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“You don't intend to register the deed for Northaw in your own name?” Bess whispered the question. Surely he would not dare do such a thing.
“It will be my fee for annexing the Abbey of St. Albans to the Crown, with the abbot's full agreement.”
“Rogue, will Northaw truly be yours?” she asked in awe.
He slipped his hand inside her fur to cup her breast. “I'll register it in my name, but it will be ours.”
An intense thrill shot through her, and he felt her nipple harden through the fabric of her riding habit.
His teeth nipped her ear. “It will be our country home when we are married.”
It was the first time he had said the words. Finally, he had promised to wed her! Bess wanted to fling her arms about him and kiss him until they were both senseless, but they were not alone. Instead, she rubbed her bottom against his groin and felt him swell inside the leather riding pants.
“You are torturing me, and well you know it.”
Her sultry laugh rang out.
When they arrived at Suffolk House, it was after dark. Cavendish dismounted and lifted Bess from the saddle. During the last few miles his desire to make love to her had mounted like a rising tide. “I need to bathe and change, but then I'm coming back.” He was not asking her permission. He was warning her of his resolute intent.
More than anything in the world, Bess wanted to be alone with him. They had been in the company of others all day. Whitehall, where he had rooms, was practically next door, and she knew they would be able to be together in the privacy of her chambers within the hour. She lifted her face, wanting his kiss yet knowing it was impossible. “Hurry!” she whispered.
By the time William returned, she was bathed, scented, and wearing a simple morning dress of pale green. She had ordered them a late supper, which the footman brought up just as Cavendish arrived.
The moment the footman left, Bess went into William's arms. They kissed and whispered, then kissed again, inseparable now that they were at last alone. Both were insatiable for the kisses they had been denied all day.
He lifted her against his heart and carried her to the love seat before the fire. “Bess, I'm so much in love with you. I swear I've never felt this way before.”
She needed him to pledge his love to her. She lifted her arms about his neck and melted against him, feeling completely secure for the first time since she had lost her father.
His kisses deepened and grew rough with his mounting desire, until Bess was weak with longing. His strong fingers splayed through her hair and held her captive for his mouth's ravishing. His lips traced a hot trail, seeking the pulse points on her temple, behind her ear, and at the base of her throat. Her scent filled his nostrils, making them flare with carnal desire, and his insistent hands slid her dress from her shoulders, freeing her breasts for his mouth's pleasure. Heat leapt between them, arousing a smoldering need that cried out to be quenched.
The food lay forgotten as William, refusing to be denied any longer, picked her up and carried her purposefully into the bedchamber. He sat her on the high bed and with sure hands removed her gown. When he saw she wore nothing beneath it, he knew she had anticipated that he would make love to her tonight.
As Bess lay before him in naked splendor, the breath caught in his throat. He stood gazing down at her. Nature had fashioned her for lovemaking, and at last she was ready to yield. He was so hard, his arousal so fierce, that he ached. His possessive gaze touched her everywhere, and his fingertips followed, stroking the sleek, satiny flesh that curved and swelled so enticingly.
Bess felt consumed by desire and was impatient for William to remove his clothes so that at last they could lie naked together. Quivering with need, she came up from the bed to offer him her mouth. When she felt his tongue delve deeply into her mouth, she couldn't keep from moaning at the intense pang of sensual need that flooded through her body. As her lips trailed down his corded throat, her fingers unfastened his shirt so that her mouth could trail kisses down his chest. When her lips found the pelt of auburn hair, she longed to feel its crispness brush against her naked breasts. She pressed her lips and tongue against his belly and cupped his arousal, wanting to free it so she could see it, and touch it, and learn its mysteries.
“Take off your clothes for me; I want to see you naked and feel you against me. Are you as hot as I am?” she panted. “Feel how I burn!” She took his hand and stroked it down her body from her breast to the inside of her thigh.
“You will be even hotter inside. Let me show you.” His hand took her fingers and he pressed one into her scalding sheath.
Bess moaned. “I am in a fever for you.”
Her words inflamed him. He could feel his blood surging and pounding; his own heartbeat was deafening inside his ears. Then slowly, unbelievably, he realized that someone was knocking on the outer door.
Bess came up from the bed. “What was that?”
William cursed. “How dare they disturb us.”
Bess covered her nakedness with the bedcover as William strode angrily to the door and, without unlocking it, demanded, “Who is it?”
“It's Henry, I'm afraid.”
William reluctantly unlocked the door and opened it to his friend.
“The king is dead.”
“What?”Cavendish wondered if he had heard right.
“King Henry has just died at Hampton. We must go immediately.”
