“Are ye no longer ticklish?”
“Love, you’ve milked me of every ounce of energy. I can’t move, despite your devilish attempts to tickle me.” He rolled over and pulled her atop of him.
Grinning down at him, she cupped his face. “Don’t ye worry, I’ll take care of ye.” Her lips were upon his—soft and teasing. Then she replicated his own habit of trailing kisses along the collar bone. She didn’t stop there. She kissed her way down the center of his body until she was able to take him into her mouth. The woman basked in the power to reinvigorate his manhood. The slightest touch from her and he was at the ready to pleasure her. When her lips were wrapped about his cock, it hardened with astonishing quickness given his recent release. The tip of him hit the palate of her mouth, yet she shifted and took him deeper. She was going to be the death of him, relentless in her pursuit to make him climax once more—but not before he brought her to her own first.
Epilogue
Christopher rubbed his wife’s back as she retched and heaved over the side of the Quarter Moon. He’d hoped the fresh air would help ease Emma’s discomfort, but nothing had alleviated her nausea since they set foot upon the ship three weeks ago.
Captain Bane cautiously approached. “Mr. Neale, may I have a word?”
Emma waved him away. The journey to date had been devoid of pirate attacks. He scanned the ocean. Nothing but rolling swells. Not even a gleam of a storm brewing. “What is it, Captain?”
“If I have your permission to slow our speed, it might only extend our voyage a day or two, but the ship would sail smoother and perhaps Mrs. Neale would have an easier time aboard.”
Christopher was considering the captain’s suggestion when Emma stepped between them. At her full height, the top of Emma’s head barely came level with the man’s shoulders. Christopher grinned at the stubborn set of his wife’s chin.
With all the poise of a queen, Emma said, “It’s not the rollin’ of the ship, Captain Bane, that has me ill. And I’ll not hear of subjectin’ everyone to a longer journey.”
“As you wish, madame.” Red faced, the captain bowed and took his leave.
Emma whirled about and poked Christopher in the chest. “’Tis all yer fault.”
His pectorial muscles flexed at his wife’s prodding. “How am I to blame?” He stepped closer to wrap his arms about her waist.
“Ye’re too bloomin’ tempting to resist.” Emma grazed her hands up his chest around his neck. “Mayhap we should have waited until after our weddin’ to begin a family.”
“Emma Lennox Neale, you are the one who tempted me.” He kissed her forehead and unwrapped her arms to turn her about to look out to sea. “Three more weeks, and we should be ashore.” The moonlight glistened off the waves. Widening his stance, he drew her back, and she sagged against his chest. She was exhausted, but the tension in her body remained absent since the day of their wedding.
Emma sighed and rested her head back against his shoulder. “Goin’ by me mum’s pregnancies, that’s about when this queasiness should end.”
“Are you ready for what is to come?”
“I don’t miss strainin’ me eyes late at night and sortin’ bloomin’ buttons. But I’ve been finkin’ about our mission. Do ye fink Lord Burke will want our aid?”
Christopher chuckled. “I highly doubt it. We will be a reminder of what he left behind—a tainted title, duties to the Crown, and a desolate estate.” He rubbed her arms to ward off the chill of the sea breeze. “However, if we succeed in executing my plan, he might come to understand we’ve come to help and not impede his goals.”
“From all reports, this Eliza woman is rather determined to remain unattached, and not one to trust strangers easily.”
“Hmm. Sounds like a woman I once knew.”
Emma nodded her head. “Aye. Bronwyn was a mule about gettin’ married.”
Christopher laughed. “You know I wasn’t referring to my sister-in-law.” He retrieved a hard peppermint treat from his pocket and popped it in Emma’s mouth to stall her retort.
“Oh, really?” Emma inhaled and leaned back against him. “Who were ye talkin’ about then?”
He placed a kiss upon the top of her head. “You, my pet.” Lucky for him, Hereford had provided the right amount of motivation for her to marry.
“Me? It wasn’t that I was determined to remain unwed.”
“No?”
“No. I’d simply not met a man who tempted me to consider a union in which the man legally took over all me possessions.”
“Ah. I understand. You didn’t want to give up your independence, yet here you are upon a ship, sailing away from it all.”
“I believe in ye and yer plans.”
Her humble words of faith in him filled holes in his heart he hadn’t known existed until now. No one other than his deceased cousin Baldwin had ever expressed such total loyalty and faith in him.
She turned and captured his face in her chilled hands. “I love ye.”
“And I love you.”
* * *
I hope you enjoyed Tempting a Gentleman, please consider leaving a review or a star rating.
Ready to find out if Henrietta will dare to give love a second chance? Pre-order Loving a Dowager Book 3 in The Hadfields series.
Also by Rachel Ann Smith - Historical
THE HADFIELDS
Book 1: Revealing a Rogue
For years she worked for him…
…and was loyal to a fault.
Why did she let herself yearn for a man, with whom she had no future?
Book 3: Loving a Dowager
Will Henrietta Neale, the Dowager of Hadfield, reject the suit of a younger man or will she give love a second chance?
Agents of the Home Office
Book 1: Secrets of Lady Lucy
She is determined to foil an attempted kidnapping.
He is set on discovering her secrets.
When the ransom demand comes due—will it be for Lady Lucy’s heart?
Book 2: Mysteries of Lady Theo
She inherited her family’s duty to the Crown.
His duty to the Crown took priority.
Will the same duty that forced them together be what ultimately drives them apart?
Book 3: Visions of Lady Mary
She wants a life of adventure.
He once called her a witch.
Will fate prevail or will Mary’s stubbornness win out?
Book 4: Confessions of Lady Grace
She sacrificed her future to save his life.
He survived only to return home and find she is betrothed to another.
Will her confessions set them both free?
Rachel A Smith - Contemporary
Damien
I’m done with work and women.
Except there is a bikini clad blonde standing her ground on my terrace.
Irene
What do you do after jilting a cheating fiancé at the altar?
Definitely not fall in love with a stranger who you nick name Mr. Merman.
Find out what happens when a reservation mix-up has these two stuck together on a remote island.
About the Author
Rachel Ann Smith writes steamy historical romances with a twist. Her debut series, Agents of the Home Office, features female protagonists that defy convention.
When Rachel isn’t writing she loves to read and spend time with the family. You will often find her with her Kindle, by the pool during the summer, or on the side-lines of the soccer field in the spring and fall or curled up on the couch during the winter months.
She currently lives in Colorado with her extremely understanding husband and their two very supportive children.
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