Chapter 1 #2
Jessica smothered her exclamation. Brody had a beautifully large nose, and she saw more of the bump on the bridge.
His jaw and chin were straight and square, shaded with black bristle.
If he had shaved this morning, his beard already won the war and was growing back with thrilling speed.
His mouth…well…it was full and wide and clearly the mouth of someone who had done his fair share of kissing.
Jessica was happy to reap the benefits of all his practice.
“They say you’re the bastard son of a nobleman,” she murmured.
A frown creased between his brows. “I’m no aristo’s by-blow.”
“No overbred aristocrat could possibly be so handsome.”
A corner of his mouth curved up, revealing a dimple.
“Do you know many aristos, my lady?” he asked.
“Enough to know that they are as far from you as we are from the moon.”
“I choose to take that as a compliment.”
“You should.”
She held motionless as he brought his lips closer to hers. Yet he didn’t swoop down and seize her mouth in greedy, ungainly demand.
Instead, he stroked one rough fingertip along her cheek, summoning shivers, and his gaze flicked down to her own mouth. Despite the circumstances, he seemed determined to take his time and savor this moment.
Slowly, he brought his lips to hers. They were soft, exploratory, merely a gentle press of flesh to flesh. He brushed them over her lips, back and forth, as if he was content with this soft, quiet touch.
Her stomach sank. Was this all he wanted from her?
But then his lips parted. He stroked the tip of his tongue against the seam of her mouth. She didn’t hesitate, opening for him at once.
He gave a low growl and took the kiss deeper. His tongue stroked into her, exploring, learning. She tasted whisky and tobacco as she gave him more access.
His hand cupped her face, angling her so he could take exactly what he wanted. She let him, and his assertiveness and mastery overwhelmed her in a dizzying rush. He took possession of her mouth, kissing her in long, drugging tastes. Luxuriating in her.
Yes, he knew exactly how to kiss, was exceptionally experienced in the practice, and though it was clear he enjoyed kissing for its own sake, he possessed a greater knowledge of what his mouth could do, and where he’d like to put it.
A rush of heat spread through her, tightening in her breasts and warming between her legs.
This is what she’d been craving for so long.
Those sloppy kisses she’d endured from prior lovers as quick preludes to unsatisfying bedsport had only whetted her appetite for a lover who knew precisely what to do, and sought her pleasure above all.
She hadn’t known it during those disappointing encounters, but now that she experienced what it was to be kissed by highwayman Ezra Brody, she understood her own desires.
“Ezra!” This came from the highwayman who’d objected to Brody taking off his mask. “Time to run.”
Brody jerked back, and his breath came in a ragged pace that matched Jessica’s own uneven gasps. His nostrils widened and he drew in a long inhalation. As if he was scenting her.
A smile filled his face.
“My lady likes the highwayman’s kiss.”
“As I said,” she murmured, “I am no lady.”
“That might not be so, but you did like my lips on yours.”
“Such confidence.”
His nostrils widened again, and his smile grew. “Unshakable in my confidence.”
“Trollop,” the vicar sneered. He’d abandoned the pretense of comforting the dowager.
Jessica ignored him.
“We have to go,” the second highwayman snarled, turning his horse in a circle.
A look of regret crossed Brody’s face before he tugged his kerchief back into place. “Much as I hate to part company with you, madam, it’s time for me to leave.”
He took a step away from her.
Jessica’s hand shot out to grab the sleeve of his greatcoat.
“Take me with you,” she said.
The dowager, who had quieted in the midst of this scene, gasped. Her fellow passengers also exclaimed in shock. The young farmer murmured a curse that would have had him thrown out of church.
Brody looked down at Jessica’s hand on his forearm.
“Please,” Jessica urged, when he hesitated. “As you said, I rather enjoyed your kiss. It would profit us both to see where it might lead.”
Brody looked to the two other highwaymen. One rolled his eyes, but the other, who had raised his objections, said wearily, “Do as you please.”
When Brody shook off her hand, Jessica’s heart clenched. He was going to leave her behind.
She fumbled for the back of her gown, but after Brody swung himself up onto his chestnut mare in one fluid movement, and secured the sack of loot to the saddle, he brought the horse closer to her.
Leaning down, he offered Jessica his hand.
She stared at it. Such a large hand, the knuckles wide in broad but dexterous fingers. A hand capable of tremendous strength, confidence, command—and also gentleness. She’d felt it in his touch.
Was she going to do this? Was this the choice she intended to make?
She slid her hand into his.
He pulled her up in front of him as if she were as light as a moth. His arms formed an iron frame around her. No matter how hard they would ride, he wouldn’t drop her.
His breath was warm in her hair. “Is this truly what you want, my lady? To come with me?”
“It is.” Her voice came out tremulous and shaky, so she said again with greater force, “I want to go with you.”
“A courageous one, you are.” Approval warmed his words.
“Or foolhardy.”
He gave a soft chuckle. Beneath them, his horse danced.
“Two sides of the same coin,” he said. “And I’ve seen enough coins to know this for a fact.”
“Then, by all means,” she murmured, “let us hie from here.”
He turned to his companions. “Ready, lads?”
They both nodded at him.
“You took the fairest prize,” one said with a hint of envy.
“No one takes me,” Jessica insisted. “I decide where I go.”
A laugh escaped Brody. “So speaks the lady, and I’m inclined to agree. Now, we fly.”
He kicked his heels into his mount. The beast surged forward in a burst of speed and power.
Jessica’s heart surged, too. In all of her life, she’d never done anything quite so rash, so reckless.
Brody urged his horse faster. They were off into the green depths of the forest, leaving the carriage and its passengers behind them.