Desire and Deception by Nicole Jordan Page A

had drunk barely half the contents, and he didn't seem to be falling asleep. But perhaps the drug took some time to work—that was it. Perhaps it would be effective enough to allow her to slip away quietly afterward. But the money? She didn't think she could bring herself to steal it from him while he slept. Such a step as that would make her a common thief, and he was offering her a way to honestly earn a hundred pounds. . . .
    It was with a sense of shock that Lauren realized she intended to accept his offer and that she was only trying to find the courage to go through with it. What she would be required to do she still wasn't certain, for her experience was limited to the things she had seen in slums and alleyways during recent weeks. She wondered if she could even bring herself to undress for Jason, let alone allow him to touch her so intimately. But, Lauren reminded herself, in her situation she couldn't afford to be modest. She was on her own now, and she had to deal with her own problems. She had to learn to support herself. Besides, if she had to sell herself, she would prefer someone like Jason Stuart rather than the kind of drunken, unkempt men she had seen roaming the London streets. Captain Stuart was large and powerful, but had said he wouldn't hurt her. . . .
    Realizing that he was waiting for her answer, Lauren took a tentative step closer, then another. When she stood before him, she accepted his offering of wine and tilted her head back to drink deeply, needing something to help stem a severe attack of nerves. Finally she set down her glass. "The fastenings are rather difficult," she said in a small voice.
    "I beg your pardon?"
    "The buttons on my gown are hard for me to reach."
    Jason's mouth curved in a grin. "I would be delighted to assist you, my sweet, if you would but turn around. Ah, I forgot." Pulling the pistol from his belt, he placed it under the table, out of reach. Mirth danced in his eyes as he glanced back at Lauren. "The temptation might have been too great. Now you may turn around."
    Certain that he was teasing her, Lauren lifted her chin and presented a stiff back to him. She tensed when his hands tightened about her waist, a tenseness that only increased when he drew her down onto his lap.
    Jason smiled at her rigidness as he worked the tiny fastenings of her gown. She was as jittery as a bride on her wedding night, and not even pretending to enjoy his ministrations. After tonight, though, she wouldn't flinch from his touch. And after tonight she would be his and his alone. He would teach her to love, to experience the kind of passion he knew she was capable of.
    He eased the high neckline of gray silk down a few inches, and ran a gentle finger along the satin skin of Lauren's exposed shoulder. When he heard her catch her breath, he realized how very much he wanted to turn that soft response into a gasp of pleasure. But strangely he felt no haste, no urgency to rush this particular moment. He wanted to linger in it, revel in it, draw out this precious time, their first time together. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against the curve of her neck and shoulder in a gentle caress.
    Lauren shuddered as a tremor ran down her spine. His lips were warm and pliant, and aroused a disquieting fluttering in her stomach. Indeed, his very nearness was disturbing. She was suddenly conscious of his hard-muscled thighs beneath her, of the strength that radiated from him.
    Until a few moments ago when she had cried in his arms, she had never noticed such things about a man before. But it was impossible not to notice when Jason held her so intimately. A few moments before, when she had been pressed against his sinewy length and her face buried in his shoulder, she had inhaled the musky yet sea-fresh scent of him, and had glimpsed the dark golden hair on his broad chest where his shirt parted at the throat. His blatant masculinity had made her aware of her own femaleness. Acutely aware. She had never