Chasing Scandal by Nicole Bennett

Author:Nicole Bennett [Bennett, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-02T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Sophie shrugged. “Oh, you know, the usual things you likely heard from the gossips. My father gambled my mother’s dowry, and she squandered the rest with her lavish tastes. I’m sure you’ve borne witness to at least one of their numerous public rows. James and I have always been left to our own devices, living in the crumbling country seat, but it appears my brother still managed to pick up some of Father’s bad habits.”

Her tone was dismissive, but Jasper suspected that such a neglectful childhood had affected her more than she let on. Then again, he had barely scratched the surface of his own tumultuous family. He hadn’t told her of the legal battles between his uncle and the Featherston’s, of his terror at becoming a whole lord at fifteen, or the cathartic moment when he forbade his father’s family from ever speaking to him again. Jasper was sure Sophie had similarly raw emotions about her past, but now was not the time to pry. They had a lifetime to get to know one another. There was, however, one pressing question burning in his mind. “What about that season of yours?” She tensed, and he immediately regretted asking.

Sophie paused and looked at her lap before speaking. “I’ll tell you eventually.” She wrung her hands. “It’s just, well, it’s quite embarrassing, and I’d rather you keep your good opinion of me for a little while.”

“I doubt some silly social folly will reduce my regard for you.” At this point, he was confident she hadn’t done anything worse than Francesca had. Her past was her own, and he didn’t much care if she’d been touched before, if that was indeed what the scandal was about. She was so obviously an innocent, and he had trouble believing anything salacious about her at all.

“All the same, I’m not sure I am ready.” Her cheeks reddened. She didn’t trust him with her vulnerabilities just yet, and Jasper realized he would need to reassure her before he could make any progress on that front.

He moved next to her on the other side of the carriage. “Hey,” he said softly, putting his fingers under her chin in a gentle prompt to look up at him. Her enchanting eyes were clouded with uncertainty. “I don’t care about the past, whatever it may be,” he murmured.

“Thank you,” she said in a breathless whisper, her mouth slightly parting as she gazed into his face, head tilting. He knew the preamble to a kiss when he saw one, and his longing for her overrode any sense his brain was sending his way. He cupped her cheek in his palm and lowered his head. Her lips were as soft and lovely as he remembered, and the quiet gasp she let out at their contact managed to rile him up like never before. He teased the seam of her lips with his tongue, and she opened for him with an adorable little moan. She dug her fingers into his thigh, the sensation of her nails scraping his skin sending sparks straight to his cock.

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