He pulled himself from her with a growl. On his knees, he fisted his huge, glistening erection.
His virility would forever be branded in her fantasies. The flexing of all that muscle, his arm bulging as he frigged his magnificent cock. All the while, his hot gaze held hers. He roared her name as he exploded, showering her belly, ribs, and breasts with his creamy heat.
The scent of his satisfaction made her giddy, and she looked at him with a dazed smile.
“That was…that was…” She struggled to find the exact word.
“Everything,” he said huskily.
Yes, it was. Exactly.
And it was only the beginning.
“When can we do it again?” she said.
With a groaning laugh, he bent his head and claimed her mouth with a tender kiss.
33
Two days later,Tessa dreamily washed dishes in the kitchen basin. It was the least she could do given that Bennett had prepared their luncheon. Actually, he’d prepared all their meals seeing as she had no clue how to do so (and thus proving her hypothesis that he really could do anything). Presently, he was chopping wood out front.
She could see him through the small window. The sun burnished the thick waves of his hair. His shirt was open at the collar, his sleeves rolled up his powerful forearms. As she watched, he swung the axe in an efficient arc, splitting a log neatly in two.
“Isn’t heperfect, Swift Nick?” she sighed.
The ferret, who was lounging nearby on a rug, snorted and rolled over to his other side.
Still watching Bennett, Tessa absent-mindedly scrubbed a bowl. Despite her gnawing worry for her kin, she couldn’t deny that the last two days had been magical. She’d given Bennett her virginity, and, in return, he’d given her hope that he might be falling in love with her, after all.
Their lovemaking opened up a world of wonder. They’d spent most of yesterday in bed, with Bennett introducing her to variations on the theme. He was masterful and endlessly creative. Her cheeks warmed as she thought of how he’d kissed and worshipped every nook and cranny of her body. Of how he’d drawn her up onto her hands and knees and filled her up from behind, his hips smacking gently but firmly against her bottom, her cries of satisfaction muffled by the pillow…
Yet it was more than the physical joy of sharing their bodies. Bennett was opening up to her in ways he never had before. He showed more of his playful side, revealing a levity to his character that had been dimmed in the past by his brooding intensity. He teased her mercilessly about her city ways, and they’d actually had afood fightduring last night’s supper. She still wasn’t certain who’d won. Although, given the steamy bath they’d shared in the copper tub afterward, perhaps they were both winners…
He also shared anecdotes of his boyhood here in the country, the pranks he and his favorite sister Violet played on one another. It had sounded so wonderful that she’d blurted her desire to meet Violet and the rest of his family. And sudden unease had prickled her nape when his expression had abruptly shuttered.
Is he embarrassed to introduce me to his sisters? Does he think they won’t approve of me?
When she voiced her fears, his gaze had softened. “My sisters will love you, sprite. That I promise you.”
She had to believe him. And, truthfully, his wasn’t the only family she had to worry about. Once the peril was over and Grandpapa was restored to his throne—and she believed with every fiber of her being that he would be—she would have to convince him and her father to let her marry Bennett.
Grandpapa might be the easier of the two to win over. He’d entrusted her to Bennett’s care, after all, which showed his regard for her guard. Moreover, all that Bennett had done to help the House of Black fight their enemies would surely land him in Grandpapa’s good stead.
Her father, however, was a different story. She knew he didn’t like Bennett, and Malcolm Todd wasn’t a man whose mind was easily changed. Perhaps the only one who could sway him might be Mavis. As soon as Tessa returned to London, she would speak to her mama.
Suddenly, something caught her eye…a plume of dust in the window. A carriage. Coming down the tree-lined lane toward the house.
“Grandpapa,” she breathed.
With thrumming excitement, she ran for the door, Swift Nick bounding at her heels. She rushed past Bennett, who called her name, but she was too filled with relief and joyful anticipation to stop. She reached the carriage just as it halted.
The door opened; the words of welcome died on her lips.
The Duke of Ranelagh and Somerville descended from the carriage, elegant as always in a maroon frock coat and buff trousers.
“Your Grace,” she said in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
Ransom bent at the waist. “Why, I’ve come to fetch you, my dear.”
