As it soared higher, the upper winds caught it and she leaned back against his body as her arms took the weight and he risked letting go of her hands. As withdrawing completely while she was so consumed would likely result in her falling backwards, he rested his palms on her hips while enjoyed her expression of wonder.
‘It’s flying, Griff!’
‘I know.’
‘This was such a lovely idea. The perfect way to spend a Sunday.’ She twisted her head to grin at him and just like that, something strange and wonderful happened.
The emotion overwhelmed him and he let her see it.
Their eyes locked.
The air shifted.
And simultaneously, in that charged and joyous moment, they both closed the remaining distance between their mouths as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was a tender kiss.
Soft and full of meaning and neither she nor Griff were in a hurry for it to end. They both paused briefly as his precious kite hit the ground behind them with an ominous thud, but then his lips whispered over hers again as he laughed and the kite was forgotten. All that mattered was the honesty of the moment and the hidden mutual affection it revealed.
While there was desire, this kiss wasn’t about heat or passion, although she felt them. Nor was it an explosion of lust so fierce it consumed them. It was gentle and curious, as if they were both experiencing the sensation of one another properly for the first time. His hands rested lightly on her hips. Hers on his shoulders. Everywhere else, their bodies barely touched, yet Charity still felt him everywhere. From the flickers of need kindling between her legs to the rapid, excited beating of her heart, every reaction was for him. For them, this special moment of understanding and nothing else.
At the exact second when it would have been perfectly acceptable to deepen the kiss and allow the restrained lust to bubble over as it had with such ardent fervour as before, they mutually broke apart. Only an inch or two as they stared at one another in wonder and bemusement—because it was wonderful as well as confusing. Charity had never been so overwhelmed by a simple kiss in her life.
Wordlessly, he led her back to the blanket, and they kissed again. Then they ate cake and laughed and held hands as they lamented the state of his kite. He tried to fix it and gave up. They exchanged more kisses, some were brief, some lingered but none went further than the first. They packed away their picnic. Took a slow, meandering ride around the park and down to the river. Strolled along the Thames for an hour arm in arm stealing more chaste kisses along the way when the need arose and the coast was clear, and again all the way home where they ate a companionable dinner and talked about nothing in particular for another hour afterwards.
At no juncture did either of them question what any of it meant or where it was going. They didn’t talk about their feelings or the past or their future in case they burst the magical bubble that surrounded them. They simply went with the flow and revelled in the present until they were all alone in their drawing room after they had bid an intrigued and delighted Mrs Gibbons goodnight.
The door clicked shut and they stared at one another from opposite ends of the sofa, the atmosphere now charged with uncertainty alongside the anticipation. ‘I suppose this is the part of the evening where things inevitably get awkward?’ Charity took a sip of peppermint tea to calm her sudden nerves.
‘Only if we allow them to.’ But by the way the fingers of his left hand were rhythmically tapping his crossed knee, he felt as suddenly gauche as she. They stilled as he caught her watching them and he laughed as he winced. ‘All right... I’ll be brave and actually be the one to say it for a change. It’s been a lovely day. Unexpected...and encouraging for our marriage. But I have no expectations of anything more yet, or at all, if that is what is worrying you. I am quite content just to be in your company and know that right at this moment you are just as happy to be in mine.’
‘That’s really all?’ Her silly heart yearned for a declaration of some sort or a hint which confirmed some of Faith’s, Hope’s and Mrs Gibbons’ romantic suspicions.
He stared at his knee again, then exhaled. ‘I cannot deny that I wouldn’t say no to a kiss goodnight...once the evening is done. If you are agreeable, that is.’
As much as her nerves appreciated his gentlemanly restraint, her body didn’t. ‘And what if I wanted a kiss now too, Griff?’ Of its own accord, her gaze dropped to his mouth as her lips tingled before she forced it back to meet his.
He swallowed. ‘Then I wouldn’t say no to that either.’ But as his gaze heated, he made no move to take advantage of her invitation.
Before her bravery disintegrated completely, Charity shuffled closer then hesitated when he remained fixed to the spot, refusing to move a single muscle. ‘At least meet me halfway, you wretch. Don’t make me think this is all one-sided.’ Because it didn’t feel like it was. He hadn’t confessed any sort of feelings for her, yet there was something in his eyes, an intensity she hadn’t seen in them before that suggested he felt it too.
‘I can’t.’ As he shook his head, his index finger wound itself into one of her curls and the gold flecks in his dark irises turned instantly molten. ‘After all the delights of today, I don’t trust myself not to overstep the line.’
‘We are married. I didn’t think there was a line?’
‘Then I shall give you fair warning, Charity, if I kiss you now then one kiss won’t be enough.’
Sometimes, once in a blue moon, Griff said the loveliest things without even realising he had said them. ‘Your warning is duly noted.’ She pressed her lips to his and was immediately engulfed in his strength as he hauled her into his lap.
This kiss was decadent and unrestrained. Long and deep and unmistakably carnal. His hardness pressed insistently against her hip as his tongue finally tangled with hers, making her moan into his mouth as her arms coiled around his neck.
While her fingers explored his chest and shoulders beneath his coat, his found and removed every pin in her hair until it all fell in a tousled curtain. Then his palms slid possessively down her thighs, dipped under her skirt and petticoats to smooth back up her stockings until they found the bare flesh at the top and paused. ‘Say the word and I’ll stop. I don’t want to do anything that you are uncomfortable with.’
She smiled against his mouth as she kissed him again. ‘That is duly noted too.’ Then in case he had any other ridiculous notions of being gentlemanly, she nipped his ear with her teeth then nibbled a lazy trail down his neck while she undid his cravat and slowly pulled it away to discard it on the floor. Because he was right about one thing—a kiss wasn’t going to be anywhere near enough tonight.
She kicked off her shoes and snuggled closer, enjoying the irregular beat of his heart beneath her palms, then sighed as he peeled away first one of her stockings and then the other. ‘I adore your skin. It’s like warm silk.’ His lips lingered on her jaw until a million goose pimples exploded on her flesh. ‘The memory of it has haunted me since our first time.’
It was the first real acknowledgement he had ever made of the way he felt about her and she hugged the words to her heart as he rained open-mouthed kisses down her throat and collarbone, then across the tops of her breasts above her bodice. ‘The memory of you that night has haunted me too...’ His hand cupped one breast, his thumb gently grazing the outline of her puckered nipple through the thin muslin of her dress until she moaned and arched against him.
‘Your curves...your passion...’ He kissed her mouth again as he filled his big hand with her bare bottom beneath her skirts. ‘Your trust in me...’
Exactly as it had that first time, the strength of her desire for him shocked her and made her bolder. With clumsy fingers, she undid his waistcoat and burrowed beneath his shirt to rake her nails over his back, the barrier of their clothes now a dreadful inconvenience when
her skin craved the feel of his from head to toe. Impatiently, she wrestled with the buttons of his falls and he stilled and stared down at her, his breathing gloriously laboured, and his questioning eyes darkened with desire. ‘You don’t have to do that...we don’t have to do that. This is more than enough.’
‘Not for me, it isn’t.’ Charity wanted all of him. Wanted to give all of her to him again and more. She wound her arms around his neck and tugged him back to her mouth, then lost herself in his kiss until he wrenched his mouth away.
The rampant desire in his gaze was unmistakable. ‘Should we continue this upstairs?’
She nodded and he stood, staring down at the mess she had made of his clothing as if he couldn’t quite believe it, then he smiled and held out his hand.
Neither spoke as they climbed the stairs but they repeatedly stopped so that they could kiss some more until they finally reached the landing where he hesitated, looking awkward and unsure, rumpled and utterly gorgeous as he stared at the two bedchamber doors. ‘Which would you prefer?’
‘Yours...’ She grasped the handle and turned it quickly as the nerves also got the better of her. ‘I have never ventured inside this room before, so it feels fitting tonight that I do.’
This was new and unchartered territory for both of them. They might have already experienced carnal knowledge of one another that fateful night in Sheffield, but that had been purely carnal. An unstoppable and unexpected physical maelstrom borne out of anger and hurt. A raging tempest of exploding passion and confused, fraught and long-bottled emotions which had nothing to do with affection.
This was different. It was anticipated. Premeditated. A defining moment in their long relationship which would alter everything completely. A consensual and reasoned decision to move to the higher plane beyond the physical. The enormous but essential step which took them away from their childhood and the fraught years of early adulthood and on to the unfamiliar path which might just make their marriage work.
It was undeniably a step in the right direction, but it was daunting none the less. The sheer weight of what they were about to do hung heavy in the air, making them both more nervous and conscious of one another in a way they had never been before. When she welcomed him into her body it would mean something. Perhaps not love—yet—for him at least. She accepted that such a momentous thing could not be rushed no matter how much her heart willed his to keep pace with hers. But the acknowledgement of mutual affection and blossoming trust which they desperately needed if they were ever going to fix the unfixable.
He waited for her to enter and he followed her inside. As if she had anticipated an evening of seduction, Mrs Gibbons had already turned down the bed on both sides. Her robe lay on top of his on the chair in the corner. A single lamp flickered on the nightstand in the gentle breeze from the open window. The room smelled of Griff. His subtle, spicy cologne. The soft citrus of his shaving soap. Charity took it all in, running her fingertips over his razor and brushes on the dressing table. Items so intimate to him yet up until this precise moment, completely alien to her.
The door clicked shut behind her and she turned to find him still leaning on the frame, respectfully giving her space even though she didn’t want it but clearly desperate for her to close it.
Her body tingled with awareness as she walked towards him. Excitement warred with trepidation and made her limbs heavy. Expectant warmth pooled between her legs and heightened her senses. Her breasts ached for his touch. ‘As we never had a wedding night, I suppose this is it?’ Her pulse quickened at the prospect of all that was to come.
‘Only if you want it to be. We don’t have to...’ She pressed a finger to his lips.
‘I am not here under any duress, Griff. I do not feel pressured or obligated. I came of my own free will.’ She smiled as her fingertips traced his mouth, enjoying the way his eyes darkened. The way his chest rose and fell as he fought to control his breathing, to disguise his arousal. All for her. ‘I know already that you will stop in a heartbeat if I change my mind. I know that you will not hurt me, that you would rather die than do so. That you don’t have any expectations or rules or ulterior motives either. And I also know that you are as anxious about tonight as I am because this is a momentous step. But I also know it is the right one. For us and for our future together.’ She stroked his cheek to memorise every aspect of his rapt expression. His hunger, his yearning, his iron-clad resolve to always do the right thing. ‘Now, for pity’s sake, kiss me. Because I want you so badly tonight that it hurts.’
As if she had just given him the earth, he opened his arms and she gladly walked into them, revelling in the unleashed passion of his kiss. Revelling in him. Them. This unexpected and magical moment.
They took their time undressing one another, looking their fill and consigning all the details of each other’s bodies to memory in a way they hadn’t had the patience with before. Initially she was timid about baring everything, but he wouldn’t allow that. He gazed upon every aspect of her nakedness in awed wonder, skimming his hand over the flesh his eyes had just raked as if he had never seen anything so lovely. He told her that she was the most beautiful woman in the world and in that second, as his rampant body twitched impatiently against her stomach and his heart hammered against her palm, she believed him.
They held hands when they finally wandered to the bed and as she slipped under the covers he slid in beside her, propping himself on one elbow so that he could fully explore every curve with his fingers, letting every ounce of his appreciation for her body and her show. Then, when he finally fused his mouth to hers, she sighed against it, pulling him on top of her because she needed to feel his weight.
For the longest time all they did was kiss and touch. A delightful, honest and enlightening prelude as they became familiar with this new and unforeseen phase of their seventeen-year acquaintance. Charity wanted to tell him how she felt, how she had always felt in the deepest recesses of her heart. How much their new closeness meant to her. More than anything, she wanted to hear those poignant words from him too but in their absence he showed her all those things in the heartfelt timbre of his kisses and his intense affection in each and every touch.
When they eventually allowed the impatient lust to consume them, that too came with more closeness. It became about both giving as well as receiving, luxuriating in the other’s pleasure while allowing themselves to be vulnerable too. He worshipped her breasts, laving them until she arched against him. He moved lower and kissed her intimately until she bucked and writhed in torment, then held her close after she lay boneless and blinded by the stars he had put in her eyes until the passion built again.
This time it was Charity who undid him, repaying the favour by ignoring his protestations and taking him into her mouth, then boldly loving every throbbing inch of him until his clenched hands twisted in the sheet and his big body strained for release. But he flatly refused to let go that way and on a growl he rolled her beneath him, laced her fingers in his and stared deep into her eyes as he gently eased himself inside.
After that words were superfluous as pleasure took over and they drowned in the sublime sensations of being joined. There was no anger this time. No hurt or battle. No haste or race to the finish line. They took their time, eking out every caress, every sigh, every poignant thrust until she lost sight of which part was her and which was him but understood that this was always meant to be. Her and him. Him and her. The sense of rightness was all-consuming. And when he came and her body pulsed in ecstasy around his, he cried her name in exultation as she cried his and they tumbled overwhelmed but perfectly entwined into the bright oblivion together.
Chapter Twenty-Five
‘Have some mercy and cover yourself over, woman!’ Then Griff was rushing around the room like a man possessed towelling the residual shaving soap from his skin as he rifled in his closet for a fresh shirt. They had had quite the night. Thanks to the hours of delic
ious lovemaking, a short, exhausted sleep following a brief interlude of the dreaded morning sickness, Griff had overslept. But as he had had to have her again neither of them had paid particular attention to the clock. ‘I am already hideously late and if you are not careful I will miss the entire blasted meeting and that will be all your fault.’ He stared at her and then stared heavenwards as if praying for strength. ‘In the name of all that is holy, use that damn blanket, Charity, I am struggling to concentrate!’
Enjoying his discomfort, she stretched her arms above her head and smiled her most seductive smile as his eyes greedily drank in her nudity from the end of the bed. She had been reticent about baring everything, but now that she had seen just how much her body undid him, all shame for being so scandalously wanton went out of the window. ‘Would being late be so bad?’ She stroked his thigh with her foot, the impressive evidence of the effect she was having on him visible as another erection strained against his breeches. ‘Doctor MacDonald did warn you that a pregnant wife could become libidinous and that unfortunate state of affairs is entirely your fault so it stands to reason you should have to pay for it in kind.’
‘I cannot say I recall that being all my fault.’
‘Of course, it was your fault—you lost your head at the most critical moment, forgot to be sensible for a change and planted a baby in my belly.’ Feeling like a siren tempting a sailor to the rocks, she ran her fingers through her hair and then trailed them over her bosom.
‘You are killing me.’ He snatched up her robe and tossed it over her. ‘And so will my father if I abandon him to the investors alone. This is potentially a big contract. Huge. For two new state-of-the-art coal mines in Glamorganshire that basically need everything and I have to be there to explain my designs because my father can’t.’ To her delight, he seemed devastated by this inconvenience. ‘But I will happily pay tenfold for my carelessness this afternoon once the meeting is done.’
How Not to Chaperon a Lady--A sexy, funny Regency romance Page 22
