Fingers fiddled with the buttons of her bodice, desire strumming in every direction at his warm touch. Soon it was undone, and Aidan was tugging the gown from her body. It dropped to pool around her feet, but she had no time to be concerned when his large palms came up to cup her through her stays. He growled in frustration, moving to tug her tapes and rip the garment away and throwing it aside.
Gwen thrilled at the evidence of his lust for her, reaching up to stroke his bared chest and revel in the sensation of the dusting of crisp curls and the hard muscles below her fingertips. He reached up to take hold of her hands, moving them to his waist so he could lean in to wrap his mouth around a jutting nipple, pleading for his attentions under the fabric of her shift.
She moaned loudly, tugging at his waist to pull him closer as his tongue flicked over the turgid tip. Next she knew, he had his arms about her and was lifting her up offher feet, their bodies pressed together tightly, so he could walk her over to the bed where he gently lowered her down.
While he towered over her, his eyes on her nearly naked body, surveying her slender form through the transparent cotton, Gwen watched with wide eyes as he undid the buttons of his falls. Taking a seat on the bed, he quickly pulled off his boots and unrolled his stockings before shrugging out of his breeches.
She was less shy this evening. It was their third night together, so this time she watched in open fascination as he revealed the engorged appendage which announced his desire for her. She reached out to grasp it, enraptured by the feeling of satin skin over hard steel, but Aidan growled and pulled her hand away.
Gwen was startled, her head cocking back to question him.
“I am still rather new to this, Venus. Touching me might lead to a disappointing finish.”
She smirked, sitting up to remove her shift so they were both naked together. “We would not want that!”
Grabbing him by the waist once more, she tugged him over, falling back onto the bed so he fell over her. Catching himself on his elbows, he watched her from an inch away, their heated skin rubbing together in the most delicious manner. Gwen gazed back, her heart thudding faster and faster in her chest as his hand slipped down between them. A finger found the crease between her legs, and Aidan explored her folds. Gliding over her slickness, he found the apex and swirled.
Gwen threw her head back and moaned, her legs parting to give him access as he settled his knees between hers. Aidan continued to stroke her, and her body writhed with the pleasure of it as her hips rose and fell rhythmicallybeneath his. Her movements became frayed, fractured, as sensation rose in waves to engulf her in a keening release.
Aidan quickly brought his hand back up to enter her with one decisive thrust, filling her with his blazing flesh. As he pulled back and thrust into her once more, Gwen moaned and gripped the coverlet with both hands as her desire mounted once more.
Together they chased the peak of oblivion before they both cried out and rode the wave together, crashing back to the earth in each other’s arms.
Aidan fell to his side next to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her body. “It is better with no secrets between us.”
Gwen giggled breathlessly, boneless from their mutual passion. “Much better.”
“Shall we … pledge to never have secrets again?”
She winced. “If that is how it is to be, then I suppose I better confess … The night you asked me about Papa selling his property … I told you the truth that he did not discuss it with me, but the truth is … I suspected what he had planned and did not disclose it.”
Aidan raised his head, peering at her in the dim light. “Gwendolyn Abbott! You misled me!”
She grinned, blushing with guilt. “To be fair, we were not yet married, and I did not know you all that well.”
His lips curled into a smile, and he leaned down to brush them over hers. “No more secrets in the future?”
Gwen nodded. “No more secrets, nor half-truths, nor carefully worded answers intended to misdirect. Unless I am planning a surprise.”
Aidan settled back down, holding her close. “When this is all over with Trafford and finding the killer, shall we take that trip to Italy together?”
Her heart fluttered in her chest. “You meant that? That you would take me to Florence?”
“Of course, but at the rate we are going, we might want to leave soon. If you are with child, we will have some time limitations to contend with.”
Gwen purred in the back of her throat, overcome that her moonlight visitor was placing all her deepest wishes at her feet. Great art. A child of her own. Deep in her soul, she finally acknowledged that he was not a visitor at all, but the other half of her soul, and their entire future was before them.
“Then we have no choice but to solve this murder swiftly,” she replied.
EPILOGUE
“Well begun is half done.”
Aristotle
AUGUST 29, 1821
Gwen pulled the edge of her hood down, careful to hide any evidence of her red hair beneath it. Her unusual height could not be helped, but she would keep her knees slightly bent and her shoulders hunched as she walked down the street.
