In every way.
She would have him consume her completely.
They moved together slowly at first, and then gradually, a frantic pace took over.
Dev’s hands pinned hers above her head. His mouth pressed into hers, tasting, taking, giving.
They breathed the same air.
She wrapped her legs around him and clung tightly; all the while he never ceased thrusting, pushing, finding the very center of her being.
It could have been an hour or a minute. She wanted it to be forever, with Dev all around her.
When the waves of pleasure crashed, she reveled again as he found his satisfaction, and the heat of his seed warmed her.
And then they both collapsed into one boneless heap of man and woman.
After lying motionless for several minutes, Dev slid off to lie beside her. “Is this how normal people make love?” Sophia asked as she burrowed her face in his chest.
He chuckled. “I don’t suppose I’d know.”
“Mmm…” She sighed. “Maybe later, when we are an ordinary couple.” She wondered again. When would that be? It seemed impossible right now. And yet…
She was alive again.
They would live through this, together.
An Alternate Path
The group outing, planned for late in the morning, consisted of a nature walk and an early picnic. Half the participants embarked upon it with a carefree manner and the other half with a sense of dread.
Sophia knew Harold was taking breakfast with his mother today, his last day as Lord Harold Prescott. He’d arranged to do so in as casual a manner as possible, but it would be his last moments with her.
Sophia would not think about it. It made her too sad.
Dev had snuck out of her chamber in the early hours of the morning.
Not knowing if Penny still waited outside Sophia’s door, the silly man had insisted upon climbing out the window and down the trellis. Before she’d even realized what he had in mind, he’d pressed his lips against hers and then disappeared into the darkness.
She’d not slept much after that.
Upon tossing and turning for hours, terror and relief swept through her when dawn finally arrived. She pulled the bell pull and unlocked the door. Naught could be done but go about her morning as though nothing were amiss. Most of the details would be taken care of by Dev and Harold. She wished they’d left something for her to do — something that would have occupied her nerve-ridden mind.
Once she was dressed, and Penny had finished with her coiffure, it was Peaches who finally provided her with a welcome distraction. Looking mournful and scratching at the door, the pup needed to go out. Grateful for some way to pass the time, Sophia opted for a walk in the garden. The gardens were not on the ocean side of the castle. She could pretend for a little while, anyhow, that today was the same as any other.
Four guests had been invited to serve as witnesses. Sophia and Harold had met with his cousin — Mr. White, Justin White, the vicar of the family — yesterday, and Harold had invited him. And then Dev had asked her to invite Lady Caroline.
She wasn’t family, well, not direct family, anyhow, but a distant niece of one of the aunts. The other two members of their party would be Rhoda and St. John.
When Sophia arrived back at her chamber to hand Peaches into Penny’s care, Harold awaited her there. Pale but confident, he offered his arm. “My lady.” He bowed low and formal. “Shall we?”
He was being brave this morning.
Sophia forced herself to be cheerful. “I suppose we should, my lord.” She curtseyed and then took his arm. As they made their way to the foyer, she glanced up at him. “You are certain, Harold?”
And with those words, he nodded. “Scared to death, Sophia, but more certain of this than anything I’ve ever done.”
She swallowed hard.
