“Poor Lady Roslynn. She is such a kind soul. I do hope the cloudiness of her mind clears so she can enjoy little Aurora.”
“Aurora?” Matthew smiled. “So we shan’t be calling our new niece Lady Starpeeper?”
“Aurora for the Roman goddess of the dawn and Cassia for Mama. But I am sure if we occasionally call her Lady Starpeeper, no one will mind.” She hugged herself at the memory of holdingthe sweet child. “She is such a precious baby. Holding her made me eager for one of my own.”
With a smoldering glance, Matthew moved closer and pressed his mouth close to her ear. “As soon as we reach home, we can do our best to satisfy that eagerness, my love.”
A shiver of heat shot through her, making her catch her breath.
“Your shawl, my lady,” Anne said as she emerged from a side room with the garment held ready to drape around Fortuity’s shoulders. “And Mr. Donnelly said I would be most welcome to ride with him on the wagon to prevent me from overcrowding the carriage with you and his lordship.”
“Did he now?” Fortuity noted the high coloring on Anne’s cheeks but granted her the grace of not calling her a liar. After all, the maid was patient as the day was long, and always took the best care of her. She only hoped she wouldn’t lose her to the charming Mr. Donnelly. “That was very considerate of him. Please give him our thanks.”
With her gaze lowered, Anne bobbed a quick curtsy. “I will, my lady. If that be all, Mr. Donnelly and I shall set out immediately, so I might get to the unpacking and have everything sorted by the time you arrive.”
“Thank you, Anne.” After the maid hurried off, Fortuity turned and narrowed her eyes at Matthew. “I heard you snickering.”
“Snickering? Me? Surely you are mistaken.” He caught her close and nibbled at the spot under her ear that was always her undoing. “I am merely overjoyed to have my wonderful wife back in my arms where she belongs. And I am even happier to learn that I shall have you all to myself during our long carriage ride home.”
“Long carriage ride?” she managed to say in a breathless whisper as he drew her earlobe into his mouth. “Home is but a few streets over.”
He stepped back and smiled at her, then looped her arm through his and escorted her out to their awaiting carriage. “It is amazing how long it can take to cross Mayfair when one sets one’s mind to it.”
She shivered in anticipation as she seated herself inside and noticed it took him a bit longer to join her. She couldn’t hear what he told the driver, but her cheeks burned as she imagined what he might be saying. Surely, he wouldn’t tell the man to take a tour of London, so they might have ample time to enjoy a heated reunion in the carriage?
She shivered again and fanned herself, finding the idea not without merit.
He climbed inside without uttering a word, pulled down all the shades, then took her into his arms and crushed his mouth to hers. The fast pounding of her heart made her blood roar in her ears as she arched into him and clung to him just as tightly. Perhaps misunderstandings were not such a bad thing after all if they ended like this.
A moan escaped her as he kissed his way down her jawline to her throat, then pushed even lower while fondling her breast. “So many dreadful layers between us,” she said, then bit her lip. “Oh my, I should not have said that.”
He rucked up her gown, grazed his hand up her thigh, and cupped her bottom before lifting his head and smiling down at her. “Indeed, you should have said it, my love, because I could not agree more.”
“Surely we should wait until we get home.” But she arched into his touch as his fingers swept between her thighs and touched where she needed him most. “Or perhaps not.”
“I chooseperhaps not.” He nuzzled her breast through her gown as he slid his fingers inside her. “It is my intention to enjoy you now and yet again whenever we arrive home.”
“Whenever we arrive home?” she repeated with a breathless groan, finding it increasingly difficult to form an intelligent response. All she wanted to do wasfeel, revel in the ever-increasing bliss storming within her.
“I instructed Mr. Turnmaster to drive around until I gave him the signal to turn toward home.”
“How fortunate.” She slid lower in the seat, wrapping her legs around Matthew where he knelt on the floor between the seats. “I need you, Matthew, so very badly.” She bucked as his talented fingers dipped faster and his thumb rubbed the spot that drove her insane. “Oh my! Do not let me shout and startle the horses.”
He swallowed her cries with a deep kiss that crested the ecstasy and made it shudder through her even harder. Whirling with the delicious, hot waves crashing across her, she vaguely noticed him fumbling with his falls. Then he grabbed her by the hips and buried himself inside her. “I am a greedy man, my love. I had to have you.”
“Good, because I am greedy too.” The rocking of the coach and the bumps in the road made his plundering of her all the more effective. She clutched the sides of his waistcoat and yanked him toward her, encouraging him to rut harder and faster. She clenched her teeth and locked her jaws to keep from shrieking with pleasure and telling all of London that she was shattering into blissful bits of euphoria.
Matthew rumbled with a low, strained growl, then threw back his head and roared as he emptied into her.
She clapped a hand over her mouth. Why? She had no idea. She wasn’t the one who had just bellowed like an enraged beast while touring the crowded streets of London.
As he sagged over her, he started laughing.
“Matthew,” she whispered. “What will Mr. Turnmaster think?”
“It is a little late for whispering, my love,” he said, chuckling as he nuzzled kisses along her throat. “And I do not give a damn what Mr. Turnmaster or anyone else thinks. You are all that matters to me and making love to you makes me whole again.” He lifted her, spun about, and plopped down into the seat, settling her astraddle him. “Hmm… I rather like this position too. Shall we allow your Anne plenty of time to unpack your things?”
“Indeed.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and rewarded him with an impassioned kiss for such a splendid suggestion.
