This is what he wanted, that innate knowledge of each other branded into their memory.
Would she believe him if he murmured,I love you?
It was quite possible he felt this already, but dared not tell her yet.
Tulip was never going to believe him.
He hardly believed it himself because he had experienced so little affection in all his years, and yet had fallen so hard and fast for her.
For now, it was enough that she knew he had chosen to marry her.
Hischoice, he had told her.
She did not have to know it had been his fervent desire from the moment she first careened into him on Chipping Way.They had not even been properly introduced.He had no explanation for it, only that he knew she was meant for him.One look at her, and he was lost.His life would never be the same again.
When she had careened into him a second time in Lady Fullerton’s garden, he realized they were fated to be together.
It was their destiny.
He had to have her.
“Let me unpin your hair,” he said, his voice still husky and rasping.
Tulip assisted him with the pins.“Oh, it is a mess.”
As moonlight fell upon them, he wrapped his fingers in her dark curls and caught his breath as those wavy tresses tumbled down her back and over her ample bosom.“No, love.It’s beautiful.You are beautiful.”
He led her to their bed, watching for any sign of hesitation as he slipped the chemise off her and then removed his trousers so that they would both be completely bare under the sheets.
If she wasn’t ready, he would wait.
They could talk all night if this was all she wanted.
It would leave him in agony, but he would survive.
Despite their rushed wedding, she seemed determined to overcome her shyness and commit to their marriage.
She did not hesitate to open her arms to him once he had settled her onto her back on the mattress.
“What happens now?”she asked, sounding decidedly uncertain.
His dreams had been of hot passion and wild intimacy with Tulip, of him taking her on the bed.Against the wall.On his desk.
Their bodies locked together, hearts aflame and nothing held back.
But this was not going to happen tonight when she had never experienced any intimacy.If he came at her like a wild ape, she would scream and hit him over the head with the candlestick.
He propped on his elbows and slowly settled atop her so that she felt the press of his weight against her body but did not feel uncomfortable with it.
She gasped when she felt his arousal against her hip.
“That means I am ready for you,” he said, “but now I need you to be ready for me.”
“How does that happen?What do I need to do?”
“Nothing, it is up to me to get you ready.Close your eyes and enjoy.This night is for you, Tulip.Take in each sensation and let your body respond.It will respond, you needn’t worry that it won’t.”
Because he knew how to touch a woman.
