Regrettably, Prudence took the choice out of his hands when she gripped the back of the sofa and locked up so tightly against him, he was done for. He held onto her, buried a ragged groan in her soft hair, and exploded inside her.
Released in a way he never had before.
There was no other way to describe it. He felt euphoric. Gone in pure pleasure. Entrenched in losing himself at the precise moment she did. Needing to taste her, he pulled her lips to his and kissed her. Kissed her as she milked him once again, only making his pinnacle that much more intense. Kissed her until he knew if they did not stop, they would never leave this room. He would keep her prisoner until the end of time.
Until they made love at least a thousand more times.
So he eventually kissed her nose, then forehead before he pulled out, rested her cheek against his chest, and simply relished the feel of her in his arms. Cherished every precious moment. He smiled when her breathing slowed, and she drifted off to sleep. While tempted to wake her, he saw no reason. Rather, he pulled a throw blanket over her and rested his chin on the top of her head. Breathed in the flowery scent of her soft hair.
Had he ever felt like this before? Ever felt his heart swell in such a way after lovemaking? Surely he must have with Elizabeth. Not that their intimacy was quite like this. It had been beautiful. Special. But different somehow, and he was not sure why. Perhaps because the dynamics were so different? This time he was trying to bring Prudence back to who she should be where Elizabeth had been doing the same for him.
So was it all because he was saving Prudence, then? Was that half the thrill? He doubted it. If anything, it felt like she might be saving him. That in some strange way, this was the truest connection he’d ever had. Not just because of their undeniable chemistry but because of how similar they were. The friendship they had found. The incredible desire to be around each other. Talk until they could talk no more, which he suspected would be a day that never came.
Eventually, a light rap came at the door. “My lady, will you be dining?”
“Yes, Miss Agnus?” Prudence mumbled, stirring awake but clearly confused as to the time of day. “Just a few more minutes of sleep, then breakfast would be wonderful.”
So he replied loud enough for Agnus to hear. “We will be dining, Miss Agnus. Thank you.”
Prudence’s head snapped up, and her sleepy gaze focused on his face. “Jacob.”
“Prudence.” He brushed her disarrayed hair away from her face and smiled. “I would say good morning, but it is still very much evening.”
“Oh goodness.” She blinked and took stock of her surroundings. Mainly that she still straddled him. “I am so sorry. I never meant to fall asleep on—”
He did not let her finish her sentence but cupped her cheeks and kissed her. Kissed her like he had wanted to since last they did mere hours ago.
“Never be sorry, love,” he murmured against her lips. “Might you fall asleep time and time again after making me feel so good.”
It seemed for all she enjoyed his kisses, using the word love yet again troubled her because she removed herself from his lap.
“Should you really voice such endearments?” She adjusted her clothing. “Is such not a bit much?”
While stung by her assessment, the last thing he intended to do was shy away from how he felt. “Not at all.”
He stood and adjusted himself as well, then reeled her back into his arms before she headed for the door. Dug his hand into her hair gently until her gaze was forced to remain on his face. Forced to see the truth in his eyes.
Then he told her precisely what his endearment meant, whether she liked it or not.
Chapter Fifteen
“If you havenot figured it out by now, my fair lady and mighty liege,” Jacob looked at Prudence in a way that made her toes curl and her heart go up in flames, “I call you my love because I have fallen in love with you.”
Prudence tried to speak, but the words were trapped in her throat. Lodged in a brick of fear that was impossible to decipher other than she suspected it had everything to do with her late husband and nothing to do with Jacob. A sense of terror that had to do with him saying one thing now and possibly growling something hateful at her later.
Being a prince at the moment and a monster down the line.
“I am not him, Prudence.” He caressed her cheek and saw inside her in a way no other could. “I amme. Jacob. Your friend, companion, lover, and in all ways that matter, very much your second-in-command and most devoted protector.”
“But can you be all those things without wanting more?” she asked, when she finally found her voice. When she pushed past the way her foolish heart soared. When he voiced words that already reflected how strongly she felt too. “Because I cannot give you more, Jacob.” She searched his eyes. Needed him to see the truth, however heartbreaking it may be. “I will not return to the prison of marriage. I refuse to put myself in another cage when I have so recently freed myself of the one before it.”
Even if that cage was filled with lovemaking the likes of which she had never experienced. Even if she catapulted time and time again into that sort of bliss. Because it had very much been that. Jacob made her feel so incredibly good and immensely loved whether he realized it or not.
“I am not asking you to return to the prison of marriage.” He shook his head. “I am just telling you what is in my heart, Prudence.” There was no struggle in his voice or his expression as he continued. He meant what he said. “And I am telling you it is a love that will not go away whether we marry or not.”
“Yet you must marry,” she reminded, having had this drilled into her by Randolph time and time again. “Must produce an heir.”
“I must do nothing of the sort, as my dukedom should have never been mine to begin with.” He frowned. “I am not a Campbell by blood, so I do not owe them a legacy. I need never marry again and produce an heir if I do not wish to do so. Not to mention, as I already told you, I am fairly certain I could not if I tried.”
