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“Do you want me?” he asked, softly growling. She only nodded, as if she were at a loss for words and reached for him again, pulling at the lapels of his coat. Edward’s thumb slid up to her bosom as he pressed it over her dress, his thumb circling her nipple.
Even through the material of the clothing, he could feel it get hard. He did the same with the other hand. His mind was begging him to open the hooks at the back of her dress and see them for his own.
“I have wanted you for so long, Ariadne. Forgive me.” He bent down and took a nipple through the material of her dress, his tongue laving it. Ariadne hissed as she held his shoulders. His hand reached below her skirts as he explored her soft, supple thighs. As his hand slid upwards, he could feel her skin getting warmer and warmer until he reached the heat of her core. He pressed his hand against it and Ariadne shook as if she was hardly in control of her body anymore.
“You taste so sweet,” he murmured against her skin. Ariadne only moaned in reply, as if she had lost her ability to speak.
“Edward—” she said in a raspy voice. He wanted to slide down her drawers and put his finger inside but instead, he stroked her from outside. Her knees wobbled as he explored, not inside yet. His hand reached up and palmed her breasts again. They felt soft under his hands but they gradually grew firmer at his attention. He caressed the soft, warm skin of her thighs and wondered how it would be like to undress her and take her right there while raining kisses all over her body.
“You feel so good,” he murmured. “I can be like this forever. I can take you in every way I want,” he said. Her breath hitched at his words.
Ariadne grasped his shoulders and pulled him to her lips again. The kiss was a battle of tongues, but there was no winner in it, only dark, melting pleasure. Edward pressed against her, their bodies fusing and Edward was fairly certain that Ariadne could feel his desire. She didn’t shirk away in horror, but instead, she tried to pull in closer, grinding her hips against him. Edward almost lost his senses at that. He grabbed her by her waist and kissed her fiercely, her back digging into the tree.
There was a rustle of leaves nearby causing Edward to pull away from her. Had they been noticed? But it was only a cat. It came out of the darkness and walked toward them, meowing. Ariadne and Edward looked at each other.
“Well, it’s a good thing the cat came along,” she said. Her voice was husky and only Edward knew why. He wasn’t as pleased with the cat. Instead of letting her go, Edward pressed his lips to the crook of her neck and stayed there, breathing in her scent. He could feel Ariadne’s heart thundering just below her breast bone and he felt no different.
“I should go back,” she said, sounding reluctant. Edward nodded against her which caused his hair to tickle her neck and shivered. Edward held her tighter. They were silent for a few beats except for the constant chirp of the cicadas on the grass. “Who was the girl? Before… with you?”
Edward looked up at her. He didn’t want to lie to her but at the same time, it wouldn’t be appropriate to bring up his betrothed just after he had almost ravished her in an empty garden. “She’s a friend of my younger sister.” That wasn’t a lie.
Ariadne nodded. “I thought there was something—” She drifted off shaking her head. “As I said, I was being silly. Not that it’s any of my concern.”
He felt a stab of guilt for hiding the information from her again, but the last thing he needed was for Jane to come in between them. He didn’t want her, he wanted Ariadne.
“It should be your concern. It’s you I want, Ariadne. Only you,” he murmured. He needed her to understand that. Edward didn’t recognize himself anymore. He was a polite gentleman whose interests remained in politics and debates and unlike his peers, he had no desire to tumble women for a moment’s pleasure. And yet, here he was with Ariadne—
“I can’t stay away, I don’t want to,” Ariadne said. There was so much in the simple declaration. Edward wanted to wrap her in his arms. What they had shared felt momentous to him. He hoped that it was the same for her.
Edward stepped away from her, letting her adjust her scandalously rumpled skirts. She reached her back with her hand and winced. “Did I hurt you?” Edward asked with some concern. He reached for her again, trying to find her source of discomfort but this time she pulled away.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. Edward shook his head. He must have pressed her too hard against the tree when he was…he tried not to let his mind wander there again. He had no intention to return to the party with a raging erection. She bent to the ground trying to look for her fallen clips. When she stood up, Edward noticed that her lips were swollen are hair was still a mess, even though she tried to fix it as much as possible.
“Here, let me help you,” Edward said. Before she could protest, he started pinning her hair back. “I have a sister who I grew up with. Somewhere along the line, you pick up these skills.”
Ariadne smiled at him. “You’re a good brother.”
But Edward didn’t know if he was a good human being. He had all but taken advantage of her. If the cat hadn’t stopped them, he didn’t know if he could have. The last thing he wanted was a quick tumble with her in the darkness. She deserved to be courted and given chocolates and flowers and more.
“What are you thinking?” Ariadne asked, observing him.
“Nothing at all,” he said. He didn’t think this was proper at all. With Ariadne, it wasn’t just about the pleasure. He wanted to be with her here, talking for hours. He wanted to know all of her emotions from happiness to anger. He wanted her to tell him everything that there was to her. “This is not why I sought you out. I don’t want you to think that. I thought you might be upset so I had to come to check up on you.”
Ariadne blushed. “I know that. I got lost in Lord Brexley’s house and then I saw…someone and had to get out of there.”
“What are you doing here anyway?” Edward asked. They had been together only yesterday and she had made no mention of the ball.
“Leda convinced me to come here. We were supposed to help out in the kitchen and she wanted to see the house for herself. I gave in to her wish,” Ariadne said and then her face hardened. “But I know now that I shouldn’t have done that. We’re not meant to be a part of this world.”
But Edward wanted Ariadne to be part of his. He didn’t understand his feelings yet but he suspected it was deeper than he had initially thought. Why else hadn’t he been able to take his mind off her when he had left her behind? Even now he knew he should walk away.
He had his family’s expectation and even a betrothed his father had made very clear to him that he was to marry. And while he could have a mistress discreetly, his fate had been linked to another. But that wasn’t his choice. It was his father’s expectation. He had carried them on his back for so long that it had started to feel like a burden and the principles that he had been brought up with were now suffocating.
“We should go now,” he said. If he was found missing at the ball, questions would be raised and he didn’t want Ariadne to be dragged into a scandal either. “Do you want me to escort you back to the kitchen?”
Ariadne snorted, quite unladylike but Edward found it adorable. “I don’t need to be escorted inside. I have two feet and they’re perfectly capable of depositing me to my destination.”
“Very well,” he said. He gave her a chance to leave first, in case anybody was observing the groves. She started walking away but at the last second turned around, the moonlight dancing her on her face.
“And I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.
He nodded. “You will.” After she was gone, he took a few minutes to pace himself and left. When he arrived back at the party, Charles accosted him immediately. “Where were you?”
Before he could answer, his father appeared, a glass of wine in his hand. “I was looking for you before. But you seem to have disappeared.” His father was brutally blunt.
Edward scratched his nose. “I was around. You must have not seen me.”
“I see,” the Duke replied but Edward got the keen sense that his father knew he was lying.
