Page 59 of An Accidental Elopement

Archie studied her features for a moment. Her beauty had been what initially drew him to her, but what had made him stay, the reason he kept coming back was her wit, her humor, and her devotion to others’ well-being and care. Heavens, she had just suggested that they adopt his illegitimate child. That she would be its mother. Not as a sacrifice, but because she genuinely wanted to give the child the best possible upbringing. He should probably tell her all of this. And he would at some point, but at this moment, he was only able to rasp:

“Well, I think you have the most beautiful soul that I have ever come across.”

Cecilia’s eyes watered at this, while she continued to look at him. Her bottom lip shook, and he saw her lips move several times without words coming out as if she wanted to speak but could not. Archie wanted to put his arms around her, but the urge to keep studying her face was stronger.

“You said you think you might be in love with me,” she was finally able to say. “I know that I am in love with you.”

Relief rushed through his body like a warm duvet being placed over him when he was cold. He could not hold back any longer but pressed her towards him. For a moment he was simply holding her, relishing in the feeling that she reciprocated his embrace. Then his lips tentatively found hers. He was delighted when her lips started moving beneath his and could not help but squeeze her tighter against him.

Apparently, Cecilia saw this as an encouragement to deepen the kiss because her mouth opened beneath his, inviting his tongue inside. Archie felt his blood heat even further as his tongue met hers. He knew he needed to be with her right this moment, as fast as it was possible. They would have time to savor each other later; now the important matter was for them to feel united, as one, if only for a few brief moments.

He had always thought that declarations of love were a solemn, very intellectual affair. For some reason, he had never anticipated that it would immediately be followed by the desire to possess the other person physically as well. If he had, he would have planned this conversation to take place in Cecilia’s bedroom, rather than an unlocked parlor where everyone could walk in at any moment.

Cecilia seemed to be feeling the same need as he since she was tugging on his cravat with frantic motions, that almost made it too tight around his neck. Archie hurriedly untied it himself to be certain that she would not strangle him in the process. He threw the cloth on the floor and then returned to her, unbuttoning her dress enough in the back to be able to lower the neckline over her breasts. They were still clad in her chemise and corset, but he pushed the cups of the corset down to knead them through only the thin, almost see-through material of her chemise.

Cecilia moaned softly as he squeezed both tight rosy peaks. The sound had him look at her face; she was flushed, her hair mussed, her lips swollen from their kiss. She was more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Her gray eyes were studying him intently while he was touching her.

“We should head upstairs,” Archie panted, even though he had no idea how he would make the journey there. He was already fully erect.

“No,” Cecilia gasped and moved closer. “I need you inside me. We can be quick, right?”

Archie gulped and nodded at the same time. His entire body seemed to tighten in response to her words. He lowered his head to one of her breasts, sucking on the sensitive nub. Cecilia gasped and her fingers combed through his hair as she held his head close to her bosom.

“Can we do it on the settee?” she breathed.

Archie could not help but lift his head and smile wickedly.

“Certainly, there are so many ways,” he told her before giving attention to her other nipple.

Cecilia’s back arched against him.

“How then?” she asked, as she was once again holding his head against her bosom.

“I suppose you could lie back on the settee or be on all fours although I would very much like to see your face,” he murmured against her breast. “I could kneel on the floor.” He remembered how much his knees had hurt before and hoped she did not choose that option. “Or you could straddle me...”

The last seemed to be the final prompt that she needed. She moved to sit with a knee on either side of his thighs and their mouths found each other again while their hands were busy adjusting her skirts.

Her dress slid slightly down her shoulders as Cecilia squirmed when he reached the lace of her drawers. It exposed even more creamy skin and Archie could not help but lean forward and kiss her shoulder. Cecilia’s head fell to the side, giving him access to kiss his way up her neck.

He untied her drawers and pulled them as far down her thighs as possible, before finding her core. Cecilia moaned softly when he found her slick folds. And they were indeed slick. His lower belly tightened further at just how much she wanted him.

“We should be slow,” he murmured against her temple because he felt the situation demanded it.

“We will be slow later,” Cecilia panted as he slid a finger inside her. Her large gray eyes found his and she gave him a small nod to continue. “We have all night, do we not?” There was a slightly vulnerable tone to her voice as she spoke, which had Archie lower his mouth to hers before he answered.

“We certainly do,” he mumbled against her lips.

He felt Cecilia rise, then she hurriedly stepped out of her drawers, before coming back to sit on top of him again. They helped each other with the buttons of his trousers and Archie hurriedly shoved both his pantaloons and unmentionables down his thighs to be ready for her. With a hand at the small of her back, he helped guide her to take him inside her.

Cecilia moaned, her eyes slipped closed, and she rested her head against his shoulders for a moment. All fears that Archie had had that they were going too fast evaporated, and he stared at her for a second, taking in her beauty. It seemed impossible that she was able to love him and yet she did.

She started moving her hips with unpracticed movements, and Archie placed his hands on her hips to help her find the right rhythm. Cecilia gasped breathily and Archie had to check himself not to groan.

“Did you miss this?” He could not help but tease her, even though he felt certain of the answer.

“Yes,” she panted against his neck. He thought that it was all that she was going to answer but then she said on a breathy note: “I thought we might never again... and I did not know how to go without it.”

Archie had no answer to that except that he helped her increase the speed. She had said that they would be slow later, and he intended to, but right now his only mission was to see the flush of a climax on her cheeks.