Gus broke the block of cheese in half and handed a piece to her. They sat on the ground while they finished the last of the food. By the time they were done, the sun had well and truly set.
The moon had shifted from full to a waning gibbous, but there was still enough light for them to be able to see one another clearly. And while the early spring night was chill, they dared not risk a fire. Even a small flame could send signals to anyone searching for them.
They huddled close, with Evangeline stuffing her hands into the large pockets of her father’s coat to keep them warm. She had been in too great a hurry that morning at the château to remember to pack her gloves.
“Come closer. Let me keep you from the cold,” said Gus.
He pulled off his hat and wig, setting the hair to one side. A grateful Evangeline took the hat and propped it under her head as she lay down. Gus snuggled up next to her on the ground.
“Did you know that your hair glows in the dark? You look like one of those religious paintings with a halo around your head,” he said.
Evangeline grinned up at him. She couldn’t ever recall having her hair likened to a nimbus before. “It is one of the perils of having such fair hair. People think I am the Venus de Milo and that I should be standing on a giant shell.”
He leaned over and brushed a kiss on her cheek. “The Venus de Milo is the statue without any arms. The painting to which you refer is Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. And she had red hair.”
A giggle escaped her lips. “So much for my education. My mother was always saying I spent too much time reading mathematics and not enough studying the Renaissance.”
Gus cleared his throat. “Actually, I only know that because George Hawkins was considering stealing a Titian painting at one point. He studied up on Italian masters for a time. But enough about friends.”
A second kiss found its way to her cheek. Gus’s third kiss trailed down her neck. Evangeline shivered at his touch. Heat pooled between her legs.
“Tell me, my sweet, does the hair at the entrance to your sex also glow in the dark? I can’t wait to see if it does,” he whispered.
The sensation of his warm breath on her skin had Evangeline biting her bottom lip. “Not telling,” she teased.
Gus groaned. “You torture me.”
Evangeline’s nimble fingers swiftly worked to release several of her buttons. She opened the bottom of her coat. Grabbing a hold of Gus’s hand, she settled it on the hem of her gown. “You might not get to see tonight, but you most certainly can touch. If you like.”
They were so close that she caught sight of his Adam’s apple as it bobbed up and down when he swallowed. His breath came in short gasps. “May I?” he asked.
She bunched up her skirts, slowly lifting them. His fingers followed.
“Lie back for me,” he commanded.
Her eyes closed as the tip of his thumb touched the outer folds of her sex. They opened as he pushed it deep into her wet heat and began to stroke. Evangeline groaned.
Gus nipped at her earlobe and murmured, “Shh, you must be quiet. Don’t startle the horses.”
He captured her next soft cry with his mouth, his tongue, and thumb working in concert with one another.
The pressure slowly built, but he wouldn’t release her from the kiss. He shifted his hand, slipping two fingers into her sex. His thumb rubbed over her sensitive bud. Gus had large hands, and his fingers stretched her tight sheath. It wasn’t painful; it was divine.
Evangeline was on the verge of climax when she broke free of the kiss. “Do you want to be inside me when I come?”
He nodded. “More than anything. But not here. When I take you for the first time, it will be in a bed. And you will be my wife. Watching you, touching you is a heady mix of both pleasure and torture for me. My reward will be when you reach completion.” His mouth came down on hers once more, and the pace of his strokes increased.
Evangeline lifted her hands and tightly gripped the brim on either side of Gus’s hat.
She was so close now; her climax tantalizingly near.
In a flurry of movement, Gus tore his lips from hers. He shifted down her body. A gasp escaped her lips as he removed his fingers from her sex, only to then replace them with his wicked tongue. He sucked and licked her sensitive nib. Evangeline had just enough time to cover her mouth with her hand. She let out a muffled cry as her world suddenly shattered into a blinding orgasm.
Her climax continued to roll on as Gus worked his lips skillfully back and forth over her throbbing bud. A smile crept its way to her own lips. She couldn’t wait for Gus to become master of their marital bedroom.
If she had to fight the entire Lamballe gang in order to make sure they got on that boat to England, she would.
Gus crawled over her and grinned. “I think your entire body is now glowing.”
