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‘I don’t think you can simply close them off.’
‘I know I have done the right thing with the girl and I will make it up to Jacob, somehow.’
‘Don’t think about it. Now it’s done.’ She pulled him close.
He squeezed her. ‘You feel... You feel like...’ He paused, swaying her on her feet. ‘I can’t think what you feel like exactly, but it warms up old leather nicely. Gives it new life.’
She let herself melt into his body and his scent—fresh gardens and the brush of strength. She wanted to be able to close her eyes and slide into the memories of his arms long after she left. And secretly, she hoped there would be a child. She would let Warrington know—after a while. After her heart did not ache so.
She shut her eyes, imagining her own sisters who’d lost their mother and been willingly deserted by their father. ‘I think of my family. The ones gone and the ones left. And I can’t leave them, either. My promise to my mother...’
He leaned in, wrapping her in his arms, and when he spoke, his voice was at her ear. ‘I’ve thought of nothing but family all day and you dream of yours. Let us take a walk from them and leave them for a moment. They will still be there for us when we return.’
Melina knew she would like nothing better and to be held by Warrington soothed her completely.
‘Let me pleasure you.’ He touched a tendril of her hair, brushing it back, but his finger returned to linger on her skin.
She looked up and desire stirred in every part of her just from being in his arms. She yearned for the touch of his lips against hers. She pulled back enough so she could tiptoe up, pressing her mouth to his, and feel the strength of his response.
He took her mouth with the same ferocity of needing one kiss to stay alive. One kiss to have another heartbeat.
She no longer stood on her own feet. Warrington held her, his fingers splayed against her back, keeping her aloft.
He moved, or she did, and that merest movement of their bodies, constrained by clothing, and yet freed to feel every whisper of touch, tumbled her into a world where passions conquered all concerns.
He pulled back and she opened her eyes. She’d never seen the expression on his face before. It was too strong for her to take in and too deep to turn from. He picked her up and deposited her gently on the bed.
Warrington pulled his clothes from his body, shedding them with no care for where they landed, but when he lay beside her, he undid the chemise ties, unwrapping her with the care of touching a wisp he didn’t want the breeze to blow away.
She felt rich, pampered, treasured—valuable as marble carved by a hand guided from the heart of the greatest craftsman.
‘Melina,’ he whispered and said nothing else. No question or words. Just spoke her name.
And the sound of it from his lips filled her the same as an outpouring of love.
When he lay beside her, she ran her hands down his body and up again, trying to memorise every surface. Trying to soak in each fibre of him. Wanting to hold the feelings within herself for ever.
He touched her hip and their eyes were close enough to see in the darkness. He bent his head to her neck and his hair grazed against her, the scent of his skin lingering with the locks. Pressing her to her back, he lay beside her and pulled her against his body. He burrowed his lips into the hollow of her neck, his teeth brushing her skin, and his fingertips marked her heart, and all of her.
When he trailed his fingers down her stomach, reaching into the gentle slope, pressing her soft curls, touching the folds, finding the peak, she couldn’t think any more. She gasped, lost in the swirls, the pulses of his touch, and she couldn’t regain herself until he completed the feelings for her.
She felt him, holding their bodies close, moving them together, in a rhythm of lovemaking, while his hands caressed her, bringing her to the height of her passion again, crashing them together and taking all the power from her body. She relished all the sensations of him.
This would be their last night together.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Melina sat on the floor, dodging the edges of Willa’s fan as the little one worked to keep Melina’s face cool. They’d just finished breaking their fast and Melina hadn’t seen Warrington since she’d left his bed at dawn.
‘Melina.’ Warrington’s shout from outside the children’s bedchamber penetrated the oak door.
‘Oh, Little One...’ Melina exaggerated her facial expression ‘...it appears someone is in very serious trouble. Warrington sounds very, very angry.’
