Jace stood and stretched, and kept his gaze off Leigh. “Don’t be alarmed by noises at night. Many of the animals hunt and roam during darkness. They usually stay clear of campfires, but it’s best to stay inside and to lace your flaps. If there’s a problem, shout and I’ll come. We have plenty of guards.”
Everyone separated for the night. The tents had been spaced for privacy. Louisa joined Chad, and Cynthia joined Reid to the right of their large camp. Leigh entered her tent to the left, as did Jace nearby. The tables were left standing for breakfast, but the dinner remains were cleared to prevent attracting wild animals. The bearers and Johi took their mats beneath the stars, and the camp was quiet.
Leigh sensed a presence. She turned on the bedroll and tried to pierce the darkness. It was very late. In the distance she heard a leopard scream, a sound soon joined by other nocturnal creatures. The scent she detected was familiar. She smiled to herself. “Jace,” she whispered, and felt him touch her arm.
He reclined beside her. Pulling her close, he whispered into her ear, “How did you know it was me? I thought you were sleeping.”
She captured his head, turned it, and replied into his ear, “Your special, wonderful scent, and Iwasasleep. Isn’t this reckless?” she asked, her heart pounding with excitement and her body flaming. Now she knew why he had made his exception about tents tonight.
“Johi will warn me if anyone stirs.”
“You told him about us?”
“No, but he sees and hears everything.”
Leigh was glad she had bathed as well as possible in the small canvas basin. Despite his caution earlier, she had put on perfume, hoping he would sneak into her tent. She planned to wash it off later.
As Jace nuzzled her neck, he murmured, “Make sure you remove this wonderful odor by morning. I don’t want tsetse flies biting you and causing sleeping sickness, or mosquitoes causing malaria.” As his hands drifted down her neck, he discovered a bare shoulder. Boldly his fingers closed over her breast, then passed over her stomach. “What’s this?” he asked, querying her nudity beneath the cover.
“I was hoping you would visit me tonight.” She brought his head toward hers and sealed their lips. She had been starving for his kisses. Her fingers drifted over his shoulders to caress them.
Jace kissed her several times—hungry, deep, urgent—before he parted them to strip quickly in the darkness. He snuggled her against him and returned his mouth to hers. He wished he could see her golden flesh, her tawny hair, her blue eyes, and her lovely features. He enjoyed watching the emotions her expressions exposed. His lips roamed the silky column of her throat. His tongue teased into the hollows there and over her collarbone. From side to side, he covered her upper body with kisses. At last his eager mouth reached one rosy brown peak and closed over it, lingering there a while, exploring the firm mound and taut peak. Later, his tongue dipped into the valley between the pair and did the same at the other bud. His hand roved her abdomen, then eased down her stomach. It journeyed into a golden forest to labor lovingly there.
Leigh was adrift on a dreamy cloud of passion. She had been in a state of arousal all day. Now she was feverish to merge with him. The core of her womanhood demanded appeasement. Everything he did heightened her desire. He was skilled, tantalizing, and satisfying. Her fingers wandered through his brown hair, and she loved its feel against her skin. She smiled at the tickling sensation as his locks teased between her fingers. Her palm caressed his elbow, rubbing back and forth with sensual movements. Her hand cupped one shoulder and caressed it in the same stimulating manner. As her fingers roamed, they found the hair on his chest softly coarse. It spread over chest and made a narrow strip to his navel, where it flared again. She didn’t care if the others were camped nearby or what they were doing. She wanted and needed Jace, more so because she had feared losing him yesterday.
Jace was consumed by the woman with him. Her company today had been wonderful. She made him feel good, complete. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. It had taken him thirty-two years to find this unique and compatible creature, and he was going to keep her forever, any way necessary. He desperately wanted to exonerate himself so he could create a future with her. Until his name was clear and she was free of Chad’s power, he had to be patient and careful. He knew that Chad would like nothing better than to take away Leigh as he had taken away Joanna. Jace still loved the brunette, but it wasn’t the same kind of love he felt for this tawny female. Yet Chad had to pay for destroying someone so special to him. He had to settle the past, and settle it by November.
Leigh perceived the sudden tension in her lover. She surmised it was his troubled past that kept a part of him from surrendering his all. Somehow, she would help him. To retrieve him, her lips played with his collarbone while her brave hands stroked his rib cage and drifted lower. She noticed his shaven face and was touched by his consideration of her tender skin.
Jace’s mouth journeyed to Leigh’s, and both were lost in the wonder of their love and the power of their desire. Their tongues touched and played. Their hands blissfully tormented each other. Their bodies meshed and moved as one.
She whispered, “I don’t know what to do, Jace.”
He nibbled at her earlobe. “Just enjoy me.”
“That’s easy, my love. Teach me more later.”
“What if there never is a later for us, Leigh?”
“There will be,” she promised. “Don’t worry.”
Jace entered and withdrew with a rapturous delight. His teeth teased at her lips. He gave her several quick and short kisses, then a long and deep one. Tension mounted within him. It was hard to control himself while inside her, while touching her, while kissing her. It was even harder because she was so responsive and passionate.
Leigh tightened the grip of her legs around Jace. She hugged him possessively. She stroked his hot flesh. She savored his mouth. This time, she knew what awaited her at the end of their sensual trail. She throbbed with need, then gasped as she felt herself burst into bloom. She moaned against his mouth, embraced him snugly, arched upward, and allowed herself to be transported with Jace to ecstasy. Tonight’s experience was even better than her first one.
Jace felt aglow, thrilled to his center. His heart was thudding forcefully from his exertions and powerful emotions. No adventure or victory sated him as loving Leigh did. No food or drink tasted better. No sensation was greater. She was the supreme pleasure and the ultimate joy. His lips brushed back and forth over hers as they let their soaring spirits land and their taut and fiery bodies cool and calm. The extra twenty-five thousand he would lose by not mentioning their trysts to Chad was worth every shilling. No matter how much he hated and distrusted Chad or how much he wanted to spite his foe, he could never cheapen what had happened between Leigh and him by exposing it. Jace didn’t care about Chad’s wager or the Webster estate. He only cared about winning Leigh forever.
As they lay nestled together, Jace asked, “Will you tell me what Chad said about our past? I want to make certain he didn’t lie.”
Leigh repeated her conversation with her guardian.
Jace took in a deep breath and slowly released it. “It’s true. I just don’t understand why he took so much blame. That isn’t like him.”
“Maybe that’s the point, Jace. It’s been a long time. I was watching how he acted with you last night. Hate wasn’t what I detected.”
“Neither did I. Since his arrival, half the time it’s like the past never happened. Sometimes I catch myself starting to relax with him like in the old days. Memories of many good years jump into my head and cloud it. Time and bad deeds seem to fade for a while. I guess we were so close for so long that it’s hard to believe we turned against each other. I keep reminding myself of what happened and how long it’s been.”
“Why, Jace?”