She let out a sigh as the kiss ended and leaned her head on his shoulder. ‘I do hope that Hugo wasn’t too hurt by not being able to attend.’
‘He’s an elephant.’
‘Elephants have feelings.’
‘Yes, they do,’ he agreed. If not for Hugo, Drake wouldn’t be married to this wonderful, amazing woman. He would never have thought that an elephant could make a man fall in love, but that was exactly what had happened. He’d never thought he could be as happy as he was right now, either, but that too had happened.
‘We will have time to say goodbye to him before we leave tomorrow, won’t we?’ she asked.
‘Yes, we will.’
‘He’s going to be so excited to have another elephant with him,’ she said. ‘A partner. Just like us.’
‘Let’s just hope we don’t end up with two elephants running through the park and getting drunk off wine.’
She laughed. ‘Let’s hope not!’
And so it continued as they rode towards her brother’s house, the two of them talking and laughing, about nothing, and yet everything, as always.
The wedding breakfast extended well into the afternoon, with all the traditions of toasts and cake and gifts and pictures. Drake enjoyed it, not only because he wanted Meridith to have all that, but because it was nice to be with so many people that they wouldn’t see for the next few months. His and Archibald’s partnership was working out very well, and he had faith in his cousin that when they returned all would be just as it should be—with both the shipping companyandthe gold mine. Archibald had shown Drake all the documents, and it truly did appear as if there was gold on the property; it just hadn’t been found yet. They had decided to continue searching, just with a smaller financial commitment than before.
Meridith, who had retreated upstairs with her sisters a short time ago, once again arrived at his side. ‘Can we leave now?’ she whispered.
‘I don’t know, can we?’ he asked in return, glancing around the main parlour that was still filled with people.
Biting her bottom lip, she nodded. ‘Yes.’
He clasped her hand and began making their way to the door. It was more than an hour later when the last farewell was bid, and they climbed into their carriage.
‘This has been a wonderful, perfect day, in every way,’ she said, once again leaning her head on his shoulder, ‘but I’m ready for it to be just me and you.’
He kissed the top of her head. ‘So am I.’
Thankfully, the ride to his, now their house didn’t take long, and hand in hand, they climbed the stairs to his, now their bedroom on the second floor. He opened the door, held it wide for her to enter first, and heard her sigh, knowing she saw what he did.
Agnes had set up a small table in the corner of the room, and upon it were trays and bowls of fruit, breads, cheeses, and various other tidbits of foods. There was also a bottle of wine and glasses.
‘Oh, dear, sweet Agnes,’ Meridith said. ‘We won’t have to leave this room until tomorrow.’
He closed the door, stepped up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘I’m fine with that.’
She leaned back against him. ‘I am, too.’
He kissed the side of her neck, the temptation too great not to, and smiled at the mewing sound she made. She was telling him exactly what she wanted, which was exactly what he wanted, too.
With no fear or uncertainty, she lifted one of his hands and guided it upwards, until it was cupping one of her breasts. ‘I need you, Drake.’
‘I need you, too,’ he whispered in her ear.
‘This is our night.’
‘Every night from this moment forward will be our night,’ he said, caressing her breast.
‘I like the sound of that,’ she said. ‘And the feel of that.’
She was a lady through and through, but had never been fearful of expressing her wants or desires. She did what came naturally to her without shame or judgement. Simply one more thing for him to love about her.
‘So do I,’ he said. Running a line of kisses along her neck, he slid the hand not caressing her breast downwards, to her lower stomach, then used it to press her tighter against him, letting his arousal come in contact with her backside.
