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“Not doing it right?” Arthur’s voice was raw. “You’retoogood at it.”
Before she could ask him why he stopped, he was lifting her up and setting her on her knees on the settee so that she faced the back of it. Kneeling behind her on the cushions. He wrestled with her skirts, shoving them up past her hips. He dipped his hips lower, bent her forward and then thrust into her from behind. He slid in easily; she was already wet and excited from the teasing she had done to him. This new angle of penetration was so different from last night, and it made her whimper and moan.
“Arth—My lord… oh…” She rested her head on her hands at the back of the settee, breathing in hard as new, harsher pleasures dominated her senses. Arthur seemed determined to exact a sensual revenge on her—and she wasn’t complaining. She wanted to beg him to go faster and harder.
He fisted a hand in her hair, pulling her head back toward him and he kissed the shell of her ear, his hips continuing their slow thrusting.
“I’ll go slow and take forever… unless you tell me you wish for something else,” he warned, and then kissed and nibbled her neck. “You like this, don’t you, Mattie? To have me bucking against you?”
Matilda quivered as bolts of desire burned her from her head to her toes, changing her forever into a woman who knew she loved pleasure. And she refused to feel shame in it.
“Harder, my lord,” she ordered, but it came out as more of a breathless plea.
“As you wish,” he replied and began to thrust in earnest. His hips slapped against her bottom as he held her by the hair. He breathed harshly against her neck and slid his other hand from her hip down to the front of her body, stroking a finger over that sensitive bundle of nerves.
Then he drove into her even harder and faster, filling her so completely she couldn’t tell where she began and he stopped. The climax seemed to strike them both at the same instant, their cries coming together. In that moment, his arms around her, his body behind hers, Matilda was overcome with a strange flood of feeling. It wasn’t physical, it was deeper, coming from a well of something so pure that all she felt was awe and wonder.
As she caught her breath and came back to herself, Arthur was kissing her neck and whispering soft things that only deepened that thrilling and frightening feeling inside her. Was she falling in love with him? She couldn’t… Yet she feared that she was.
They stayed joined a long moment until, with one last kiss to her cheek, Arthur let go of her and withdrew. Shaken by the experience she’d just had, she wasn’t sure what she should do next.
He fixed his clothes and then helped her when her hands trembled too much. “Come upstairs with me.”
“For more?”
“To sleep,” he said. “I want to hold you. You’ve become quite an unexpected treasure, Mattie.”
The way he saidtreasuremade her heart clench, especially when it came with that softer, sweeter smile that seemed so intimate and only for her. It was probably a terrible idea to accept, but she wanted to be held by him.
Arthur offered her his hand, and she let him lead her upstairs. His gray eyes were like winter clouds full of lightning, and she felt herself in that freefall that could only be love. She was in trouble, but at that moment she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
CHAPTER6
The days blurred together in a seamless flow of excitement and wonder for Matilda. She and Arthur fell into a rhythm of waking, exploring the world and then at night dining together, falling into bed and exploring each other. There were moments of exquisite clarity where Matilda realized that in another life, she might have met and married someone like Arthur and enjoyed this every day. She knew she was building castles in the sky, and someday they would vanish like the clouds they were built on, leaving only her memories. But until that day, she planned to enjoy every moment they had together.
She had plenty to distract her from thoughts of the future. She sat astride a lovely horse, one of Arthur’s, and they stood together facing Meadow Cross cottage. A dozen men trudged through the snow carrying boards and tools. Arthur dismounted and tramped through the snow to instruct the men. Matilda’s heart caught each time the breeze tugged at the coat draped around him. He cut such a dashing figure on a winter day like today.
She was comfortably warm in her new cloak and riding habit that the local dressmaker had brought to Castleton Hall a few days ago. Arthur had made good on his promise to have a wardrobe created for her. She had been living at Castleton Hall for ten days and now had a complete set of lovely clothes.
Rather than be prideful and refuse the clothing, she had gratefully accepted it, on the condition that her aunt be given a new wardrobe as well. It was the least Arthur could do given that he had not changed his mind about the cottage. He had praised her for her negotiation skills and agreed to give Aunt Florence whatever she wished before he had tumbled Matilda back into bed, covering her with kisses until they’d both dissolved into laughter. He made it so easy for her to forget her uncertain future.
Aunt Florence was finally feeling better and had taken on a secretarial role by assisting Mr. Fulton with estate business whenever he visited from London. Everything feltperfect, perhaps too perfect.
Arthur called out to her. “Mattie, come and see this.”
She slid from her horse and came to join him at the entrance to her home. Arthur was grinning boyishly.
“I was thinking of adding a second bedchamber and some stables. Perhaps a little yard for a milk cow and chickens?” He gestured for her to follow him into the house. It felt so different already. The old, faded wallpaper had been removed and a new pale rose satin wallpaper put up. He’d even had all the watercolor paintings that Aunt Florence had done rehung on the walls.
“I’m thinking we should also expand the kitchen,” he continued. “I’ve outlined some plans, but I would like your thoughts, of course.” He led her to a table laden with several blueprints and tapped a finger on various new additions.
Matilda’s head was spinning. “Arthur… this is wonderful, but Aunt Florence and I can’t afford any of this.”
Arthur’s boyish excitement changed to a soft seriousness. He clasped one of her hands in his and escorted her to the bedchamber she shared with her aunt. With all the workers around, it gave them a moment to be alone.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and studied her. “I’ve been thinking. “When I first came here, I could see only the debt this place was generating. And in my frustration and haste to correct what I saw as a huge oversight, I did not think clearly. However, I have more than enough of my own money and more than enough time to turn this estate around. I’m thinking more clearly now. I wish to uphold my great-uncle’s stipend to you and your aunt, and I will be doubling the amount. I wish for you to stay here. Meadow Cross cottage is your home. I want to rebuild it for you. Make it a place where you can live a fuller life in.”
She was stunned by his generosity, and yet she hated herself for daring to ask the question that was on her lips.
