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.This was followed by Mozart’s Quartet K 421 in D Minor.This passionate work was written in 1783 while his wife was in labor with their first child.The entertainment continued for another thirty minutes followed by a brief intermission.When the concert resumed, the selections ranged from another composition by Beethoven to several by Brahms, including Quartet #3 in B Flat Major, opus 67.The audience was delighted to listen to Schubert’s Rosamunde, the only one of his quartets to be published while he was alive.It was composed in the midst of despair over his failing health, but the piece concluded with a joyful tone.The final selection for the evening’s program was Mozart’s Quartet #23 in F Major.The appreciative audience was delighted when the talented musicians graced them with an encore.The musical selections had stirred the audience.They thundered their applause at the conclusion; the successful concert had warmed the ballroom and everyone in it on a very chilly night.Jack dutifully stayed by Susannah’s side throughout the evening.It was her first social appearance since the tragedy.The evening was important to her.He noted how much she seemed to be enjoying herself.He remained discreetly aloof so as not to give rise to any misinterpretation of his presence.There was no impropriety.He was her chaperone, her escort, nothing more.He obligingly attended to her when the champagne and cakes were served in the salon, and was friendly and gracious when the musicians were personally introduced to the guests.All in all it was a very pleasant evening and a profitable fundraiser for the Ladies Aide Society.It was late, nearly midnight, when they arrived back at 56 Grant Street.The fog still persisted, covering everything with a silvery glow.Jack helped Susannah down from the carriage, took her arm and guided her up the steps.She removed her key from her reticule and turned it in the lock.Jack opened the door and followed her into the foyer.An oil lamp had been left on in the hallway emitting only a shadowy luminosity.It was time to say good night.“Susannah, your musicale was wonderful, everyone enjoyed it.There will be a glowing review in the newspaper tomorrow, I have no doubt.”She looked at him expectantly.“And what about you, Jack? Did you enjoy it?” she asked.“More than you know,” he said, as he hauled her into his arms and gently brushed his lips against hers.She did not protest.He then gave the kiss all the attention it deserved.His lips took hers again, this time with an urgent intensity that overwhelmed them both.He kissed her and kissed her, his mustache chafing against her delicate skin.She kissed him back, hungry for the caress of his lips on hers.His tongue swept inside, hot and persistent, unrelenting.His heart raced and his blood turned to fire.Her wrap slid silently to the floor.He pulled her closer to him and her arms went around wide shoulders.He was rock hard, muscular.His large hands roamed to the globes of her bottom.He squeezed and caressed as he pulled her to his groin.She felt the unmistakable evidence of his burning desire.“God, Susannah!” With one hand, he continued to anchor her to him, the other hand moved to her bodice.His kisses trailed from her lips, to the shell of her ear, along her throat, to the swell of skin above her full breasts, as he worshipped her.She smelled of rosewater, her skin as soft as flower petals.His whiskers and mustache chafed.The sensations were overpowering her.She kissed his cheek, his brow and she arched into the exquisite feel of his hungry lips above her breast, her skin tingling with sensation.He slid his finger inside her bodice and teased her nipple as he continued his onslaught of kisses.She felt it to the core of her womanhood, the pressure in her womb building, spiraling out of control.“Oh,” she gasped.She could feel the weight of his stiff erection, persistent, demanding.“Jack,” she said gently.It was almost a whisper.But he continued on, kissing the swell of skin above her breasts, his rough whiskers a delicious caress against her sensitive skin.Feelings of yearning, of desire washed over her.In another moment, she would be lost.“Please Jack,” she said again.“Oh my love,” he said softly.He trailed kisses up to her chin, then found her supple and swollen lips again and claimed them once more with a gentleness, a tenderness, a regard that left her in no doubt of the depth of his feelings.“Jack, we must stop,” she whispered.“I am sorry,” he said.Her pupils were dark, dilated.His gaze lingered on her lips.Her skin was warm and glowing, her sensitive lips swollen and ruby red from his urgent ministrations.“No, I am not sorry.It was time to lay bare the strong emotions I have for you Susannah.” He couldn’t resist, gave one feather-light kiss on the tip of her nose.“It seems that I have been equally exposed for my own affections,” she admitted.She had behaved like a wanton, not the heartbroken widow still mourning her husband.But wasn’t she also a healthy young woman, with yearnings and desires? How could she possibly be both? Her husband was dead.Did that mean her heart must shrivel into a cold, hard knot? No, she wanted to be desired, by him.Didn’t she?“I allowed myself to get carried away,” she lamented.“I must remember that I am still a widow in mourning.”“He would want you to be happy, Susannah,” Jack insisted.“I am not ashamed of my sentiments, or for expressing them.” It was true, he had desperately wanted to reveal all that she meant to him, having silently kept his emotions bottled up far too long.It surprised him that they both allowed what began as a kiss to ignite such intense passion.Now that he knew the direction of her sentiments, it was as though a great weight had been lifted from him.Her acceptance of his kisses, of his touch, eased his conscience.“Someday, Susannah, you will no longer be a widow in mourning, and when that happens I hope you will remember what passed between us tonight,” he said.He reached up and gently followed the curve of her lips with his forefinger, leaned in and bestowed another deliciously light kiss.His kisses were like a drug – she closed her eyes.“Good night, Susannah,” he said.He pressed a kiss to her temple.And then he was gone.Chapter Twenty-TwoThe urgent telegram that arrived at 56 Grant Street the next morning was as unexpected as it was terrible and alarming.The fog had lifted and moved off, the sun claiming the new day, erasing all vestiges of the previous evening’s ethereal veil.Susannah had slept later than usual.It had been a peaceful, restful sleep after an exhausting day and evening due to her responsibilities with the Ladies Aide Society.She had enjoyed pleasant dreams, fantasies of being gently caressed and thoroughly kissed; the delicious sensation of warm lips on her skin and of being enveloped in the safety of strong arms.His kiss was like one from a fairy story, with the power to break curses.Jack’s amorous attentions, while not unwelcome, had set up something of a conundrum for her.She was at war with her feelings as to whether the unexpected moments of passion with Jack might ultimately have been a mistake.Susannah was surprised at how easily she had fallen under the spell of his touch [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]