Clara tried to lift her head off the pillow, but it fell back. “Stay where you are,” she whispered. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“But I made you a promise,” he replied, ribbing her on, without withdrawing from the splendors of her womanhood.
“This is the one and only time I will let you break a promise to me.”
He chuckled at that.
“Unless we are in this same situation again,” she added, “in which case I hope you will do whatever I ask.” Her voice trailed off.“I had no idea it could feel like this.”
He kissed her cheeks and nose and felt a great groundswell of affection.
She’d just saidshehad no idea it could feel like this, when in fact it was he who was bewildered. He had just made love to a virgin—a virgin he’d already proposed to—and he felt wholly content. All seemed right with the world, except for the fact that he would soon have to slip out of her bed and make a hasty departure.
His gaze roamed over her face, then he rolled off her.
He was accustomed to this routine—rolling off a lady, then reaching for his trousers and making himself scarce—but tonight it felt wrong and frustrating and the reaction was completely foreign to him. He felt like he was already home, and he should not have to leave.
Clara snuggled into him and rested her cheek on his chest. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”
“Me too.”
“When will we be able to do this again? I’m not sure I can wait until September.”
He was quite certain that he couldn’t. “Then let’s get married sooner.”
She rose up on an elbow. “Really? How soon are you thinking?”
“Tomorrow would be nice.”
She chuckled softly. “Tomorrow would be nice indeed, but my mother won’t arrive until next week.”
“I look forward to meeting her,” he magnanimously replied. “What about next week, then, by special license?”
Clara’s eyebrows lifted. “All of my family needs to be here.”
“They could all get here within a week, couldn’t they?”
She stared at him for a moment, considering it. “Your stepmother is making plans for September.”
“Plans can be changed. There is no reason to wait. In fact, it’s dangerous to wait because I am sure I won’t be able to stay away from you, and we can only rely on luck for so long. We’ll get caught eventually, and on top of that, we’d go insane. I would at any rate.”
“I would, too.”
He held her cheek in his hand. “Then marry me sooner than September. Put me out of my misery.”
“There would be talk.”
“You know I don’t care about that sort of thing.”
Clara sat up and grinned at him. “Why are you so persistent all the time? I can never say no to you.”
He brought a finger to his lips to remind her to speak softly. “Shh. And I don’t want you to say no. I want you to say yes.”
“I already said yes. To everything so far. We have to draw the line somewhere.”
Seger frowned. “Why draw a line? Why deny ourselves? Why not simply have what we want?”
She stared at him in the candlelight, then her face changed. Her voice lost its playful tone. “You’re used to that, aren’t you?”
