Noah released her for a moment and gave the dress a little tug, marveling as the gossamer-fine fabric fluttered down to pool at her feet. Tabitha was left in her shift, drawers, and stockings, with dainty little slippers on her feet. The bright, mid-day sun flitted through the sheer underclothes, outlining her curves in exquisite detail. Her pert nipples were already pebbled and begging for his attention beneath the barely-there fabric.
Tabitha hugged her arms over her chest, attempting to hide herself from his view. “Should we close the draperies?”
“No. I want to see you.” Noah brought her close, pulling her arms away from her body. Her neck and cheeks were flushed pink again and she looked down at the floor. “Don’t hide from me, Tabitha. You’re so beautiful.”
Shaking her head, she opened her mouth to speak. Noah placed a finger over her lips to stop her and pulled her close with his other hand around her waist. “You are. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ll not deny you much, if I can help it. But you are not allowed to doubt how beautiful you are to me.” Tears sprung into her eyes. “Ever. Understood?”
Tabitha nodded, fighting to keep the tears at bay.
“Good. Now let me see you.” Before she could argue, Noah lifted the hem of her shift and tugged it over her head. He took a step back, holding her hands to prevent her from covering her breasts. If anyone was going to do that, it was him.
He would, too. But not yet. Noah pulled at the strings holding Tabitha’s drawers up. In seconds they, too, fell to her feet, leaving her with only her stockings and slippers. She gasped. The curls at the apex of her legs matched the shade of her hair. If he didn’t get her into bed soon, he would lose the small amount of control he still retained. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her over to the four-poster bed he’d asked to be prepared with the finest silk beddings he owned. He pulled down the counterpane and gingerly placed her on her back.
Noah sat beside her legs, taking one foot into his hands to slide the slipper free. He massaged her foot, easing her tension with each stroke. She squirmed against him, but he had no intention of moving things along until he was ready. When he could feel no more resistance, he replaced that foot on the bed and repeated the process with her other foot.
“Take off your clothes. I want you to bed me.” With her free foot, Tabitha tried to slip it over his leg and use it to stroke his erection.
Noah pushed her foot away. “I’ve already told you. My way this time. I intend to spend hours exploring your body, finding every sensitive spot, every place that makes you gasp and moan. I want you to know how much I adore you. How much I need you in my life. How perfect you are for me, in every way.”
To emphasize his point, he licked the bottom of her foot through her stocking, grazing the arch with his teeth before sucking her toes into his mouth one at a time. Tabitha bucked her hips in response and let out a little mewl. Her wetness was already glistening over the tangle of her curls, without him even touching her breasts or her sex. By Jove, she was so responsive.
When he brushed his hands up the curves of her legs to her knees, she whimpered. Noah lavished equal attention on her calves, the underside of her knee, the length of her thighs, as he had done with her feet.
By the time he had finished, she was a heated, writhing jumble of desire. “Touch me. Blast, Noah, I need you to touch me or I’ll go mad.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing this last while?” Noah stifled a chuckle at the outrage in her near-black eyes. “Where do you need me to touch you, love? I want you to touch yourself for me.”
Tabitha’s eyes shot wide. “What? I can’t do that.” That glorious blush sprawled over her again, her neck and cheeks, her breasts, all the way down her stomach until it disappeared somewhere near her navel.
He couldn’t resist licking her there, tasting her navel and feeling her core jump at the unexpected touch. “You can. Anything that happens between us is all right, sweetheart. There is to be no shame between us.”
She hesitated. Her eyes showed her fear. But slowly, ever so slowly, Tabitha lifted her hands off the bed sheets and placed them on her breasts. At the faintest touch, her eyes darkened, ardor overtaking the fear.
Noah’s erection became even harder, pulsating against the flap of his breeches at the sight. He needed to get his clothes off, and he needed them off now. Noah tugged at his Hessians and flung them across the room, then set to work on the rest of his garments. “Show me. Show me how you want me to touch you.”
Tabitha flattened her dainty hands over her breasts and squeezed lightly at first, tentatively. Letting out a little groan, she closed her eyes and pressed them harder.
“Open your eyes. Watch me.” He had his coat, waistcoat, and shirt off now and was fighting with the buttons holding his flap up as Tabitha snapped her eyes open again and met his. Almost frantic with need, Noah couldn’t take his gaze from his beautiful wife pleasuring herself. For him. She was doing it for him.
Rolling her nipples between thumbs and forefingers, Tabitha whimpered. “Hurry. I need...” Her voice trailed off as her hips rose up off the bed.
“What do you need? Show me what you need.”
Her right hand left her breast and hesitantly moved down her body, her fingers dipping below her curls into the gateway to his piece of heaven on earth. He had to touch her. Noah’s need—Tabitha’s need—it was all too great to wait any longer. The last of the buttons of his breeches wouldn’t give, so he ripped, pulling them down along with his smallclothes, all in one motion.
As soon as his clothes were free, Noah returned to the bed and supplanted her hand with his own. He placed two fingers inside her wet heat and stroked, rubbing his thumb over her straining nub. Within seconds, she was shuddering, pulsing beneath his attentions, rocking her hips forward to match him stroke for stroke. She called out something inarticulate and magnificent.
“Yes. Come for me, love.” While she was still in the throes of her climax, Noah positioned himself at her entrance and thrust forward until he was buried to the hilt. The walls of her sex quaked around him, urging him to set a pace to match.
But he didn’t. Noah began a slow, languid lovemaking. As she returned to herself after the climax, Tabitha lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, taking him deeper. He held himself above her with one arm, using the other to give her breasts the attention she’d asked him for earlier.
With each thrust, with each manipulation of her nipple, with each kiss or nibble along her jaw line, Tabitha let out a little pleasure-sound.
When he didn’t think he could last much longer, Noah picked up the tempo and slid his hand between their bodies. He parted her folds and found the secret to her release, rubbing over it with increasing friction until she was panting and holding onto his shoulders with a grip so tight she might leave marks.
Both their bodies tensed for the coming release. Noah tightened and swelled inside her. With a keening moan, Tabitha trembled around him as she came. He pulled back, gave a final thrust, and spent himself inside her with a shout.
After a few moments, when he could breathe again and she mumbled something beneath him, Noah rolled over, pulling Tabitha with him. He held her there, stroking the hair back from her face for long minutes.
“Noah?” With heavy eyes, she looked up at him. Whatever she might ask him for at that moment, he would do anything to be able to give. But she didn’t ask him for anything. Instead, she whispered up to him shyly, “I feel beautiful.”
It sounded like a prayer on her lips.
“I’ll do everything I can to be sure you feel beautiful for the rest of your life.”
Tabitha stretched her head forward and pecked him on the nose. “I love you. And I really do promise I’ll never try to shoot you again.”
Noah let out a bark of laughter. “I love you too.”
Minutes later, the rise and fall of her chest slowed to the deep breaths of sleep. Tabitha was exhausted. As well she should be. It had been quite a day for
them both. He watched her for a while, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, studying the peaceful expression on her face. So serene. So perfect.
In her sleep, her hand fell from his chest to land near his manhood. Instantly, he was hard again. Noah hated to wake her up...but then again, he had an entire lifetime to watch her sleep.
Epilogue
Spring, 1816
London
“If you don’t keep breathing, I’ll smother you with a pillow, myself.” Jo pushed Tabitha’s shoulders back down on the bed and then took her hand, patting it comfortingly. “And don’t think Bethie wouldn’t say the same thing if she were here. She would. Your mother would have, too.”
Tabitha didn’t have the energy to fight with her cousin at the moment. It was taking everything in her not to rip her hair out. That might be why they had taken to holding her hands so tightly, come to think of it—to prevent her from doing them bodily harm.
“Jo’s right, Tabitha,” Aunt Matilda said. She squeezed Tabitha’s other hand and wiped a cool, damp cloth over her brow. “Breathing is absolutely necessary. For you, and for the baby. Trust me. I went through this five times. I know.”
Tabitha shook her head. Unbelievable. “You can’t have gone through this. You can’t have survived such a thing.” No one could have survived the pain threatening to rip her cleanly in two. The aching in her back was enough to send her to Bedlam, alone.
Aunt Vanessa smiled from the foot of the bed, where she sat next to the midwife. “I know it feels like the end of the world, but I can assure you it is not. Four times for me, and I came out just fine after every one. Your mother only had to go through childbirth twice, since you and Toby came at the same time. Lucky her.”
Aunt Matilda, Aunt Vanessa, Lavinia, and Elaine all shared knowing looks.
“I don’t care. I don’t care what you say or what you went through.” Tabitha sucked in a huge gasp of air as another sharp pang assaulted her middle. Every muscle in her body seemed to clench in agony. She squeezed the hands she held as tightly as she could, trying to ease the discomfort, to no avail.
“Breathe,” Jo commanded. “Take a deep breath in, and then slowly let it out.”
Somehow, Tabitha managed to do as she was ordered. A cool cloth came over her head again, over her chest, down her arms. Finally, after what could have been a minute or maybe a lifetime, the worst of it passed. For now. She slumped back against the mound of pillows behind her, utterly exhausted, trying to rest until the next wave assaulted her.
“Are you sure that Jo ought to be allowed in here?” Lavinia asked. Her voice grated on Tabitha’s last nerve for some reason. “She’s not been through this herself yet. For that matter, she’s not even married.”
“I’m not leaving Tabby. Not for anything.”
Lavinia scoffed. “This is not something an innocent should see. Mother, you really ought to send her away.”
Now that was beyond toleration. Tabitha sat up as far as she was capable. “If Jo is leaving, I’m leaving.”
“You, my dear, are not going anywhere until this child is born.” Aunt Matilda took her turn to shove Tabitha’s shoulders back into the pillows.
“Then I suppose Jo is staying, too. If Lavinia thinks someone ought to leave, she is more than welcome to go.”
Lavinia huffed from her position in the corner, well away from being useful in any context. “Well, I never.”
Elaine came closer to the bed, carrying more clean strips of fabric. She set them down on the bedside table beside Aunt Matilda, and then dipped one into the basin of water before using it to wipe down Tabitha’s legs. Her gentle touch was more soothing than anything else up to that point. “I wished someone would help me cool my legs when I was having Lily,” she murmured. “Can I get you anything?” she asked when she had finished.
But then another pang struck. This one was worse than before, worse than all the rest combined. Tabitha let out a scream, only no sound came from her mouth.
When it finished and she regained her ability to reason, she turned to her sister-in-law. “Yes. Yes, you can bring me something. Two things.”
“Of course.” Elaine jumped to her feet, prepared to do anything Tabitha asked.
“I need you to bring Noah in here. And a pistol. A loaded pistol. I’m sure Toby will help you out with that one, if Owen won’t.”
Noah had gotten her into this predicament, after all. He could damned well participate in every aspect of it.
Elaine’s jaw dropped. “A pistol?”
“Yes. A pistol. Go. Quickly.” Another pain shot through her center.
“They’re coming much closer together now,” the midwife said. “It won’t be much longer.”
Jo motioned to Elaine to hurry along. “Get your brother.”
“Don’t forget my pistol!” Tabitha shouted through the waves of torture washing over her by the moment.
A moment later, Noah replaced Aunt Matilda by her side, taking her hand into his own and brushing her hair back from her head. “You asked for me?” He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “And a pistol, I understand.”
“I’ll kill you. If I survive this, if you ever do this to me again, I swear I’ll kill you.”
“Ah, yes. The twisted Shelton love. I love you, too, Tabitha.”
“It’s time to push. Help her sit up.” A voice from the foot of the bed.
Strong arms lifted her and settled around her as a firm chest pressed against her back. “Push, sweetheart.”
“And keep breathing.”
Tabitha pushed. She felt ripped straight through the middle, and still she pushed and screamed and pushed some more, until there was nothing left to push.
Moments later, the cries of her child filled her consciousness.
“It’s a girl.”
“What shall we name her?” Noah asked as their baby was placed gingerly in Tabitha’s waiting arms. “She’s beautiful. The most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen.”
She looked at her baby, at her red little face and head full of light brown hair, just like her father’s, and was instantly in love. “Lucinda. For my mother.” Tabitha glanced over at Jo’s tear-stained face and winked. “I suppose we’ll have to call her Lucy, I think.”
Elaine came rushing back into the room. “I see I’m too late. Congratulations. Are you still in need of a pistol? Toby said he could arrange to borrow one from Lord Leith.”
Noah looked at his sister like she was daft. “My wife is most assuredly not in need of a pistol. She vowed she would never hold one on me again. Every last one of you heard her say it, too.”
Tabitha laughed. “That’s true. I did make a promise. I suppose I’ll have to keep it.” She looked down at her daughter, resting peacefully in her arms. “But I haven’t yet provided you with an heir.” Tabitha caught Elaine’s eye and grinned. “We’ll have to wait and see how I feel about things next time.”
Next time. And the time after that. And the time after that.
About the Author
Catherine Gayle has been an avid reader of romance novels (and almost anything else she can legally get her hands on) for as long as she can remember. Her mother might say it started in the womb. When she is not writing or reading, she can often be found buried beneath her sleeping cat or chasing the Nephew Monster.
Catherine would love to hear from her readers. You can send her an email at [email protected].
Other Catherine Gayle titles coming soon:
Pariah
An Old Maids’ Club novel
After selling his major’s commission in the Dragoons, Lord Roman Vanderbilt wants nothing more than a sedate life in the country, acting as steward over his brother’s estate. If seventeen years in the military had not been enough, the vast casualties suffered by his men at Waterloo certainly made his decision clear. But leave it to Miss Bethanne Shelton, the generally shunned, enticingly pixie-ish caregiver to both the village’s senile old biddy and a rambunctious young boy,
to forcefully remove all hopes of a quiet life from his mind. Timid and yet brave, secretive and yet loving, Bethanne presents Roman with a series of contradictions he can only hope to solve before she runs him from her life for good.
Pariah will be available in December, 2011.
Shelved
An Old Maids’ Club novel
Miss Josephine Faulkner refuses to come in second to anyone—not even to a husband. Oh, sure, Duncan Ramsey, the Earl of Leith, has been owner of her heart since she was a girl, chasing after him and her older brother when they tried to leave her behind. And while it is true she once gave herself to Duncan completely, when she was only offered marriage in return (and therefore, second class status within the relationship), she told him in no uncertain terms where he could put his blasted chivalry. Now he needs an heir to prevent his ne’er-do-well cousin from one day inheriting his father’s marquessate, but having sulked over the mistakes he’s made with Jo for over a decade, he can’t imagine anyone else being suited for the job. Somehow he must convince her that a life at his side will be more worthwhile than a life of stubborn independence.
Look for Shelved in 2012.
Other titles available from
Catherine Gayle
LORD ROTHEBY’S INFLUENCE SERIES
Twice a Rake
Saving Grace
Merely a Miss
wanton wives
Available individually and as an anthology
Of Love and Lust
One Lonely Night
A Perfect Pearl
Leg-Shackled
Uninhibited
Regency Christmas Summons Anthology
Wallflower (Old Maids' Club, Book 1) Page 29
