“Not one of them met my standards,” Rachel said. “I had seen a few there, but they were not there to meet me, and I doubt my parents would have been pleased if I went off on my own to meet them.”
Burying his nose in her hair, William breathed in the soft scent of jasmine oil on her thick strands. “And for these next balls, you will meet more.”
“That is the notion,” she said. “I still want romance, Will. I want to know the smallest details of the man who will be my husband. I want to know what makes him laugh, what makes him sad, and hurt. I want to know how top luck a flower, give him a smile, a kiss, something to cheer him. And I want him to do the same for me.”
“And what about if he does not meet your parent’s expectations,” William asked.
“I do not care about money,” she said. “I told myself that if the man does not have a farthing to his name but loves me, I would choose him more than a man as rich as Croesus. I do not know if my parents fully understand what I am saying, but at least they are beginning to realize that I am not going to marry someone I do not want.”
He kissed her temple, “How hard was it to tell them that?”
“It was terrifying,” she laughed softly. “My heart was pounding in my ears, and I could barely get the words out. But I was angry enough that I could say them.”
“How did they receive your challenge to their authority?” William gently prodded.
“My mother was aghast, but my father was a bit more malleable,” Rachel answered. “They will not force me to marry a man who is thrice my age, but I must marry from the next set of lords they choose. The only concession I have it that the men are younger.”
Taking her hand, William interlaced their fingers. “I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “If that is the only reprieve I can get, I will take it.”
He felt a bit conflicted—which, again, made little sense as he had no claim on Rachel. Yes, she stirred a fire inside him, and he felt outraged about the hardship and the pain her parents were putting her under, but he felt hamstrung—it was not as if he could rescue her from it. He was only a nomadic painter with no home and nothing to use to care for her.
And it ripped his soul raw.
He only kissed her hairline though he wanted to bestow upon her a scintillating, intimate kiss, where the world around them would fade away into nothing.
“What do you think you will do if the Lord is not the one you dreamed about?” William asked. “No one is going to match all you want, but tell me the one thing that would make you say no.”
She went pensive. “If he had no sense of romance, and if he is not tenderhearted, that would make me say no.”
“And if your parents do force you to marry anyway?”
Rachel paled. “I…I don’t what then.”
Hearing her fear, William gently turned her face to him. With his thumb on her chin, he asked, “May I kiss you?”
“Yes.”
His blood pounded in his ears as he slanted his lips over hers and felt pride sing through his blood as they opened for him. He reveled in the softness of her mouth and the sweet taste that lingered on her tongue. She had eaten some sugar buns and the flavor of it—of her—was addictive beyond reason.
All he knew was that he wanted—needed—more. He drove his tongue deeply, exploring her as was still unfamiliar to him, groaning as his tongue brushed across hers. At the wet, sinuous tangling of their tongues, he felt his body’s reaction, and his member began to thicken.
Sliding his hands through her hair, he held her fast while he feasted on her kiss. When he pulled away to let her breathe, the sight of her red and swollen lips from his kisses made a surge of pride and desire rush inside him.
“You are utterly beautiful,” he murmured. “Your soul is pure, Rachel, a blinding white that only angels have. I wish others could be as soulful and gentle of you.”
She touched his face. “You are so kind, William.”
“You deserve more than kindness,” William replied while holding her hand tightly. “You should get all the desires of your heart.”
She whispered something so low that he dared to believe that she had said, “I wish it were you.”
Darkness had fallen, and again, William feared her parents coming upon them, but he did not say it then. He bushed his lips across her cheek. “I am glad for you.”
Rachel rested her head on his chest for a moment, then pulled away. “We will see how long that lasts. I should go inside.”
He managed a wan smile and expected her to leave, but instead of stepping away, she leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. “Thank you and have a restful night.”
