Drinking in the sight of her, he drew two fingers along the most tender of flesh. And then he was sucking her into his mouth, stroking her inside and out, listening for what she liked while gratifying his own carnal desires.
Tremors rolled through her, her hands tugging at his hair. When she finally stilled, breathing heavily, he gave her a few seconds of respite before beginning again, building that wicked tension once more, drawing it out, patting her, rubbing her, massaging her inner flesh until she arched, writhing to be closer.
And again.
And again.
“I can’t…” She was gasping. “Axel… I want… but I…” She lay limp, causing him to draw back in concern.
“Felicity?”
“Um-hum…”
“Are you alright?”
“Um-hum…”
The delicate curve of her satiated smile gratified him more than anything had in recent memory. The sight of her lashes fanned out on alabaster skin seemed more intimate than it should.
Ignoring the discomfort of his rock-hard cock, he tugged her skirts back down. He would wait to find his satisfaction. He withdrew a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, swiped it across his mouth, and then arranged himself beside her on the bench again and then chuckled softly.
She had fallen asleep.
If left up to him, he’d hold her like this all afternoon. Her maid, however, was waiting near the bridge for her.
And the two of them needed to confront her parents.
Just a Nap
“Are you sure I look all right?” Felicity brushed at her skirts. One last glance at the wooden bench had her pressing both hands to her cheeks, which felt much hotter than usual.
Axel reached out and removed a fallen leave from her sleeve and then lifted his gaze to hers, a light in it that she’d not seen before. “You look beautiful.”
“And you look dashing, as usual, but are you sure we should do this today?”
He smirked with a nod, and taking her hand, led her along the path she’d followed earlier—much earlier. Susan was going to be in a panic. “You shouldn’t have let me sleep!” But she felt better than she had in days.
So very much better.
“The sooner we tell them, the sooner we can have banns read, and the sooner you’ll have my protection.”
His hand was warm around hers—assertive. She was nervous. Her father would hate her for this, for making him go against his own decision.
But she wasn’t going to have to face them alone.
Axel would be at her side.
Axel.
“I’m not too good for you.” He’d told her that, while he had his head… while he was…taking care of her.
“You’ve been too good for me since the day you were born.” They were emerging from the trees by now, and he pulled her even with him, dropping her hand and then placing his on the small of her back.
It was more likely that he, in fact, was too good for her, too pure of heart. She blinked away tears as the two of them stepped into the sunlight.
“Oh, my lady!” Susan charged toward them, her hair looking frazzled and her cheeks pink. “I’ve been sick with worry! I cannot imagine what his lordship will say if he discovers we’ve been away for so long. I’m a horrible chaperone—utterly useless.” Susan’s hand was on her chest as though she needed it there to keep her heart from jumping out even as she narrowed her eyes in Axel’s direction.
“I’m so sorry. We sat on the grass, and…” Felicity slid her gaze to his, noting that his eyes were a lighter cinnamon color in the sunlight. “I fell asleep.” She smiled ruefully.
