Walking toward Cull in her pale-blue wedding dress, the frothy skirts trimmed with lace, Pippa had felt like a princess going to her prince. Cull had certainly looked the part in his immaculate smoke-grey tailcoat and trousers, a diamond pin glittering in his cravat. The joy on his face had made the rest of the world vanish. They had exchanged their vows gazing into each other’s eyes. Their kiss had made her every bit as light-headed and giddy as their very first in the bell tower.
After a lavish wedding luncheon, they had spent the rest of the day celebrating. Pippa’s heart had brimmed over to see their family and friends mingling with natural ease. Papa had been deep in conversation with several adult larks who’d tripled their earnings last month using his investment strategies. Her brothers had badgered Cull into showing them the Nest’s sparring room.
Mama, Fanny, and Mrs. Needles had pulled Maisie into their protective circle. Pippa adored Maisie and knew how much it meant to Cull to have his sister and nephew back in his life. She had also introduced Maisie to the Angels, noticing Maisie’s rapt conversation with Charlie.
The party had ended an hour ago. Feeling the waft of lush, humid air as Cull opened the door at the top of the steps, Pippa shivered with anticipation. The private celebration was about to begin.
“Watch your step, love,” Cull said.
He led her by the hand into the quiet space. Of late, there had been a lull in the arrival of injured birds…which was just as well since she and Cull were leaving for their wedding trip tomorrow. They planned to spend a cozy fortnight at his property in Hertfordshire.
“Ready for your surprise?”
Cull stood behind her, his breath tickling her ear and raising goose-pimples over her skin.
“Yes,” she managed.
He removed the blindfold.
She blinked. “Is that…a swing?”
Her blood rushed as she recalled the one at The Enchanted Rose. This one was similar, a small hammock composed of black leather straps. It was attached by ropes to four wooden posts that had served as bird perches.
“I thought you might enjoy a ride,” Cull murmured.
He reached in front of her and gave the swing a push. The carnal possibilities of that back-and-forth movement made her intimate muscles clench.
She spun to face him, breathing, “I would adore a ride.”
He was a vision of sensuality with his lazy smile, his bulging form encased in a sleek black dressing gown. “There is one condition, sunshine.”
She tilted her head. “What is it?”
“You take this ride the way I posed for your portrait.”
It had taken a bit of coaxing, but she had convinced Cull to pose nude for her. She’d painted him scars and all, every inch of him beautiful and princely. When he viewed the finished version ofPortrait of a Lady’s Dream, his chest had puffed out at the way she’d depicted his virile proportions. She had only captured the truth. The sittings had been charged with erotic tension; more than once, she’d ended up beneath Cull, moaning his name.
With those steamy memories heating her brain, she reached for the belt of her wrapper. Shedding it, she heard Cull’s fervent oath and smiled.
“Surprise,” she said saucily.
She wore a scandalous negligee of yellow silk so fine it was nearly transparent. The garment clung to her figure, plunging in a deep vee between her breasts and ending just above her knee.
“That is quite a nightgown, Mrs. Cullen,” Cull said in a guttural tone. “Give us a turn.”
Knowing how he liked to watch, she made a show of slowly pivoting and presenting him with her back.
“You’re like a bleeding present,” he rasped.
As the negligee was held together by the three satin bows along her spine, he wasn’t wrong.
She gave him a coy look over her shoulder. “Would you care to unwrap me, Mr. Cullen?”
He tugged on the bows one by one, and the silk slid off her shoulders, pooling at her feet. She sighed as he came up behind her, grazing his callused palms over the aching tips of her breasts, her ribs, and her trembling belly. When he cupped her between her legs, she whimpered.
“My present is nice and wet for me.” He teased her pearl with his fingertip, drawing forth more dew. “I think you’re ready for that ride now.”
Her heart thumping, she allowed him to help her into the swing. She gasped as she wobbled a little, almost tipping over.
