‘You might have fallen in the dark,’ he chided gently.
‘I didn’t,’ she said, allowing herself a moment of pride.
‘I know,’ he said, sounding proud, as well. ‘I had to come back. I did not want you to think we’d abandoned you.’
She still could not see his face, but his tone was earnest, as it had been when he’d argued with Grandfather.
‘I did not think you had,’ she said. There had been a moment of doubt, yes, but that was unimportant now.
‘He called for the constable and had us put out of the house. We are staying at the inn in the village.’ He pushed the cloak aside so he could take her hand. ‘Come back there with me.’
That would be the easiest thing to do. She’d never wanted to be involved in the mess they’d created with this huge lie. She would have to live with Percy, just as she’d done in London.
She glanced back at the distant lights of the house and remembered what Grandfather had said about ruining Percy’schances of happiness by becoming a burden on him. ‘I can’t,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Of course you can,’ he said in a firm tone. ‘Your brother is there. There is nothing improper about it.’
‘My future is here.’ It was a grim truth. But running away from it would change nothing.
‘If this is about the money, it does not matter. I have more than enough of that. You can have it.’
She smiled at the offer, which was both generous and naïve. ‘It would be improper. People would talk.’
They both knew that if he offered money to her brother, Percy’s pride would never allow him to accept it.
He sighed. ‘That is probably true.’ He dropped her hands and took her by the shoulders. ‘But I cannot leave you here.’ He pulled off his hat and threw it aside. He turned with her and pressed her against the stone behind them. He released her and loomed over her for a moment, giving her time to escape whatever was coming.
Didn’t he understand that she’d never wanted to be away from him? In these last few days, she’d come to cherish each casual word, each dance and the occasional brush of his hand on her arm.
Those hands were now pressed, palms flat, against the stone on either side of her head as if he was struggling against the urge to touch her. When his lips came down on hers, his entire body followed, pressing against her, chest to breast, belly to belly, crotch to groin.
The stone still held a trace of the day’s warmth, but she shivered from desire. She thrust her hands beneath his cloak, wrapping her arms around his waist and opened her mouth to him, offering whatever he was willing to take.
Beside her, his hands scraped into fists against the stone as his tongue thrust against hers without hesitation. She couldimagine him taking her body like this, torn between desperation and caution. She could feel the hunger in his kiss and the restraint of those raised hands that were refusing to touch her.
There was so much more he could show her. So much more he could do. Just as she always was when she visited this place, she was trapped on the edge of a future she’d imagined but might never have.
She pushed him away. He stood a little apart from her, panting as she pulled at the neck of her gown and fought to free her breasts from her stays. Her nipples tightened as the air touched them. She saw him smile, a glint of straight white teeth in the moonlight.
His hands were on her before she could ask, covering them, palms rubbing warmth into them that did nothing to relieve the taut skin. He lowered his mouth to take them, showering them with eager kisses as his hands found her waist, pulling her hips to his. He backed her against the stone, again, sucking and biting as one of his hands raised her skirt.
She felt like an offering in some Pagan ritual, about to sacrifice her innocence under a full moon. But she was a willing victim. She’d known this place all her life, been waiting for this moment, to become the woman she was meant to be. No matter what was about to happen she wanted it to be with him.
Her skirt was crumpled between them now, and she could feel the night air on the bare skin above her stockinged legs.
He raised his face to hers, kissing her lips again before pulling away. ‘I want to watch you,’ he whispered.
‘What?’ She was not sure what was happening. His hands moved again, one cupping her bottom, the other sliding between her legs. His fingers raked through the delta of hair, before moving on.
She gasped, her breasts rising and falling in the moonlight. He watched her breathe, his gaze as gentle as a fingertip, restingagainst them. But the touch of his hands was like nothing she’d ever known, beyond anything she’d imagined. He held her firm with one hand as the other explored. He looked at her face again, cataloguing each shocked blink and gasp. Refining his movements to elicit the response he desired.
‘Do I frighten you?’ he said, nipping her earlobe and moving a finger back and forth against her.
‘I am not… I do not…’ She couldn’t answer. This was a new feeling. It might be fear. But mostly, she was afraid that he would stop before she understood it fully.
She closed her eyes, embarrassed at his scrutiny. Then, he touched a particularly sensitive spot and she gasped again.
He responded with a chuckle of satisfaction and focused his attentions on it.
