Polly jolted at the incursion. At the exquisitely tight stretch of Sinjin… inside her.
The sensation felt shocking yet right. From the moment they’d met, he’d filled her humdrum existence with his larger than life presence, and now he was filling her body too… with his larger than life presence. Her intimate muscles instinctively resisted the thick intrusion.
“Kitten?” Need was a blazing halo around him. His pupils were dilated, black edging out blue. Even so, he held himself still. “Should I stop?”
Tenderness flooded her. The discomfort was already fading, a strange but not unpleasant fullness taking its place. She gave a cautious wriggle of her hips, and he suddenly slid in farther. His groan was pained.
“Did I hurt you?” she said anxiously.
“You’ve confused the text, I think.” His brows were drawn, as if he were enduring exquisite torture. “You’re so tight. Small and snug. It’s you I’m concerned about.”
“I think… I’m getting used to it.”
“I’ll go slowly, love. Tell me if you want me to stop.”
He began to move, slowly as promised, even though she could see the effort it cost him. Soon his surges became more than tolerable, her sex tingling with each plunge and withdrawal. Her excitement returned, along with a burgeoning ache in her lower belly, one that, unlike the earlier discomfort, increased when he left her and eased when he returned. Instinctively, her legs circled his hips to draw him closer.
“God, yes.” His eyes smoldered into hers. “Can you take more of my cock, little one?”
When she whimpered in reply, he drove in, and only then did she realize how much he’d been holding back. His next thrust took him deeper than he’d gone before. The one after that hit some transcendent place inside. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her head rocking against the stone wall as his possession tested her very limits. The aching pressure built and built, and then… the release took her by surprise, and she came on a sudden blissful cry.
“Bloody fuck, I canfeelyou coming. So wet and hot, gripping me like a fist…” His mouth covered hers, his groan reverberating in her throat at the same time that his cock exploded inside her. He shuddered, thrusting deeply, drenching her insides with heat.
Music suddenly blared, and for one disoriented moment, she wondered if it was part of the wondrous aftermath.
“What in heaven’s name is going on here?” a stranger’s voice shrilled.
“Well, Inever,” another declared.
Sinjin jerked. He moved in a blur to pull down her skirts, fasten himself. He turned, keeping her shielded behind him. But catching a glimpse of the matrons’ scandalized expressions, the titillated delight in their auras, Polly knew it was far too late.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A week later, Polly stood before the looking glass in her bedchamber as her older sisters helped her get ready for her wedding. In two hours, she and Sinjin would be getting married by special license; given the scandal they’d caused, there’d been no other choice. She was riddled with nerves, and her family’s presence was a great comfort.
Her brother Harry had arrived last night, and Ambrose would be walking her down the aisle of the drawing room, which Marianne had decorated with a plethora of hothouse blooms. Maisie, Olivia, and Francesca would be tossing rose petals in her wake.
And her sister Violet was here as well.
Looking at Vi, who was adjusting the train of her gown, Polly said tremulously, “I still can’t believe that you made it in time. Carlisle must have driven like Helios himself.”
Violet’s husband, Viscount Carlisle, was an expert horseman, his breeding program one of the most sought after in the nation. Thanks to his elite driving skills, he’d managed to get Vi and their son Jamie here from Scotland to London on exceedingly short notice.
“Actually, Carlisle letmedo half the driving.” Violet grinned at their combined reflections in the mirror. A lithe brunette, Vi had always been a pretty hoyden, but since her marriage, she’d gained a maturity that tempered her golden aura without sacrificing its unique energy.
“What doesn’t he allow you to do?” Em observed. “The man indulges you to no end.”
“He just likes to pick his battles,” Vi said blithely. “But never mind me—our Polly is the one getting married today. Gadzooks, look at you! Our baby sister all grown up.”
“You do make a beautiful bride, dear.” As Thea added ivory rosebuds to Polly’s hair, she said dreamily, “I hope your day is every bit as special as mine was.”
Polly managed a smile, even as the knot of doubt tightened in her stomach. The uncertainty had been there for the entire week, and it wasn’t over her own feelings. She was certain she wanted to marry Sinjin: it was why she’d agreed to wear his ring… and why she’d given him her maidenhead.
She didn’t regret what she’d done. Experiencing the bright intensity of his passion had been like touching an electrifying machine. He’d sparked an elemental response in her, a desire every bit as strong as his. There on the balcony, she’d known that she wasn’t falling in love with him: she was already there. She loved him. And, because she was a Kent, she did so in a head-over-slippers, wholehearted, and forever sort of way.
What she was far less certain about washisfeelings for her. His odd, distant behavior during the past week had only ratcheted up her fears. Was he regretting what they’d done? Had his mind changed about wanting to marry her? For her, their lovemaking had been the most pleasurable experience of her life… but what did she know? She didn’t have his experience. What if she didn’t measure up to his previous lovers or disappointed him in some way—
“Whatisthe matter, dear?”
