He stood by the window, looking across the estate, desperate to focus on anything but his dream… anything but Celestine… and anything but the terrible mistake he’d made last night.
It wasn’t a mistake. It was the only thing that I could do!
Kissing her had certainly been a mistake, however. Even Edward could not deny such an obvious truth as that. He had not intended to do so. He had told himself that he did not want it. But when the moment came, alone as they were, the last time they would be so, and even Edward was only so strong.
No doubt that kiss was what brought his dreams.
It made things difficult, as he wanted to escape that dream but he tasted Celestine on his lips in a way that was too real. He remembered too, her soft moan as they kissed, how her body had tensed, and the obviousness of her enjoyment because when he pulled away, she had followed him… she had not wanted the kiss to end.
And neither did I.
Edward’s blood still burned hot and no amount of staring out the window was going to change that. His manhood still throbbed painfully, his body trembled. He needed to remove Celestine from his mind and the idea that came to him was not a pleasant one, but it was all that he had.
With the idea in place, he strode from his room.
It was minutes later that Edward slowly lowered himself into the cold waters of his bath. When he’d told his staff what he wanted, they looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Thankfully, they did not glance downwards, because if they had, they likely would have seen the true reason.
But the cold water was like a slap across the face. Edward winced as it took him, and he breathed in deeply as his manhood softened and his boiling hot blood cooled.
The dream was expected, really. A natural consequence of a most strange evening.
Alone in that bath, the cold water making him shake, he shut his eyes as he pictured last evening, willing himself to believe that he had done the right thing.
Truly, it had gone as well as could be expected, and he had no doubt that by the end of today the entire ton would know of their fight. Thus, when he announced the end of the engagement, it would not be shock that rippled across London, but acceptance. He and Celestine were done.
He forced a smile. He forced the belief that he had no choice. He forced himself to think of anything other than Celestine…
“Edward!” the door flew open suddenly.
His eyes shot open and he gasped as Millicent swept into the bathroom. Her eyes were wide in panic and shock and it wasn’t until she was half in the room that she seemed to realize what she was doing.
“Millicent!” he cried. “What are you –”
“Is it true?” She stopped short and turned around, putting her back to him. “Is it true, Edward?”
“Is what true?”
“What people are saying of you and Celestine? That you and she… they say that you fought last evening. Some are even saying that you are ending your engagement.”
Edward groaned.I forget sometimes how quickly the rumor mill turns.
“Who told you that?” he asked.
“That is not an answer!”
“Millicent…” He softened his voice. “You are no longer a little girl, so I will not treat you as one. Yes, it is true. Last evening, Celestine and I had a fight that was unavoidable and –”
“What did you do?” she demanded.
He winced.“It was a long time coming, Millicent. While on the surface, it might have seemed that she and I were good for one another, I see now that this is not the case. We discussed at length our courtship and we decided together that it could not continue. It was nobody’s fault.”
“Buy why, Edward?” she whined, still not facing him. Her voice echoed across the tiled room. “I liked her. She was… she was so nice, and good for you. I thought you were in love?”
“Sadly, things are not nearly that simple.”
“They are,” she said stubbornly. “You just won’t admit it.”
Those words cut a little too close for Edward’s liking.
