His smile was as gentle as his heart, and it warmed her to see. “At least that should stop them from questioning us for a while. And gossiping.”
A pregnant pause descended between them. He took another sip. She held her glass before her, still looking up and into his eyes. A large part of her wanted to ignore her feelings because she did not want to be wrong, to risk what they had. This last month had been wonderful, and to ruin it would break her.
But it might also be better. If he does feel this way for me, imagine what that might mean for the future. For us.
Nervous. Body shaking. Florentia found her courage and forced herself to act. She would never forgive herself if she did not.
“Hudson...” She began softly. “I...need to ask you something.”
“You can ask me anything, Florentia. You know this.”
“It is a sensitive topic.”
“I will do my best not to overreact.”
She smiled, her hand resting on his arm again. “It is to do with what happened earlier...” She looked away sheepishly but then forced herself to look back. “In the stable...”
She saw it then, behind his eyes. A flash of excitement, beaten back by fear. If she was not holding him, he might have turned away. But she held on, refusing to allow him the chance. She needed an answer.
“What about it?”
“What nearly happened between us, before we were interrupted...” She looked at him suggestively, and then she stepped in closer. “I have been thinking all afternoon about it. Trying to puzzle out how I feel and...”
“Florentia...” His voice was soft, his body was trembling, but he did not deny her, and she took that as a sign.
“I am thinking now that I wish we had not been interrupted.”
To that, he said nothing. But he did not need to. They stood mere inches apart. Drinks forgotten. Eyes trained on one another. The light from the hearth fell across Hudson’s face, and she saw the fire in his eyes. She saw the want and the need and the sudden realization in him that this was what he wanted. He just didn’t know it yet.
The tension grew between them. It was so thick it might have been cut with a knife, was one available. Still, Hudson said nothing, but his eyes flicked to her lips, his drink lowered further, and if there was one thing Florentia knew about her husband it was how clueless he was to social dynamics.
He wants this. I can see it in his eyes. And if he isn’t going to make the first move...
Surprisingly, itwasHudson who acted. Perhaps for once he could read her intent, seeing as she was being so obvious about it. Or maybe he was simply that besotted by her, the tension brewing between them all day, what had happened earlier still on his mind, unable to control himself in ways that she was all too familiar with.
He stepped into her. His hand went for her face, cupping it and pulling her into him as their lips connected for what was the first time, but surely not their last.
The kiss wrapped them both as if in a blanket. Florentia stepped in closer, Hudson brought his other hand to her face. It was her first kiss ever, but it felt like it might have been her one hundredth, such was the ease. Lips pressed, mouths parted, tongues lapped and danced playfully. The passion of it swept through her, down her body, lifting her so that she felt like she might fly.
And on it went, for seconds, maybe minutes, husband and wife locked together as Florentia let her mind wander ahead to what this might mean. She felt the kiss in her chest. She felt it in her soul. She felt it in the future they would share, the happiness that would come, and the children they were sure to?—
“No!” Hudson tore his lips free from her and she gasped. Then he stumbled back, turning himself away as if in shame. “What are you doing?” he hissed.
“Me?” She stepped forward as if to go to him but hesitated when he flinched. “You are the one who?—”
“I was speaking to myself,” he snarled. He was not looking at her as he spoke, and she could not tell if he was angry. But his shoulders were hunched, and his body was trembling. “And you,” he added as if he needed to avert blame. “You ought to know better than to…to encourage this.”
“Hudson...” Her voice caught in her throat with total disbelief. “I did not?—”
“No. It is my fault.” His shoulders straightened as he controlled himself. “And I apologize.”
“Apologize?” She did not understand what he was saying. “Hudson, there is no need to?—”
“But you must know, this means nothing.” He took a deep breath, still refusing to look at her. “Nor does what I was saying earlier to your parents, concerning the possibility of a child. I do not want one, and you need to see this for what it is.” Another pause, calm returning to him. “A mistake.”
“What?” She leaned back and touched her chest. “Hudson, is that what you think? No, I did not—I know you were not speaking truthfully to my parents. I know how you feel about?—”
“We have spoken about this, Florentia,” he spoke over her, even if it sounded more like he was speaking to himself. “And I thought you understood well enough. I thought you accepted my feelings on the matter.”
