“Let you what?”
He leaned back so she could see the glint in his eyes. “Why, darling wife. Have breakfast, of course.”
She trembled with desire as she nodded, and he picked her up—his recent illness had not diminished his strength, it seemed—placing her on the bed.
“Let me worship you,” he said, dropping to his knees before her, his eyes dark and just as hungry as he had said.I hunger for you.
“I burn for you,” she said, the words finding their way to her lips.
He glanced at her, expression soft despite the hard edge of his desire. His hands slid under her skirts, pushing them up to her waist. His eyes glowed with anticipation and his fingers skirted the edge of her slick core. She shivered at the flash of pleasure, there and gone.
“I want you to sound your pleasure,” he told her, that command she loved so much in his voice. “Don’t hold back for me, Eleanor. Can you do that?”
So different from when he had asked her to be quiet. There was no hiding what they were doing now—no hint of shame as he brought his mouth to her inner thigh. She let her head hang back, bracing herself on her hands as he peppered soft kisses across her inner thighs, his fingers teasing her until she writhed on the table.
“My feast,” he murmured, flicking his gaze to her, a wicked gleam in his eyes she recognized. Then he brought his head between her legs and feasted on her like a man starved, licking and sucking, using his finger to press inside her. There was little to no resistance.
To think she had been prepared to leave this behind for the remainder of her days.
Remembering his command, she didn’t bite her lip to keep her gasps and moans contained. With every sound that burst from her, he moved with added urgency.
When eventually she fell apart, his name was on her tongue. He held her through the waves of pleasure, drinking in her nectar as she trembled, her arms almost not enough to hold her up.
“Sebastian,” she said when he seemed to make as though he would continue there. “Sebastian, please. I need you.”
He rose, leaning over her, his erection hot and hard against her thigh as he kissed her, letting her taste the musk of her desire on his mouth. “I could do that forever,” he said huskily. “I love the way you sound.”
“Sebastian,” she whispered.
“I love you. I want you to feel how much.”
“I do.” She cupped his cheek with her palm, looking into his eyes. “You show me every day.”
“I haven’t. But I will.”
“You have,” she shook her head. “You made a cage for Scrunch. You see me, even when I feel like I want to hide. You let me into your house, and you have embraced me even when it terrified you to. You came after me, Sebastian. No one else has ever gone to such lengths for me.” Her heart swelled with such love, she thought she might split apart from it. “I will never forget.”
“I will endeavor to deserve you.”
“You already do. That’s what loving is.” She placed a hand against her heart. “As long as you hold me here, you deserve my love.” She smiled at his expression of wonder. “Take me now. Show me your love. And let me show you.”
His lips curved. “I already showed you with my mouth.”
“Show me again,” she whispered.
EPILOGUE
One year later
Eleanor pressed a hand to her stomach against the unusual roiling there, forcing the nausea back as she smiled at Olivia as her best friend walked down the aisle of the small church, hand in hand with Luke.
Their match had been an inevitability from almost the first moment of their meeting. But Luke, rebuilding his life back in England, had taken his time proposing. Olivia, patient to the last moment despite her runaway tongue, had been content to wait, and now they had finally committed to their love.
Sebastian wrapped his arm around Eleanor’s stomach as they emerged into the sunlight, blinking after the dark cool of the church.
“I remember this place,” he said, tilting his head as he looked down at Eleanor. “I believe the beginning of the rest of my life began here.”
“Oh, you mean when you married me against your will?” Ignoring her nausea, happy despite it, Eleanor rested her head against his arm. “You did not know then that it was the beginning of the rest of your life.”
