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Albert pulled her against him. “You little minx! Say it again.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Say my name. I wish to hear it from your lips again.”
"You will have to try a bit harder than that to hear it again, Rowan," she returned slyly, suddenly emboldened by the hunger in his eyes.
"Will this do?" He placed an open-mouthed kiss on her collar bone, one of his hands tugging at the sash of her robe. Once it came undone, he cupped one of her breasts in his hand, rolling the peak between his fingers.
Edwina gasped. "It… it is a start."
"What about this?" He squeezed her bottom and pulled her against his hardness. Then he began to roll his hips against hers, building her desire, while he continued to stroke her breasts.
"Albert!" she moaned, the name coming forth unbidden.
"That is it, Edwina,” he said before returning his lips to hers, gently sucking her bottom lip as if it was the sweetest thing in the world. "Marry me," he whispered, breaking their kiss, "end our agony and agree."
"Albert, I—”
He drew away from her. "We shall perish if you continue to subject us both to this torture. We are a good match." His hand moved down to cup her womanhood. “You cannot imagine the kind of pleasure I wish to give you here.” One finger pushed through the thin line of her night rail and he stroked the little bud at her center. She trembled.
"Yes, Albert," Edwina breathed at length. "I… I will marry you."
She had spent a lot of time mulling over Tommen's earlier words about taking an opportunity when it presented itself so one would not come to regret missing it later in life. Marrying Albert was still a great risk, but there was a great chance that she would regret it, wondering what it would have been like if the conditions had been different. Edwina was still very afraid, especially because she knew he would never love her.
But she was willing to take a leap of faith. He might turn out to be worth the risk. His eyes were wide as he regarded her. It looked as though he could not believe she was agreeing.
"Albert Winfield," she cupped his cheek, smiling. "I would like to be your wife." When he still did not respond, she got onto the tips of her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. A wide grin split across his face and he pulled her flush against him.
“What changed your mind?"
“I like you, Albert,” she said.
“You have made me a very happy man.”
“You have not even married me yet.”
He kissed her hair before taking her hand in his. "Come," he said.
"Where are we going?" she asked, giddy with excitement. Now that she had agreed to marry him, there was nothing she wanted more than to say their vows and be his.
"To get married."
She halted. "What? Right now?"
"This very instant, Edwina," he replied, drawing her out of the conservatory. "Now that you have agreed to become my wife, do you think I would waste a moment and risk you changing your mind?"
"We cannot. We do not have a special license, and it is nighttime." She laughed.
"We have one," he steered her in the direction of his study, "and we are on our way to retrieve it. After that, we shall go find the parson to marry us."
"Good heavens!" Edwina ejaculated when she saw him pull out the license from a drawer in his desk.
"I requested it when I sent for Mercer's, you see."
"How sure were you that I would agree? What if I had remained adamant?" she asked.
"I laid a siege at your fortress, Darling.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Youhadto agree." His cocky grin reappeared. "I would not have stopped until you changed your mind, through whatever means necessary. You want me as much as I want you, after all."
"The parson is asleep right now. Look at the time. It is well past midnight." Edwina crossed her arms over her bosom.
"Are you trying to change your mind?" His brows rose.
