Now the moment had arrived for her to plight her troth, Linnet could not believe it was actually happening. This was the wedding she had always dreamed of.
Toby, who was filled with cheerful optimism that one day soon he would be marrying his darling Caroline, was proud to escort his dear sister to the church and deeply moved to see her married to Lord Blakely. Having got to know him during the time they had spent together since the announcement of the marriage, he confided in Linnet that he could not have entrusted her to a finer man.
Though Linnet had agreed to marry Christian, she had originally thought little of what marriage to such a powerful man would entail. But during the days since he had proposed marriage, she had considered it a great deal and she had decided that taking everything into account, it was the sensible course of action to follow. And now, as she became snared by his unnervingly intent gaze, his dark eyes drawing her in, all other thoughts fled her mind. She wanted to be with this man so badly that she was shaken by it. She loved him with all her heart and soul. At this realisation it was as though chains fell away from her, lightening her heart.
* * *
Unable to contain his desire to look upon Linnet, Christian turned. The vision of almost ethereal loveliness he beheld, her face as serene as the Madonna’s, her body slender, breakable, snatched his breath away. Sensing her trepidation, Christian reached out a hand to her and smiled in an attempt to dispel her serious expression. He was completely taken aback by the depth of her composure. Something like terror moved through his heart, and he prayed that he would cherish and protect her all the days of her life, to give her the joy and happiness she deserved.
‘You make a beautiful bride, Linnet. You look perfect. Are you ready?’
Feeling pleasure in the compliment, her mood lightening, she nodded and returned his smile. With the eyes of everyone upon her, she took his hand and let him draw her towards the cleric, waiting to hear them make their solemn promises. Unaware that she was holding her breath, she watched as he placed the gold wedding band on her finger. His warm grasp sent a shiver up her arm. Perhaps it was all that the ring implied or the combination of gentleness and solemnity in Christian’s eyes as they gazed into hers, but whatever the cause, Linnet’s heart rate doubled and her eyes misted with tears.
When the vows had been exchanged, binding them together in a promise that must be kept, the vicar pronounced them husband and wife. Unable to believe this wonderful young woman belonged to him at last, the sweet, elusive fragrance of her setting his senses alive, Christian drew her towards him. ‘A kiss,’ he said, ‘a kiss to seal our union, Linnet.’
Favouring her with that slow, careful scrutiny that made her feel devoured, he drew her into his arms and kissed her slowly, deliberately. Heat shot through her and then he released her.
It was a proud moment for Christian and a happy one for Louisa, dabbing away her tears, as she came forward to embrace Linnet.
* * *
It was a happy group that arrived back at the house to partake of the wedding breakfast. Standing in the centre of the salon, with glasses of champagne in their hands, Christian and Linnet received the well wishes of all those present. Linnet knew a rush of happiness She had committed her life to this man and from that moment she knew how it must be between them. Also, in that moment, she’d recognised the emotion that had struck her when he had kissed her in the church. She no longer had any doubts that she was deeply and irresistibly in love, and this revelation sealed the bond between them. She would nurse and cherish her secret, and hope that in time he would come to feel the same about her.
The wedding breakfast held in the green and gold salon of the Blakely town house was a quiet affair, without the pomp and splendour that would mark Louisa’s wedding to Harry. A long table had been prepared for the wedding feast. It gleamed with silver cutlery and crystal glasses and was festooned with flowers. Christian presided over the meal with his usual calm composure. He was politely courteous and attentive to his bride and guests.
Christian leaned close to his wife, the sweet, elusive fragrance of her setting his senses alive. ‘What are you thinking?’ he asked quietly.
She turned and looked at him, her face flushed and her eyes bright. ‘Oh—about all this? I never believed it possible that this could happen.’ A cloud darkened her eyes and a note of regret entered her voice. ‘My only regret is that my parents are not here to see me married.’
Christian squeezed her hand comfortingly under the table. ‘They are not far away. I am certain that they are watching you from that mysterious place we all go to one day. Perhaps our children will produce their likeness,’ he said softly, his eyes gleaming into hers, lazy and seductive, feeling a driving urge of desire at the sultriness of her soft mouth and the liquid depths of her eyes.
‘Children?’ A lump of nameless emotion constricted her throat. Christian’s casual reference to any future offspring they might produce warmed her heart.
‘At least half a dozen,’ Christian replied, laughter rumbling in his chest. ‘But you have to promise me one thing.’
‘And that is?’
He stretched his arm possessively across the back of her chair without taking his eyes off her face. ‘That at least one of them looks like you.’
She smiled. ‘I’ll do my best—and speaking of children,’ she said, glancing along the table where Mrs Marsden was seated next to a wilting Alice, worn out with all the excitement and attention she had received from admiring guests, ‘I think it is time for Alice to take her nap.’
* * *
When everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and left, at long last the bridal pair were given their privacy. Linnet loved her bedchamber, with its exquisite objects, tasteful furniture and thick carpets into which her feet sank. She was conscious of the huge bed holding centre stage and how she would share it with her husband this very night.
Entering through the connecting doors adjoining their bedchambers, his robe falling open to the waist, revealing his firm, well-muscled chest, Christian dismissed the maid, grinning leisurely as he told his wife he would be only too happy to stand in for her.
Attired in her dark blue silk robe that clung to her body like a second skin, Linnet sat at the satinwood dressing table, taking the pins from her hair and shaking it free. Through the mirror she watched Christian move towards her, towering over her, his physical presence rendering her weak. He stopped behind her and his hands settled on her shoulders. She was very still, unable to move. She shivered with apprehension. Without straightening, he met her eyes in the mirror. He was looking at her in a way he had never looked at her before. He was implacably calm.
‘This,’ he said, glorying in the tender passion in her eyes, feeling the heat flame in his belly as he drew aside the curtain of her hair and placed a kiss in the warm, sweet-scented hollow of her throat, ‘is the moment I’ve been thinking of ever since I first saw you.’
As his lips trailed over her flesh, with a gasp of exquisite pleasure she threw her head back and closed her eyes. ‘I cannot believe this is happening—that we are husband and wife,’ she said softly. ‘I feel as if I’m in some kind of dream and I’ll soon wake up. I am certain I am heading for something I cannot possibly know how to handle.’
‘You handled it admirably when we made love before. However, I am going to enjoy teaching you more of what to expect,’ he replied softly, seductively. Despite having shared his bed before, she was nervous, she had to be, and yet, he thought he could sense an excitement about her. ‘I’m a good teacher, Linnet. I don’t think you’ll have any complaints.’
Linnet’s tawny eyes were shining with surrender and there was a tremor to her voice. ‘I am yours, Christian, willingly. I want to hold this day in my memory, to share this time we both hold dear.’
‘You’re very lovely, Linnet—and quite irresistible.’
She wanted to contradict him, but her tongue
remained silent. The rest of her body began to sing and her pulse raced at the warmth of his breath on her neck.
Taking her face in his hands, he looked down at her with an intensity that warmed her. ‘We have a lifetime together. But were I to spend every moment with you it would never be long enough. No man has the right to feel such joy. You’ve done this before so you do not have to fear what is to happen. This time will be better than the last, I promise. The marital act is something to be enjoyed.’
The husky timbre of his voice, combined with the tantalising exploration of his skilful fingers caressing her neck, was already working its magic on Linnet. She had little knowledge and was eager to learn more of the intimacies that took place between men and women. She was a complete novice, on the brink of the unknown.
Drawing her to her feet, he took her in his arms. ‘Do you know—have you the slightest idea how much I want you?’
She shivered slightly, for she felt the full force of his masculinity, the strong pull of his magnetism. She felt a hollow ache inside as he gazed at her. Taking her face in his hands, he splayed his fingers over her cheeks, looking into the liquid depths of her eyes.
‘I wonder if you have any idea how lovely you are, how adorable.’
Linnet stood very still, barely able to breathe. He placed his lips on hers, gentle, barely discernible.
The feel of his lips and the hot, melting familiarity of them made her gasp, causing a natural hunger to stir deep within her young and healthy body. Reality faded and exciting, dangerous intimacy followed. She was a woman who had senses and emotions, whose body wanted fulfilment, to meet a need so strongly rooted within her and so fiercely suppressed that now it turned against her and overwhelmed her with its intensity.
Nothing existed but this man, her husband, and the husky timbre of his voice and his dark eyes upon her. The next moment she was in his arms, the pressure increasing as they tightened around her, his sensual need claiming her in a kiss of violent tenderness. His mouth was caressing, savouring, his tongue invading the dewy softness with his need. Linnet moaned with pleasure. Heat catapulted through her, setting her whole body on fire, and cindered every nerve beneath the crushing weight of his passion. His mouth, his hands, his powerful body were demanding things from her that she could now, as his wife, give him, things she wanted as badly as he did.
When he released her, with slow deliberation he loosened her robe, pushing it off her shoulders. It slid down her naked body, settling in a pool of shimmering blue at her feet. His burning eyes devoured every inch of her exposed flesh. Gathering her up into his arms in an act of possession, he carried her to the bed. Linnet found herself snuggling with gratitude and what seemed to be absolute contentment against his chest. She wanted him and it was enough.
His dark eyes looked into hers, into her very soul, and she was hardly aware of the moment he placed her on the bed. Christian quickly divested himself of his robe. Linnet drew in her breath, enthralled by what was happening to her—by her own nakedness—and his—to reveal the muscled, well-honed body of an athlete. Lowering himself on to the bed, he stretched alongside her. The firm, hard muscles of his body pressed against hers and the exploration of his hands on her flesh, gentle and caressing, his lips devouring and tender, had her glowing and purring like a kitten.
Her hair lay in luxuriant, tangled disarray around her head like a vibrant halo. Christian’s eyes were hungry and dark with passion and, unable to resist her a moment longer, he covered her mouth with his own, snatching her breath away, teasing her lips when they opened to his. Her lips were warm, eager and sweet.
A need began to grow inside Linnet as his caresses grew bolder. It was a hollow feeling that ached to be filled. Passions were inflamed. She felt on the threshold of some great and already overwhelming discovery. She quivered as his fingers stroked the swell of her breasts and continued over her flat belly and on to the curve of her hips and inner thighs and her feminine instinct whispered to her that her body held some incredible surprises in store for her. His lips followed where his fingers led, touching her here, kissing her there, so that no part of her escaped, her sighs and moans feeding his ardour, fuelling his passion. She would never have had suspected that the feel of a man’s lips on such secret parts of her body could create such incredible pleasure. What he was doing to her was like being imprisoned in a cocoon of dangerous sensuality.
Christian was slow, in no rush to possess her, but one thing he was sure of—he would not stop until he had achieved what he intended and sealed their vows securely in a physical show of passion. He would make her body sing with rapture before he was done. He thrilled to her, his hands sliding lower to search and caress her womanhood.
Linnet’s instinct at such an intimate invasion was to object, to thrust him away, but he filled her with such exquisite promise as he continued to stroke, to arouse her, that she moved her hips instinctively against him, pressing herself closer, as if an unknown force was compelling her. She could not believe the pain of ecstasy increasing within her. Trapped beneath the exquisite promise of his aroused body and the persistence of his mouth, she began to tremble with uncontrollable need. When he finally entered her, his carefully withheld hunger released itself in a frenzy that demanded that he possess her fully.
His breath quickened against her throat as he began to surrender to a primitive and powerful, desperate need that became a torment inside, the restraint he had shown so far vanishing in his desire to possess the woman writhing beneath him, her hands soft as they moved feverishly over the muscles of his shoulders, down his long, hard back, lingering on his narrow waist and taut hips. Her response was unrestrained, everything but the present obliterated from her mind as her body became a stranger to her and developed a life of its own.
Her passion devastated Christian and when they lay spent, their bodies entwined, the hot climactic world that had held them in its grip began to subside. Sated, he pulled her into his arms as he came down from the unparalleled heights of passion she had just sent him to. In all his years of amorous liaisons, not once had he ever come close to the shattering ecstasy he’d just experienced. His wife was innocence and wantonness, passionate and sweet. From the moment his mouth had touched hers, he’d known they were an oddly combustible combination. If he had expected a hesitant bride, he had found instead a full-blooded woman ready and eager to enjoy their marital bed together. Whatever the circumstances that had brought about their marriage, they were forgotten as he wrapped his arms around her.
Linnet sighed and melted into her husband’s embrace, unable to believe that she could feel such joyous elation quivering inside. Nothing could be so sweet, so perfect, as she lay with this man, her husband, a man she loved so desperately. Nothing would ever be the same again.
‘I imagine this means that we are truly husband and wife in every sense,’ she murmured, savouring the memory of what had happened while placing tiny kisses on his chest. ‘I shall never be ordinary Miss Linnet Osborne again.’
‘Ordinary is not how I would describe you, Lady Blakely,’ Christian said, chuckling softly as he addressed her by her title for the first time.
* * *
It was mid-morning the day after the wedding when Stainton, the butler, apprehended them in the hall, rather agitated. ‘There is a gentleman to see you, Lord Blakely. I’ve shown him into the library.’
‘Oh—who is it? Someone here to wish us well?’
‘It’s an army officer, my lord, from India. He arrived while you were having breakfast.’
Christian’s face hardened, his gaze shifting from the butler to the closed library door. ‘An army officer, you say, Stainton. Then I’d better see what he wants.’ He turned to Linnet, kissing her hand. ‘I’ll try not to be too long.’
As he turned away Linnet saw his jaw clench and his hands ball into fists as, in frigid silence, he strode towards the library and went inside. Her instinct told her that t
he army officer’s arrival boded ill.
* * *
Linnet immediately went to the nursery to speak to Mrs Marsden. Her intuition told her that she would know what was going on, what Christian wasn’t telling her. Mrs Marsden was in a chair by the fire, Alice playing with her dolls. She looked at Linnet.
‘What is it, dear? You have a worried look.’
‘I have, Mrs Marsden. My husband has a visitor—all the way from India, would you believe.’
Mrs Marsden was clearly taken aback. ‘India—? Oh, dear.’
‘Yes. Christian didn’t look at all pleased to see the gentleman—an officer in the army, apparently.’
‘Really?’
‘Mrs Marsden,’ Linnet said, going to sit opposite. Leaning forward, she took her hand. ‘I am sure that whatever his reason for coming here has something to do with Alice’s mother. Please tell me what you know about her. I know that she is alive—you said as much when we were at Park House. Whatever it is that is being kept from me, as Alice’s stepmother I have to know what it is if it affects Alice. I have a right to know.’
‘Then you must ask Lord Blakely. I am sure that now you are his wife, he will explain what you want to know.’
‘Where is she, Mrs Marsden? Please tell me.’
Mrs Marsden sighed. ‘As far as I know Selina is in India. She fell in love with a soldier in the English army and went with him to India. As far as I am aware nothing has been heard of her since. And that poor motherless mite,’ she said, glancing at Alice playing happily with her dolls. ‘What is to become of her?’
‘She has us, Mrs Marsden. She knows she is loved.’
The Governess's Scandalous Marriage Page 20
