Bowing to her wish, he bent his head and sucked hard onher pulse point. His teeth grazed her sensitive skin at the same time he thrust hard her into her body and flicked her nub. “Spend for me…now.”
In a strangled cry, Rachel hurtled over the edge of a cliff she had not known existed, the sensation rushing through her body searing her senses to dust. Her mouth gave a soundless scream as bliss melted her bones into honey.
William held her fast, dropping kisses on her cheek, while her mind reeled.“I’m here sweetheart. I will never let you go.”
***
The next morning, Rachel woke up in her bed with hazy memories of how she had gotten home. She remembered William half-walking, half-carrying her out of the pleasure gardens to a waiting hackney. She recalled coming to her home and entering through one of the many back doors and into her room to disrobe and get into bed.
But none of that mattered. The only thing that did was the pleasure William had given her on that bench, hidden away from the world. Never had she thought that level of pleasure existed or that she could have felt it. But it had, and she had soared to heaven with it.
Her hand pressed on her heart, and her body trembled a little at the memory of the soul-wracking pleasure that had possessed her body. But more than that, the words William had said in her ear, as lovingly and kind as she could ever hear, were words that she held dear,I’m here, sweetheart. I will never let you go.
Clarity struck her, as clear and bright as the sunlight streaming through her window. She knew beyond a doubt that she was fully and completely in love with William.
She stared at the wall with what felt like new eyes. Rachel was in love with him, and the emotion made her feel giddy. Love, something she had hoped to have for the man who claimed her heart, was a warm, delicate emotion. It was as if the emotion were a glass ball that she had to cradle in her palms as one wrong move would let it slip and shatter on the ground.
But while she basked in it, a traitorous thought came on the heels of her revelation. Did William feel the same way? Suddenly, the light, airy feeling that had taken her heart began to sink like a stone flung into a river.
Sitting up, Rachel sighed, “Why did I have to dampen such a good feeling?”
The sunlight splayed all over her rooms told her that it was past midmorning and that she had slept extremely late. Slipping out of bed, Rachel grasped her housecoat and went to wash her mouth and face while wondering if the time had come for her to meet with William.
Jane came into the room and smiled brightly. “You’re awake.”
“I am,” she replied. “And thank you helping William last night. It was glorious, Jane.”
“Where did you go?” Jane asked.
After looking over her shoulder, she leaned in and giddily whispered, “Vauxhall.”
Shock ran over Jane’s face. “The pleasure gardens? Oh my!”
“Yes,” Rachel smiled. “It was wonderous. I saw fireworks. I saw a magnificent waterfall, and I went dancing. It’s a magical place, Jane. Wonderous even. I wish to go back sometime.”
“Is it not as scandalous as they say?”
“Oh, it is,” Rachel said. “Very much, but that does not matter. What does is that… I’m in love with William, Jane.”
Her maid sunk to a chair, but Jane did not look surprised. “For a long time now, I suspected it would be this way.”
Joining her on the couch, Rachel asked, “You’re not surprised?”
“No,” Jane shook her head. “I’ve seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. I don’t think your feelings are one-sided.”
I’m here sweetheart. I will never let you go.
She blinked. “You think so?”
“Yes,” Jane assured her, as her face morphed into one of sadness. “But this puts you in a bind, doesn’t it? You are going to be engaged in a few days and married off soon after.”
“I know,” Rachel mourned. “I—I don’t know what do now.”
Shaking her head, Jane stood. “I wish I could give you an answer about it, but I cannot. I can only hope that somehow it will all work out in your favor. I’m going to arrange for your bath. I assume Mr. Smith will be expecting you soon if he has not already.”
With Jane gone, Rachel turned to the window. “I hope so too, Jane. I hope so too.”
***
