“Which of these, Your Grace?” Clarissa asked, holding up two dresses. One was a sheer white muslin and the other, blue lace, that always reminded her of Colin’s eyes.
“The lace,” she said, dabbing some lavender oil on her neck.
“You look very happy this evening,” Clarissa said as she laid the dress on a chaise.
Anna smiled at her, and said quietly, “That will be all. Have a good night.”
Clarissa curtsied, her grin growing wider, and excused herself. Anna waited until the door had closed before she allowed her smile to fade, and she regarded herself in the mirror. Her eyes barely had any light in them but she forced a glimmer to reveal itself.
She stood and wore the dress without any small garments underneath the lace, then she brushed her hair and stepped into their bedchamber. Colin was yet to join her after dinner, but he had promised he would come to see her before she slept, for he had work to see to with Nathaniel in his workroom.
He walked in as she was lowering herself onto the bed, and his eyes quickly flared and darkened.
“My goodness, Anna!” He walked toward her, then paused to let his eyes caress her. He could see every form of her body through the sheer fabric, and her arousal began to throb at her intimate flesh. She walked up to him and reached under his coat, pushing it back and down his shoulders.
As she was reaching for his cravat, he pulled her to him and kissed her, his mouth hot and hungry, as if he had not kissed her in days. Anna thought it was more intense than their kiss when he returned from London. His hands caressed and stroked her body through the dress, drawing her soft moans into their kiss.
His mouth slid down to her throat, and she whispered his name, tugging at his waistcoat. Laughing, he unfastened the buttons for her and she freed him from it, tossing it onto the floor, then his shirt followed.
“I regret that I have to remove this dress,” he murmured as he drew the neckline down her shoulders. He smiled as he watched it slide down her body to gather at their feet. Taking her hand, he helped her step out of it. She had stood naked before him many times but every time he looked at her, Anna felt as though it was the first time. Under his appreciative gaze, her nipples hardened to eager peaks and her center pooled and ached for his touch.
Circling her waist, he pulled her close until her breasts brushed his bare chest, and an exciting shiver rushed down her spine. Her heart pounded in her chest for him, and every inch of her body was being tortured by the slowness of the moment but Anna relished every second, every breath that rushed past his parted lips, and every darkened gaze that loved her skin.
One of her hands reached around his neck, while the other went to his breeches, and she stroked the bulge underneath his breeches. “Anna!” he swore. “You are torturing me.”
“Then why do you still have these on?” she teased.
Swearing again, she undid the breeches and pulled them down his legs, kicking his boots off and tossing his stockings away. Then their naked bodies mingled and he picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, and carried her to the bed. Their kiss grew frenzied and Anna’s hands were all over him. Her exhilaration rose every time his muscles jumped beneath her touch, and he reached between them to touch her center, amazed at how ready she was for him.
Gently, he guided himself into her, and she cried his name, his tenderness amalgamating with her overflowing sense of sadness. Their gazes held, and when he leaned to kiss her, she placed a hand on his chest to stay him, saying, “I want to look into your eyes.”
He pushed further into her, his body strained from the effort of holding himself back. He was granting her wish to be slow and sweet. When he moved deeper into her, she gasped, “Colin, I love you.” His sharp blue eyes widened momentarily with surprise, then they sparkled to reflecthislove. “I have loved you for so long that I do not know when it began.”
He was fully within her now, and he began to move slowly, his fingers finding the crown of her sex and rubbing. “I loved you from the moment I saw you in the drawing room, drenched yet proud.” He pressed his lips to her temple, then her cheek, her jaw, before her lips. She felt her tears stream down her temples. This moment was now engraved in her heart the way everything about Colin had been.
She pulled him closer and raised her hips to meet his thrusts which were becoming more urgent. He lifted her hips and placed a small pillow underneath, then pulled back and gazed down at her, driving her pleasure higher and higher. Anna smiled, while he grinned, but then her body began to tremble, and her core tightened with impossible sweetness.
She closed her eyes as the restless sensation shattered within her, drawing all of her strength away and replacing it with blissful pleasure. When she opened her eyes, breathless, she saw him watching her in awe, and he caressed her cheek. Then with two hard thrusts, he groaned and jerked forward, bracing himself on his elbows and claiming her mouth. His body convulsed over hers, and this release was the most intense she had ever felt, but then this night could not be rivaled.
“I love you,” she said again as he rolled onto his back and pulled her to his side.
“And I, you.” Colin kissed the top of her head. “More than all life in this world.”
Closing her eyes, she listened to his steady breathing and his heartbeat, both sounds comforting and heart-wrenching, while he drew languid circles on her waist and hip.
After a while, when Colin thought she was asleep, he carefully pulled away and sat up. Anna opened her eyes and watched his back, tempted to touch him, draw him back to her and never allow him to leave; but alas, he was not hers to keep. He stood and dressed, still thinking she was asleep, and he leaned over and kissed her before leaving the bedchamber, humming to himself as he did.
The minute the door closed and she could no longer hear his footfalls, she sat up and drew back the bed covers, hurrying into the dressing room. She opened the wardrobe and selected two dresses she could travel with and stuffed them into a valise, then donned a dark blue dress and a heavy woolen cloak with a hood that would cover her face well when drawn.
Walking to the bureau, she picked up the letter she had written for Colin and placed it on the rumpled bed. Her heart kicked violently against her ribs, protesting her actions.
This is necessary,she told herself.
On her way to the door, she saw her father’s letter still on the mantle. It had remained untouched since she placed it there. The place was cleaned every day but the letter remained. She picked it up and placed it in her valise, and lastly, she found Sir Nips on a chair and kissed his head, her chin quivering, then quickly moved to open the door. He tried to follow her but she quickly closed the door.Not this time, my little one.
Anna moved quietly through the dim hallways, and she used the stairs at the back of the manor to go down and find one of the doors on the side of the building. It creaked a little when she opened it, and a gust of cold wind blew in like an omen. Still, she was not deterred and stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
She glanced up at the imposing manor, and whispered, “Farewell, my love.” Then Anna walked away, knowing her heart was inside Dawnton Hall, where it would always remain.
