Jane rode high on the thrill of him. She wanted more. He was hers, finally. She wrapped her arms around his neck and grasped him tight, wriggling her body closer.
“Don’t,” he gasped, tearing his mouth free. “You shouldn’t.”
He’d braced his hand on her waist to keep some slight distance between their bodies. She yearned to breach it.
“Why not?”
“I—I don’t want to shock you.” Even as Eli said the words, his lips were parting, bending back toward hers, as if he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her again. She leaned into it eagerly, and they gave and took in turns.
“I thought you were still angry with me,” he murmured into her mouth, his confusion mixed up with lust.
Jane didn’t answer. She didn’t have time to examine that now. Whatever they were doing was too pressing.
By now the rainwater was no longer cold on their skin. They were both flushed, and the heat seemed to bind them. Jane pulled Eli toward her again, more firmly this time, and he finally relented, relaxing his grip enough to let them touch.
The bulge in his trousers pressed firmly against her, making her gasp. She’d been expecting something like this—Della had explained what happened when a man got aroused, after a very daring and educational encounter she’d had one night with a fellow in a closet at a fête. But Della had made it sound absurd and a bit amusing. She’d never said howgoodit would feel.
Jane arced her hips upward, craving more pressure. They were slick and hot where they touched, and he seemed to fit perfectly against her. Eli gripped her behind and pulled her tighter, moving his own hips in time with hers. He was rubbing his cock against her. It was so indecent she would never have imagined herself doing such a thing, but it felt so achingly good, she couldn’t summon the presence of mind to stop.
Though their wet clothes (particularly Jane’s skirts) were thick and clumsy, it made her long to try this after shedding a few layers. Was this what it felt like to go to bed with a man?
“Oh God.” Eli moaned again, the sound far more urgent than when they’d begun. “Jane, stop. You have to stop.”
“I like it,” she gasped. “Just another minute, please.” She was getting perilously close to the sort of release she’d only ever encountered in hesitant explorations at night in utter solitude. It was very different with another person. With Eli.
With a strangled noise, he wrenched free of their embrace and turned away again, gasping for breath. Her disappointment cut as keenly as a blade. He’d left her teetering on the edge. What was she supposed to do now?
She reached for him, but he shook his head. “I just…need to cool down a minute.”
Before she could reply, he stepped out from the archway and into the rain.
“You’ve gone mad!” Jane shouted.
Eli grinned and cast his head back, water running over his profile and down his neck. The rain had already tapered off somewhat, though it was still enough to drench him, wet as he’d been. Watching him, Jane’s breath caught in her throat. He was beautiful.
He stood there another few minutes until nothing fell from the sky but a fine mist. When he came back to her, he was shivering.
“You’re going to catch a chill and be bedridden for the rest of the visit,” she scolded.
“I’m a naval officer. I’ve been wet and cold before.” Eli brushed her concern aside with a trace of amusement, but it couldn’t stave off the question behind his eyes for long. “Does this mean you—”
Edmund’s voice interrupted them, echoing from somewhere far beyond sight as he called Jane’s name.
Eli craned his neck to assess the state of the path to the carriages. “It’s half muck now. You’ll never make it up in those.” He motioned to her ruined skirts. “Let me carry you.”
“What? You can’t—”
Apparently he could, for Jane didn’t even have time to complete her protest before he’d slid one hand beneath her shoulders and another beneath her knees, and hoisted her into his arms. She had little choice but to grip his neck to keep from sliding out of place, her mortification complete.
She couldn’t bring herself to look Eli in the eyes while he had her in such a ridiculous state, so she fixed her attention somewhere around his jaw. A trace of dark stubble had appeared since they’d first set out this morning. Jane counted the hairs and tried not to notice the warmth of his chest. She was half-tempted to rest her head there and listen to his heartbeat.
Get ahold of yourself.
Whatever had come over her back there, it didn’t make Eli her knight errant. He’d still chosen Cecily first, not her. Nothing could erase that.
But as his breath came faster as he carried her up the hill, Jane remembered the way he’d been breathing right before he’d moaned her name.
Oh God. Jane, stop. You have to stop.
