“Put your foot there,” he instructed.
She obeyed and then shrieked with surprise as Seth bolted up, thrusting her upwards as he did. She caught the wall and hauled herself up. Seth jumped, catching the edge and scrambling up himself, rolling across the top and dropping the six feet to the grass on the other side.
“Jump, I’ll catch you,” he called out from below her.
It was dark on this side of the wall, without the glow from gas lamps, nor the lanterns on passing carriages to cast a golden glow. He could see the silhouette of Charlotte as she sat atop the wall. Then, she pushed off and landed in his arms. He staggered and then fell, landing in thick grass that had been allowed to grow around the outer edges of the park.
“Oh my, did I hurt you?” she panted between laughs.
“Only my pride,” Seth wheezed, trying to recover his breath.
Charlotte began to clamber off him, but he held on, rolling over until he pinned her to the grass. He swiped hold of her wrists and pinioned them above her head.
“This is one of Amelia’s finest dresses,” she protested weakly.
“There are finer launderers in Limehouse,” he replied wickedly in turn.
He kissed her, but softly,languidly. He wanted her to anticipate the contact for as long as possible and then savor it. He kept hispassion in check. Charlotte responded in kind, awaiting his lips with short, panting breaths. He could feel her bosom rising and falling against his chest.
“No respectable gentleman will give you this,” he said, after leaving her lips wanting more, denying her for now.
“Is it so bad that I do not desire a respectable gentleman?” she breathed.
Seth parted from her lips, but only the span of a breath. “I may be free in my soul, but I am not cruel. No woman that I have ever pursued has been discarded callously. We agree to end our affair, having used each other for mutual pleasure.”
At his words, a crimson tinge rose up her bosom to the roots of her hair. “I would be used if you will,” she whispered.
Her words almost ripped apart his control. He came within a heartbeat of taking her there and then. She must have felt his sudden arousal, for she deliberately pressed her hips upwards against his. The look on her face at the deep moan that rumbled from deep down his throat was one of triumph.
“I would,” he uttered slowly.
Charlotte lifted her head to kiss him. It was long, deep, and wet. That contact made his loins surge and sent waves of lust coursing through his veins. With the pressure of his body against hers, Charlotte moaned against his mouth. Then she whisperedhis name as he kissed her neck, bit, and sucked at the delicate, pale flesh.
“That will leave a bruise,” he told her presently.
“Good,” she breathed, then silenced him for several more moments with another kiss.
At some point, she managed to wriggle out from beneath him and rolled him onto his back. She leaped atop him, pinning his hands above his head before fastening upon his neck.
“I do not know how this is done, but I can guess,” she whispered breathlessly against his ear as she caught his skin between her teeth and drew in her breath.
Seth gasped involuntarily, letting her know she had done it right.
“Now we have marked each other. You belong to me, and I to you,” she purred sensually.
She sat back atop his loins, letting her legs spread and twisting her hips. Her skirt and undergarments lay between his manhood and her most intimate part, as did his own breeches. But it felt as though they were held apart by a flimsy film that could be torn aside with ease. Nothing more substantial than cobwebs.
Charlotte dragged her hands through her hair, throwing back her head and biting her lip as she moved. Seth was speechless, lost in the sensations that she was drawing from him. He tookhold of her waist, controlling her movements, driving her onto the hardness that was reaching unbearable proportions.
“Who’s there!” came a rough voice from the darkness of the park.
A lantern appeared in the gloom, held aloft. A stocky figure, visible in the glow, was wearing a stovepipe hat and a long overcoat. A stout cudgel was belted to his waist.
“I can hear someone in the shadows over there. Come out where I can see you!”
Seth jolted up, thrusting a hand over Charlotte’s mouth.
“It is the Watch! Do you want to know what it’s like to be truly notorious? Try a night in the cells at Bow Street for disturbing the peace and lewd behavior…”
