WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE

by When Dreams Come True(Lit)

  “Eden?”

  Her stomach felt nervous and fluttery. She drew a deep breath and stepped into the sitting room. It was filled with heavy, masculine furniture. Paintings of horses hung on the wall, including a print of Cornish King over the desk.

  She walked across the thick India carpet for a closer look, conscious that Pierce had shut the door and watched her.

  “This picture is good. It has completely captured Cornish King.”

  “Yes, it has,” he said, and she thought she heard a hint of laughter in his voice. A second later, he added, “Eden, I’m not going to attack you.”

  “Oh, I know,” she said nervously. “It’s just…” She ran her hand along the desk’s cool, polished wood, and noticed the open door leading into the bedroom. The first thing that caught her attention was a huge, canopied bed. The bed curtains and spread were of a marine blue. The walls were beige and the whole room seemed to shimmer with light.

  Eden forgot her self-consciousness and moved through the doorway adjoining the two rooms. His bedroom was located at the end of the wing and the bedroom walls featured one window after another on three sides so that the room was filled with late afternoon sunlight.

  She stood in the center of the room by the bed. To her left, the windows overlooked the stables and the pasture, to her right was the garden. Off in the distance, she could see the thin line of the sea.

  “It’s like being on top of the world,” she said softly.

  Pierce leaned against the door. “I knew you would like it.”

  He pushed away from the door and approached her. Eden waited. She knew what was about to happen between them. She’d been trained for this moment… and yet, she sensed this was something completely different than what Madame Indrani had planned for her.

  He removed the lace veil she wore as a shawl from around her shoulders and tossed it aside. His eyes were on her lips.

  Anticipation shivered through her. “I want to make you happy.”

  His lips curved into a slow, sure smile. “Oh, you do, Eden. You make me very happy.” And he lowered his lips to hers.

  Chapter 15

  Pierce warned himself to go slow with her. He’d hungered for her from the moment they’d met, yet she was an innocent. He had no doubt of it.

  But she was eager as he was now, pressing her body close to his in just the right way…

  He swung her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. On the bedside table was a jar of scented goose grease that Mrs. Meeks had offered him. But he could already feel the heat rising from her and knew he wouldn’t need it.

  “Eden, I want this to be so good for you,” he said, lying on the bed. He kicked off his shoes.

  Then she grabbed his lapels, pulled him to her, and kissed him so fully and completely, Pierce could barely remember his own name.

  He forgot about going slow as she impatiently began tugging his jacket off. He searched for the line of buttons down the back of her dress. The two sets, one for the underdress and another lace-covered set for the overdress, were tiny and his fingers had trouble unfastening them—especially since his bride was anything but shy.

  He left the frustrating buttons to help her yank his jacket off, and reached again for her. She didn’t wait but began working the knot in his neckcloth loose. Her fingers were nimbler than his and she soon pulled the neckcloth from around his neck. Then she set to work at removing his vest.

  Meanwhile, Pierce went back to the lace-covered buttons. He couldn’t get the damn things undone!

  She’d have him naked in no time while he’d still be struggling with her clothes. With a low, impatient growl, he rolled over on his back, pulling her on top of him.

  “Pierce—?”

  He gently bit her lower lip. The pins from her hair came loose and rained down upon him with the rosebuds. He didn’t give a tinker’s damn. Her kisses were as heady as the most potent wine and twice as intoxicating… which, of course, didn’t help him when he returned his attention to those damned lace-covered buttons. He’d gotten one undone when her silky hair tangled with his fingers and the second button.

  He groaned out loud, breaking the kiss and she burst out laughing.

  “This isn’t funny,” he declared, laughing himself. “I’m ready to rip this dress off of you.”

  “Let me help you,” she said softly. Before he could protest, she sat up, straddling him, her skirts spread out around him. He realized then that although she wore a corset, she didn’t wear pantaloons or a petticoat—and the very female part of her rested almost on top of him.

  He stopped laughing. His wife was full of surprises. His body strained the buttons of his breeches, wanting her, needing her.

  “Eden.” He placed his hands on her thighs and pushed her skirts higher, untying the ribbons holding her stockings in place.

  She reached back to undo the buttons. Her actions thrust her breasts forward and Pierce boldly cupped them in his hands. Her nipples hardened into tight buds beneath his palms.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

  She unbuttoned the last button and placed her hands over his. Her legs pressed against his body and she moved experimentally against him. Pierce closed his eyes and rolled his head back. What exquisite torture.

  “Do you know what you have given me today, my lord?” she said, her voice low and husky. “Something I’ve never had before, a last name. Today, I became Eden Kirrier. Today, I am a complete person.”

  “Together, we will become complete,” he corrected her, and slipped her dress down over her shoulders. Her nipples, hard and brownish-red, peeked out over the edge of her corset.

  He suddenly was impatient to be done with clothing between them. He sat up with her in his lap and stripped off his shirt and waistcoat. He began unlacing her corset, lowering his head down to taste those tempting nipples.

  She gasped in surprise… and then pleasure as his lips dosed over her. She buried her fingers in his hair and pressed him closer to her.

  His wife was a lusty woman. A woman made for loving and who enjoyed it as much as he did. He couldn’t thank his Maker enough for such a wife.

  He lowered her to the bed and slipped the dress down past her legs, his lips not leaving her breasts.

  Her fingers moved down and began unfastening his breeches. He shoved her dress completely down and onto the floor. One stocking, then another followed it until he had her almost naked. With deft fingers, he began unlacing her corset.

  She’d released him from his breeches and her fingers closed around him. She began stroking him with such expertise, Pierce lay down at her side, paralyzed by the sheer pleasure of it.

  Dear sweet Lord, she would take the life right out of him if he let her go on… but it felt so good—too good.

  He covered her hand with his own. “Would you unman me here and now?”

  She froze, her dark green eyes surprised. “Am I doing something wrong? Oh, Pierce, tell me if you do not like what I do.”

  “I like it too much,” he admitted in a ragged voice. He raised her hand and kissed the back of her fingers. “The time has come, my love.” He pressed her back onto the pillows.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  He smiled. “I want you to relax and enjoy.”

  She nodded, her eyes wide in apprehension. He got up and removed his breeches.

  The room was bathed in the fading light of the day, that magical hour right before twilight. Her skin was white against the dark blue spread, except for the circles of her nipples and the dark hair between her thighs. The sound of birds and the fountain drifted in through the open windows.

  “You’re perfect,” he whispered.

  “No, ”tis you who is perfect.“ She offered her hand to him and Pierce let her pull him down beside her. He kissed her now, one full of promise, while he caressed her breast and then swept lower, along the outside of her thigh, inward, and then up.

  She was moist and ready for him. Her skin smelled of the flowe
rs she loved so much. He buried his face in her hair and intimately stroked her, testing.

  She arched beneath his hand, welcoming him and Pierce knew he didn’t have to wait any longer. The time had come. But he needed to exercise great control. He wanted this first time to be remembered as the best.

  He settled himself between her legs, fitting them together. At his first probing touch, she tensed.

  “I’ll try not to hurt you,” he promised, knowing that it might be a physical impossibility, especially since he wanted her so much.

  She traced the line of his lower lip. “I’m not afraid, Pierce. Please, there are so many feelings inside of me. I love you… and now I know that love makes all the difference. I’d never realized that before.” She smiled up at him bravely.

  Dear Lord, he didn’t want to hurt her, but she was his, his for all time. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her deeply, fully, possessively, and slid into her with one smooth motion.

  He felt the fragile barrier, and with a ruthless selfishness born of necessity, broke through it.

  She stiffened, her knees coming up as if to buck him but only serving to bury him deeper inside. She turned her head away from him, and he held himself still, letting her grow accustomed to the feel of him. She was tight.

  He kissed her ear and began telling her how good she felt and how this was what was meant to be. They were one now and no one could take them away from each other.

  Her arms around his neck hugged him closer and he interpreted that as permission to continue. Slowly, deliberately, he began moving inside her, watching the changing expressions on her face. He’d stop if she requested it—that is, if he could stop.

  Then nature took over and the demands of his own body overrode his intentions. Her breathing was heavier now and she began moving to meet his strokes. It almost proved his undoing. He slid his hands under her head. Skimming his hand along her soft, pliant body, he turned her on her back. The first rays of dawn were coming in through the windows, bathing her body in rosy light.

  Eden made a sleepy mew of protest. He smiled. She could hug the pillow for hours after he was up—but not this morning.

  He was going to wake her up, and this time she’d be the one to do the taking. He slid down to the end of the bed and gently opened her thighs.

  Her skin was as smooth as satin. He blew on the inside of her thigh, first on one, then on the other. She attempted to kick him away.

  Then Pierce pressed his lips to the soft down between her legs.

  Eden jerked in her sleep and he pursued her further, tasting her with his lips, refusing to let her go.

  Her eyes came open, and she gave a sharp cry of surprise and that turned into a low moan of pleasure as his movements became more purposeful.

  As he’d anticipated, she tried to pull away, to stroke and touch him, but he kept out of her reach. This was for her alone. He wanted to feel her come against him, to give without expecting anything in return.

  “Pierce, let me touch you. Let me love you.”

  He ignored her, lifting her to better indulge his appetite. Eden’s breathing grew more rapid. She was whimpering now. He could feel the tension vibrating through her body.

  “Pierce… darling. I don’t know what to do. Please, please!”

  Her legs pressed against his head. Her flesh quivered beneath his lips and she cried out in completion, arching up to him.

  Now he lifted up and kissed her on the lips. She clung to him, her body sated. “I should be the one pleasing you,” she whispered. “I must please you.”

  “You do please me. We please each other. Do you understand, Eden? You’re my wife, not some concubine.”

  He brought her to a sitting position, turning her in the direction of the full-length mirror only five feet from the bed. Sitting behind her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered, “Look at us. See? Husband and wife.”

  She nodded, her eyes dark and glazed with passion.

  His arms around her, he covered her breasts with his hands. Then, deliberately, he brought one hand down to the triangle between her legs and stroked her. She started, still sensitive.

  “We are one, Eden, and not a slave to the other’s wishes.” He rolled a nipple between his fingers, feeling it tighten. He was hard and ready for her. “I don’t always want to take from you. I want to give. I rejoice in pleasing you.”

  He ran his teeth along the tender line of her neck. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, giving him access to the delicate skin beneath her earlobe.

  Pierce came up on his knees, bringing her up with him. “Open your eyes, Eden,” he said, his voice low in her ear. “I want to see them as I enter you.”

  Her lashes lifted in surprise and he slid into her from behind in one fluid movement, his fingers still stroking and teasing her.

  “Watch us, Eden. Look in the mirror.”

  He thrust deep and she arched against him. She was his now. He could feel it as she began moving, pressing her body down on him, taking what she needed, what she had to have.

  It was a wild and wicked ride. Neither one of them could take their gaze off their reflection in the mirror. Once she tried to turn in his arms, to take over the control in their love-making, but he wouldn’t let her. This was for her. She allowed herself to participate then. Her cries filled the air. She called his name over and over begging for more, while he whispered promises of what he could do for her, what he was going to do to her.

  Her hair fell down over her shoulders as she leaned forward to better receive him. They both forgot about the mirror or control. Instead, they gave in to their need for each other.

  And then he felt it. The quickening inside her. The release. She’d reached the pinnacle of desire.

  He lost himself with her then, his own release explosive.

  They fell on the bed together, his arms still around her, and listened to their racing heartbeats.

  It was Eden who finally broke the silence. “I don’t believe I’ll be able to move for days.”

  Pierce laughed. It started as a deep chuckle and rose steadily until it filled the room. She joined him and they lay entwined together, laughing with the joy of living… and loving.

  Pierce had taken everything Eden had believed about men and shattered it.

  Being a wife was wonderful. She loved every moment of it, even after they left the haven they’d created and rejoined the rest of the world.

  She threw herself into the workings of Penhollow Hall and being a full partner. At night, when their work was done, the two of them would lie fitted like spoons, dreamily discussing their plans for the future.

  She now believed that nothing was out of her reach. She would have children. Why, she might already be pregnant for that matter, and she thanked this God whom she’d newly discovered for her many blessings. Even her mother-in-law, Lady Penhollow, seemed content.

  Eden told Pierce she wanted their children to have blue eyes just like his, with a dimple at the corner of their tiny mouths. He laughed and said he would ask for green-eyed babes blessed with their mother’s many talents.

  Eden didn’t believe she could ever be happier. The past was a dim memory.

  Two weeks passed. Two weeks of pleasure, work, and contentment.

  On the Tuesday of the third week, Eden drove into Hobbles Moor to view the building of the new cottages. When she returned, there was a hired coach parked in their drive. She hadn’t expected company. She went into the house.

  “Rawlins, who is here for a visit?” she asked, handing the butler her hat and gloves. She half expected him to say it was someone to talk about horses.

  Instead, he said, “I don’t know their names. They refused to give them but his lordship asked them into his study anyway. It’s three men and a woman. Two of the men are dressed strangely in loose-fitting robes. They say they’ve come all the way from London. Do you believe they will be staying for luncheon, my lady?”

  Three men and a lady from London. Eden nodded
absently, not caring what answer she gave. Her feet moved with a will of their own toward Pierce’s study. She could hear low voices.

  At that moment, the door to her husband’s study opened. He stepped out. “Eden, I’m glad you’re back.” His voice sounded strangely flat, as if he were tired. “Will you please come in here and join us?”

  His question wasn’t a request, but an order.

  “Of course, Pierce.” She couldn’t make out his expression because the light was behind him but as she drew closer, she wished she’d stayed away. She’d never seen him look so grim.

  He stared searchingly at her for a moment, and then without another word, turned and walked into his study.

  Cautiously, Eden followed. The first person she saw was Firth, Madame Indrani’s giant manservant. At his side stood Gadi, with his beard and long, flowing white robes.

  Nasim sat in a chair in front of Pierce’s desk. He turned at her entrance, his eyes glittering with triumph.

  Then Madame Indrani captured her complete attention as she rose from the chair next to Nasim’s. She wore a silk and brocade gown. The gold bangles on her wrist clinked together as she offered Eden her hand.

  “Eden, cher, it is so good to see you again.”

  Chapter 16

  "This woman says she knows you well,” Pierce said. He stood in front of his desk, his fingertips touching the polished wood. He waited for her to confirm or deny the statement.

  Ignoring Madame’s hand, Eden admitted, “That is correct.”

  Pierce pulled back slightly, his expression impenetrable.

  Eden turned to Madame Indrani. “How did you know I was here?”

  Madame smiled. “Lord Penhollow came searching for me. He’d hired a man to seek me out.”

  She turned to her husband with surprise. “Is that true, my lord?”

  “You mentioned her name, remember?” he said brusquely. “I sent a man in search of her.”

  Eden shook her head. “I’d forgotten that. It seems so long ago.”

  Pierce said, “Eden, you told me that this woman is your teacher. Why were you hiding from her?”

  “Yes, cher, why were you hiding from me?” Madame echoed in a mocking voice. “And did you tell him what I taught you?” She was enjoying herself.