“You saved me from a nasty spill.”
And consigned himself to torture. But never mind that. He would suffer anything to keep her from harm. “You must take greater care on the tiles. I will see if Greene can procure a mat for us. I imagine all this tile was quite dear for whatever previous duke had it installed, but I do not want you to fall and injure yourself.”
“That would be lovely,” she agreed, still clutching his shoulders as if she feared releasing him would send her sprawling.
“Lovely,” he repeated, but he was not thinking about the mat.
No, his eyes were eagerly drinking in the sight of her, cheeks flushed and rosy, her hair dark and glossy framing her face, those full pink lips that so called to his parted. Her throat was creamy and elegant, and the generous tops of her breasts were lush mounds he longed to weigh in his hands.
Damnation, there went his cock, hardening once more. He was sure she felt it against her belly.
“Hudson?”
“Yes, love?”
“What if I want you to stay?”
Lust barreled through him like a runaway locomotive. “Stay?”
Yes, just keep repeating every word she says, you bloody simpleton.
She caught her lower lip in her teeth, worrying it. “I do not want to be alone in my bed tonight. I want you there with me.”
Ah, perdition.He would have crawled through a hectare of fiery coals and broken glass just to get into that bed with her. But getting into the bed was not the problem. What he would do with the temptation of her at his side was.
“I am not certain I can remain true to my promise,” he admitted, though it pained him. Both his lack of self-control where she was concerned and his weakness for her.
“It was a silly promise,” she said. “One I should not have asked you to make. I thought requiring three months would give me the time I needed to complete my prototype, but it only tore us apart and added so much misery to your life. If I had not insisted upon that time, you never would have come here to London.”
She was blaming herself?
He kissed her furrowed brow. “No. You are not responsible for what has happened, Ellie.”
She rose on her toes, bringing her mouth nearer to his. “I want to forget about the marriage contract.”
“You are…” He paused, stopped to catch his own breath, because her words had stolen the air from his very lungs. “You understand what you are asking of me? My honor—”
“Stuff your honor, Hudson,” she interrupted. “I want you. Not two months from now. This moment. Here. Tonight.”
It was as if a chorus of angels had exploded into blissful song. Relief blasted him, along with yearning so fierce and potent that he almost staggered beneath the weight of it. These were the words he wanted—nay,needed—to hear. She was giving him permission to forget the promise she had asked of him. He could make her his at last.
Thank fuck.
There was only one answer. He lowered his head. Took her lips in the same way he would take the rest of her. She was warm and wet from the bath, and the sweet scents of her soap and shampoo filled his senses. Her mouth beneath his was a benediction, a much-needed solace after the hell they had faced together earlier that day. When she kissed him, he could forget.
She made a soft sound of need and opened her lips, allowing his questing tongue access to the velvety heat of her. God, she even tasted delicious, like something he wanted to savor. Her tongue licked at his, and it was his turn to groan. Need coursed through him, making him feel lightheaded for a moment. Almost giddy.
But they were yet in the bathing chamber, and the floor was still a problem, and he very much did not want the two of them to end their evening with bruises rather than bliss. At the reminder, he broke the kiss. “Come.”
Tentatively, ensuring neither of them moved too swiftly, he led her from the bathroom and to her chamber. On the threadbare Axminster—this, too, needed replacing—they increased their speed. He sought her mouth again on the way to the bed. She kissed him back, every bit as frantic and hungry for him as he was for her. It was as if neither of them could get enough of the other, as if they had found a renewed appreciation for life and passion in each other’s arms.
His hip bumped into a table, forcing him to do a better job of steering them. He pulled his lips from hers and feasted on her throat instead, keeping an eye on the direction of the bed as he did so. A handful of steps, and they had reached their destination. His heart was beating harder than a blacksmith pounding on an anvil. His entire body was awash in heat and need.
Go slowly and take care, he reminded himself.She is new to this.
He could not resist sinking his teeth into the delicate place where her shoulder and neck joined. A small nip. She tasted delicious, and she shivered and moaned in response, rubbing against him like a cat.
“Your skin is so bloody soft.” He wrapped a hand in her damp hair and tugged her head back so he could kiss a path over her collarbone. “Softer than silk.”
