AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thomas relished in the sound of Eliza’s ragged breathing as he moved his mouth around her soft skin and inhaled the delicate scent of her hair. Slow, deliberate, he lowered his mouth toward hers as he surrendered to the desire that possessed him. Their lips caressed, soft at first. She let out a tiny mewing sound, expanding his driving need for her closeness. He pressed her against him and deepened the kiss as she looped her gentle arms around his neck. Raking her fingers through his hair, she gripped tight as she returned his passion.
His blood raced at ferocious speeds, driving his imagination to places he couldn’t yet go. Not until they were married. He had to stop, before the need for her overwhelmed his reason. With Herculean effort he eased away, gazing at her through hooded eyes.
Her own eyes remained closed, and her mouth slightly open. He could see her chest moving up and down at a rapid pace as she breathed.
As if waking, she opened her eyes, blinking. A worried expression crept across her delicate features.
“Why did you stop?”
Her innocence humbled him, and despite the danger, he pulled her to him, resting her head against his chest. He remained quiet, unable to answer as he tried to force his surging emotions to settle. But such a task was impossible.
“What do my actions tell you now?” he whispered.
She made no sound, only looked up and stroked his face with her delicate fingers. Her endless eyes shimmering back with such love his heart swelled until it nearly stopped his lungs.
“Eliza?”
“Yes?” she answered, a husky sound to her voice.
“I want you to be my wife.” The words toppled out of his mouth and he bit his tongue. He hadn’t intended to ask her, but apparently his inner desires, no matter how suppressed, could no longer be ignored.
She pushed away and looked up at him, disbelief painting her face. “Your wife?”
He tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you say?” The muscles in his shoulders tensed. Maybe she did truly love Samuel. “Will you accept me?”
She must have seen the emotions he attempted to disguise. Her slender fingers moved over his dipping eyebrows and the sweetest of smiles graced her enticing mouth. “There’s no need for your brow to furrow so. Of course I accept you.”
Joy rose in his heart like a surging sea. Thomas moved his hands further around her waist, hoping such closeness would erase all other men from her mind. “You’re not wishing you would have accepted the man who asked before me?”
An impish grin chased across her mouth. “Never. You’ve surprised me, that is all. I couldn’t be happier.”
“So you do accept me?” he asked.
A petite laugh escaped her. “Have I not already answered? What do my actions tell you, Thomas?” Her delicious tone tantalized him.
A small chuckle of his own bubbled in his chest.
“Eliza,” he whispered. “If we’re going to be married I need to tell you something.” The burden of his knowledge of Samuel weighed on him like a heavy chain. He knew he must tell her before she found out by some other means.
“Aren’t you cold?” she said. “Do you want to go inside?”
“Not yet. How could I be cold with you in my arms? Can your toes survive a few minutes longer?”
“My toes?” She leaned on his chest and laughed. “After that kiss I’m warm as a summer’s day, Thomas.”
He pressed her closer and reveled in the feel of her body against his. Pensive, Thomas struggled to place his words in his mind before speaking them. “Eliza, the man who proposed to you—”
“Samuel?”
“Yes.”
She looked up at him, a teasing grin opening her lips. “Are you going to ask if he kissed me?”
He hadn’t planned on it, though the thought had crossed his mind. Now that she mentioned it, he most definitely would ask. “Did he?”
She moved her hands up to the cravat that peeked out from his greatcoat. “Would it make a difference if he did?”
Yes. I’ll break his jaw. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
