussions on either side, she would gladly do so. But she also didn’t want to be Jocelyn Townsend anymore. The name left a sour taste in her mouth.

She very much looked forward to being Jocelyn Burnett as soon as possible.

Gwen served the shuttlecock and Lizzie swung and missed, giving Gwen and Clarissa the point.

“Ha! That’s the game,” Clarissa hooted, punching her fist in the air.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “We won the first one,” she announced, pointing her finger between herself and Jocelyn. “We need to play a tiebreaker.”

“I’m ready to keep score.” Willamina waved her hand in the air. “Winners get to serve first.”

“Ha!” Clarissa stuck out her tongue playfully and lobbed the shuttlecock to Gwen to serve.

The serve was fast, but Jocelyn hit it back.

Clarissa swung and hit the shuttlecock in such a way that it didn’t arc, just a straightforward hit.

Jocelyn lunged for it, her toe catching in a rut, and went tumbling forward, her ankle twisting painfully. She landed in an unladylike thud and the others gathered around her, faces pinched in concern.

She grabbed her ankle, putting pressure on it to stop the immediate throb of pain.

“Oh my God, Jocelyn,” Gwen exclaimed, dropping beside her on her knees. “Let me see,” she said in a motherly voice and Jocelyn got the impression she’d had to use that voice more than once, whether it was with her siblings, Nicholas’s siblings, or her own children.

With a grunt, Jocelyn lifted her foot.

Tenderly, Gwen prodded at her ankle, apologizing when Jocelyn hissed in pain.

“Sorry. The good news is ’tis no’ broken.

But ye’ve definitely sprained it.” She set her foot on the ground gently.

“Clarissa, can ye run inside and get some yards of linen? We should wrap it to prevent it from swelling further.” She turned back to Jocelyn.

“Ye’ll need to stay off your foot for a while. Mayhap e’en a month.”

Jocelyn cursed her clumsiness.

“’Tis no’ your fault,” Lizzie offered. “’Tis Clarissa’s. Did ye see the way she hit that thing?” She smiled widely, letting her know she only jested. “But dinna blame yourself. “It could have been any one of us. Well, except for Willa, who is happily sitting there watching.”

“I would gladly trade places, Lizzie,” she said dryly.

“Nay. I dinna need twins. I dinna e’en need one, which I would think would be enough at a time.”

“For the last time. I am no’ having twins.”

Clarissa returned with strips of linen and Gwen wound them tightly around Jocelyn’s ankle, taking care to not cause any more pain as she worked.

Lizzie and Clarissa offered their shoulders, stooping down to allow Jocelyn to put her arms around them. Slowly, they helped her stay balanced as she hopped on one leg back to the house.

Later that night, when Gunn carried her upstairs to their room, because that’s what it had become—theirs, he set her gently on the bed and helped her undress and slip into her nightdress.

“’Tis going to be sore for a while. Ye twisted it good.”

She looked down at her foot, at her swollen, purple toes. “I should have been more careful,” she scolded herself for the umpteenth time that day.

“Och. Were ye having fun?”

Laughing, she nodded. “I was until this happened.” She pointed to her foot and shook her head. “Just what I need. For you to carry me around all day long.”

“Whilst I would enjoy that, ye’re light as a feather, on the morrow we’ll find some walking canes to assist ye some. But dinna attempt the stairs on your own,” he warned, his voice low and stern. “Ye’ll fall and break your pretty neck.”

He moved to the other side of the bed, pulling the duvet down. Then fluffed her pillows before lifting her easily and laying her gently on the bed. He grabbed two more pillows from a cupboard and stacked them under her injured ankle.

“Ye should keep it elevated to help with the swelling.”

“You are much too kind to me. Have I ever told you that?”

“Plenty.” He bent, capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

Wrapping her arms around him, she tried to draw him closer.

“Nay, lass. No’ tonight. I dinna want ye to injure yourself further.” He climbed in beside her, turning on his side, resting his head on his hand. “And ye’ve nay idea how much that pains me.”