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“Matthew,” she whispered, a hungry tremor in her voice.
“Yes, my darling?” he answered, trailing kisses along her jaw. “Tell me what you want and it shall be yours.”
She wanted everything he could give her, and she pulled away and held his face in her hands, smiling shyly at him for the request she was going to make. “During our picnic where the willows dance…you did something to me.”
He grinned wickedly. “Do you want me to do that again?” he asked, and she nodded. “I have something better in mind.” He kissed her lips again, leaning her back against the pillows. “This is better for your foot,” he whispered just before he pulled away the bed covers.
Looking down, he gently parted her legs and moved from the bed to his knees. Diana knew what he was going to do before he did it, and she had read about it that afternoon in the book she was reading. Her body trembled when he pulled her nightrail up her legs and kissed her thighs. She laced her fingers through his hair, encouraging him, not because he needed it but because of how eager she was.
Lifting her good leg, he placed it over his shoulder and continued to kiss the sensitive skin of her thighs until he reached her apex, at which point he decided to kiss her as though he was kissing her mouth. Diana’s head fell back, and her spine arched, a hundred tiny pulses gathering at her core.
Matthew pulled back, and as she began to moan in protest, he gently blew warm air against her. Diana shivered, then bit her lip to keep from moaning loudly. She heard him chuckle, then he continued to kiss and suckle her.
Sooner than she expected, her entire body clenched, and her back arched from the bed. The pleasure wound her so tightly that she grasped both his hair and the sheets to contain herself, which was impossible. She closed her eyes as tiny sparkles appeared behind them, the force of her release overtaking her senses completely.
He came up and kissed her deeply for several minutes before removing his waistcoat and boots, and climbing to the other side of the bed. He gathered her in his arms where she floated in bliss. “Will you stay with me?” she heard herself ask.
“Yes, my darling.” He smiled down at her, running a hand through her tawny hair. “Always.”
Much was to be said between them but for now, this night, she wanted only to feel him close and listen to the strong beat of his heart.
Diana must have drifted off to sleep because sometime later, forceful movement and his labored breathing woke her.
She sat up abruptly to find him convulsing beside her.
Chapter 29
“Matthew!” Diana gasped, placing a hand on his chest that shook violently beneath her palms.
Beads of sweat coated his forehead, and his jaw was clenched so hard the veins in his temple were visible. His ragged breathing filled the still air, and Diana was lost as to what was happening or what to do. Her heart thundered in her chest while her throat tightened. His head jerked to the side when she reached to touch his face as if he had perceived her touch and did not want it.
She was beginning to panic when she remembered the terror she had seen him suffer at the theater, and realized he was having a nightmare. Taking his face in her hands and ignoring his resistance, she pressed her lips to his.
“You are safe, Matthew,” she whispered, then cooed. “I am here, and nothing will harm you.” Her heart twisted when she tried to imagine the pain he was reliving, and she could not. No one who had not been there could understand what Matthew was still suffering from, but she did her best to be a pillar for him to lean against. She feathered kisses across his face and repeated words she thought would calm him.
When his breathing began to slow, she ran her fingers through his thick dark hair, softly calling his name. His eyes fluttered open, and for a short while, he only stared at her, unblinking. “Matthew,” she said again, and he blinked this time, seeming to recognize her. Diana sighed and felt her rigid shoulders settle.
He sat up, then pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly and not saying anything for a while, but she could feel how tense his muscles were, and how he was exerting himself to control his breathing. Diana stroked his back, gently moving her hand from the base of his spine and into his hair.
“I am gravely sorry you had to see that,” he muttered into her neck.
“No, Matthew.” Diana pulled away and took his face between her palms. “Do not be sorry. I cannot claim to understand any of this but I am glad I was there when you needed someone.”
Stroking her face, he smiled. “Thank you, Diana. You can never know how much you have helped me.” He kissed her, slowly and tenderly.
They lay back on the bed and he held her. His silence told her he had several things occupying his thoughts, and she asked, “Does this happen frequently?”
Matthew shook his head. “No, it does not. I once thought that if it happened more often, I would become insensitive to it, but Glover told me that it might not be so. He is quite adept at handling issues like this.”
“Is it a natural interest or did he learn it because of you?”
“He learned because of me, and then he developed an affinity for it.” He took her hand and laid it on his chest where his heart was. “Can you feel this?”
It was beating steadily as it had before they fell asleep. “Yes,” she replied.
“You made this happen. I calm quicker when you are around. Both here and at the theater.”
Placing a finger beneath her chin, he tilted her face up to his, gazing deeply into her eyes such that she thought he could see into her soul. “You, Diana,” he whispered. “Only you.”
