He quickly slid his gaze away as he led her outside in the warm sunshine. It was a perfect day with white fluffy clouds passing by in the brilliant, blue sky overhead. He couldn’t have asked for a better day to fall in love.
He nearly faltered over his own feet. Love? Since when had such dangerous thoughts begin to taunt him? He desired, perhaps even lusted, after Lady Genevieve, but that was as far as it went. He wouldn’t allow himself the weakness of succumbing to such an emotion as love. His father had claimed to love his mother: and look where that had gotten him: nothing but heartache.
Pushing aside such unsavory thoughts for the moment, he concentrated on the gentle swell of her breasts beneath her décolletage and imagined the slender length of her legs as they wrapped around his waist. Soon, his mind was back on the right track. Amorous congress was something with which he was all too familiar and eager to engage in, even though it had been some time since he’d lain with anyone.
He stopped when they rounded a corner of the house. Standing next to a blooming rose bush, he gathered her into his arms. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for days,” he whispered next to her temple. He pulled back slightly and asked, “Would it be acceptable for me to kiss you, Genevieve?”
Instead of answering, her lips parted slightly. It was enough of an invitation for him to engage.
Genevieve closed her eyes as she waited for Cortland’s mouth to brush hers.
It never came.
She slid open one lid and, keeping her lips pursed, she said, “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
He smiled in a tolerant manner and asked, “How many times have you kissed a man?”
“Other than the house party?”
He nodded.
She gave an unabashed smiled. “None?”
His eyes widened at this. “You’ve never snuck an embrace with anyone before?”
She shook her head, and then bit her lower lip, afraid that she had turned him away from her, but if anything, his brown gaze darkened even further.
He reached up and gently cupped her cheek. “Close your eyes. I’m going to teach you what it means to truly kiss a man.”
A thrill of excitement shot through her, and she willingly complied, but when she would have pursed her lips, she felt his thumb smoothing it back out.
“Just relax and follow my lead.”
“Like a waltz?” she asked, hopefully. That, she had mastered long ago.
“In a sense,” he returned. “But much more enjoyable.”
At long last, she was granted the sensation of his mouth upon hers. The pressure was slight at first. He began to move slightly, and at his suggestion, she tried to mimic his movements. Already, a tingling thrill was beginning in the pit of her stomach. That was certainly a different sensation from dancing.
He pulled away, and her eyes opened.
“Very good.” He lifted a brow. “Are you ready to try something more advanced?”
That curiosity he had mentioned earlier strengthened and screamed at her. “I… suppose.” She closed her eyes once more, and again, his lips were gentle as they touched hers, but this time, he dared to lick the seam of her mouth with the tip of his tongue. Surprised, she gasped, and he slid it inside her. When it touched hers, she made some sort of noise. It was like nothing she had ever made before, a combination of moan and sigh.
Daring to be bold in return, she hesitantly flicked her tongue forward and met his. There was something about the slick contact that made the little tingles inside of her turn heated, to the point where she started to gasp. She lifted her arms and wound them around his neck, and he pulled her even closer to him, until her breasts were in direct contact with his chest. The heat that had had been building turned into an inferno, and that was when he deepened the kiss. He seemed to consume her entirely, until she wasn’t sure where he stopped and she began. She had never imagined she could be so connected to another person.
When they finally parted, she was reluctant to let him go. He smiled at her and said, “I think you’ll do just fine.”
It was the sound of his praise, as if she’d passed some sort of erotic test, that she took offense with. “Do you?” She sniffed. “I think you could use a bit of work.”
Rather than getting upset, he laughed richly. “I’m more than confident in my prowess, my lady, so I fear your barbs are misplaced.” His eyes glittered. “I was referring, not to your innocence, but to the passion racing through your veins. You will make a sublime lover.”
She moved away from him. “I’m relieved to hear that I won’t be a disappointment as a wife.”
“Far from it,” he said huskily. “I find I’m looking forward to tomorrow more than ever.”
When Cortland returned home from visiting his future bride, he stepped out of his carriage, only to have a flour sack slide over his head. He was picked up by more than two sets of hands and tossed none to ceremoniously into a different sort of conveyance.
