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Sabrina ducked her head and laughed quietly. Henry really had been rooked!
“I’d planned to stop and rest here for a few hours, but I think we should ride on, instead,” said Henry, frowning at his pocket watch. “The less people see of us, the better,” he explained. “Fairford will probably inquire as to our passage on his way south, the same as I did on my way to find you. If he catches on to us quickly enough, he might decide to turn around and give chase.”
Less than half an hour later, they were again riding out across the wold, skirting the edges of the now-bustling little market town.
The sun was high in the dome overhead when they stopped just north of Penrith to water the horses. Henry had opted to avoid being seen in the town.
She slid off her mount with a groan. She’d ridden astride for the sake of speed, and now her thighs ached abominably.
Henry walked the horses over and let them drink from the little stream.
“You don’t have to marry me,” she blurted, the sound of her own voice startling after so many hours of silence. “Mama will likely demand it, circumstances being what they are, but I will not hold you under obligation. You can take me home, and we can simply pretend none of this ever happened. I’ll let Percy go his way, if he truly has changed his mind, and I’ll threaten Fairford with what I know if he tries to force my hand.”
In two strides Henry was before her. “I didn’t ride all day and night to return without a bride.”
Her heart pounded. “But how can you still want me, after—”
“You little fool.” He took her quivering chin between gentle fingers, lifted her face, and kissed her tenderly. “Because I love you. And I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again.”
Tears coursing down her cheeks, she looked away in shame. “I am afraid to love you,” she admitted. “But I cannot help it, even if it brings me to misery.”
“I told you once that I am not the sort of man to keep a mistress or take lovers, Sabrina. I love you, and I have no desire for any other woman.”
“My father probably told my mother the same thing,” she said bitterly. “He was a good man, a wonderful father, and I loved him, but he broke my mother’s heart. I do not want—”
“For the last time, I am not your father, and I won’t be punished for his poor judgment.”
“And if the physician tells me to have no more children at the risk of dying? What then? Will you become a monk?”
Sunlight flashed in his wicked, violet eyes as he slowly grinned. “There are many ways of pleasuring that do not involve the final ‘act,’ my love. I’ve already shown you some of my knowledge. Do you require further demonstration?”
Alarmed, she took a hasty step back. “I am well aware of your…intimate knowledge,” she stammered. “But will it be enough for you to pleasure me without finding equal satisfaction yourself?”
His grin broadened as he deliberately narrowed the gap between them.
THE HEAT OF his gaze sank into her bones, awakening a painful yearning in her flesh.
“There are as many ways for a woman to satisfy a man as there are techniques to pleasure a woman,” he said. “I will teach them all to you.”
Cheeks burning, her mind flashed back to some of the illustrations in the book he’d given her. Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face, for Henry’s laughter rang out. She opened her mouth to protest, and he claimed it, breathing in her gasp of surprise as he moved to caress the sides of her breasts, thumbing the nipples briefly before skimming down to reach ba
ck and cup her derriere.
Familiar fire spread throughout her body, the backs of her legs tightening with each stroke of his tongue as it delved into the dark, velvet recesses of her mouth to play touch and seek. Shudders of pleasure rippled through her, and unable to help herself, she moaned aloud with want.
Sweeping her up, Henry carried her to a grassy copse down by the stream. The horses turned their curious, liquid brown eyes to watch the two humans briefly before returning to the more interesting grass before them.
Quickly, he divested her of her cloak and spread it out on the soft, green turf. Laying her on the makeshift bed, he kissed her until the earth beneath her melted away. Her skirt and petticoats he pushed up, slowly massaging her thighs, soothing muscles that ached from riding. With lips and hands, he wooed her body, planting kiss after gentle kiss on her sensitive skin until she writhed and pulled at him. Finally, he parted her knees to sample the delicate flesh between.
Her breathy exclamation of pleasure made the horses’ ears perk, and they nickered in answer. Their encouragement went unheard, however, as the tide rose within Sabrina, gathering strength. Just as she was about to cross the threshold, Henry rose to his knees, freed himself from his breeches, and sank back atop her.
His hot, heavy manhood prodded between her thighs, but to her frustration he did not immediately seek entrance. Instead, he chose to tease, rubbing his hard length against her dewy heat.
She thought she might go mad with desire.
“If you say the word now, I will stop,” he told her. “As I said, I can bring you to your pleasure without completing the act.”
She stilled beneath him. “Do you not want me?”
