Jessie couldn’t figure out why that seemed to bother him so much when it didn’t bother her. She rolled her eyes, giggling as she thought about the long and proud English tradition of titled ladies getting busy with their stable boys. She’d be happy to be a part of that tradition, but it seemed that it would take more than a little light flirting for her to move Liam into the same frame of mind. She made a mental note to do some plotting, and then said a quick prayer of thanks that she’d inherited her mother’s plotting genes. Lady Catherine Cumberland might have been a serious bitch, but her plotting skills were second to none.

Jessie realized she’d spent so much time in the water she was slowly turning into a prune, and she began making her way to shore. She climbed out onto the grass above the bank, leaning over the pond to wring her hair out and strip the excess water from her limbs. She rubbed herself vigorously to warm up a little, a soft moan escaping her lips as she unwittingly rubbed a hand over her beaded nipple. Looking down at her hardened nubs, she noted that a bead of water still clung to the one she hadn’t touched. A smile curved her lips. No time like the present.

Chapter 4

His Grace, Duke Gabriel Hartley, could not believe the scene playing out before him. After receiving Liam’s phone call, the duke had called down to the stable to have his horse saddled, so impatient to be after Lady Jessamy that he’d dismissed the groom and saddled his stallion, Lucifer, himself. Now that he was privy to the scandalous show taking place in front of him, he was glad he’d made haste.

He’d left Lucifer tied half a mile behind, not wanting to take the chance that Lady Jessamy’s mare would scent him and be skittish. He also hadn’t wanted the sound of his approach to carry, so he’d come on foot.

Now he crouched, hidden in a hedgerow, and braced himself for what was likely going to be a serious test of his willpower.

This wasn’t the first time Gabriel had watched Lady Jessamy at the pond. He remembered when she’d been barely out of her teens and he’d stumbled upon her pleasuring herself, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He’d come like a sixteen-year-old watching her slender fingers caress her silky flesh, charmed by the awkward way she touched herself. He’d been hard pressed not to offer to help.

He’d thought it was tempting enough when he’d watched Lady Jessamy strip, the confections of her undergarments making his mouth water. Nothing had prepared him for the lust churning through his balls at watching her swim. The Dom part of him, and Gabriel was willing to admit that was a damn big part, demanded he enter the scene and take control of it, mastering her for both their pleasure. Only the knowledge that his plan was bigger than a lustful afternoon by a pond kept him from moving.

Gabriel could likely have seduced Lady Jessamy by now if he’d really wanted, but his time spent watching her over the years made him want more than a quick roll. No, the little darling was going to be his, and for the moment Gabriel quashed the yearning he felt somewhere in his chest, choosing to pay attention to his cock until his heart stopped aching. He gritted his teeth. She’d be his, and then he’d bare everything from his hard cock to his soft heart.

Drenched, all that creamy skin on full display, Lady Jessamy naked was like something out of his dirtiest fantasies, which, Gabriel thought with a wicked smile, were dirty enough to never come clean. His dark eyes ate up her minute frame, her delicate features and petite stature a stark contrast to the soft curve of her hips and swell of her rounded breasts. Gabriel licked his lips as he watched the petite beauty swim, fascinated by the way her legs splayed out with each stroke to reveal and then conceal the pink flesh hidden between them. He barely kept himself from growling in protest when she ascended the bank of the pond, so desperate was he to watch her frolic naked in the water. Gabriel needn’t have worried, he saw, when before his very eyes she stripped the water from her lithe limbs, rubbing her nipple accidentally and moaning when she did. The duke cautiously, silently opened the top of his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them with frustrating slowness so as not to make a sound. He spread his knees and fisted his cock, relaxing back to enjoy the show.

Lady Jessamy had cupped her other breast with one hand, and Gabriel saw what she saw. A single drop of water adorned the hardened berry of her nipple. It reminded Gabriel of a jeweled clamp, and the duke made a mental note to purchase a set at his next opportunity. It was a sight he’d want to relive again, no doubt.