Perhaps the sculptor intended to frighten young ladies into behaving themselves, for even with a mostly flaccid lobcock, this soldier’s member was impressive.
“I ...,” she began. “That is. Well!” And she turned her back on it with her cheeks flaming.
“Are you unharmed?” Matthew asked, rushing forward. “A good thing you had your gloves on.”
She looked down at them. “Yes, indeed, although they are not as fresh as they were when I left home.” She brushed them together before realizing she’d lost her quarry as Quinn and Miss Moffett had vanished like morning mist.
“Your friend is incorrigible,” she declared.
“You did your best by rooting them from this spot where they were trying to hide.”
“Notthey! I doubt Miss Moffett had any clue what he was about.”
Matthew smiled at her starched tone. “And what do you think he was about, my lady?”
Her blue eyes narrowed upon him. “We both know he wanted to kiss her.”
Matthew feared Quinn wanted to do a great deal more, but he could hope Purity was correct.
“Not the worst thing to happen to a young lady from the country,” he said.
Her gaze was still locked on his when he saw her eyes widen slightly. In the next, her glance fell to his lips, and hot lust jolted through him. His smile died completely.
“Not the worst thing to happen to a young lady from Town, either,” he said quietly.
She swallowed, and he followed the movement of her throat, a beautiful column he wanted to kiss more than he wanted his next breath.
“I suppose they might be simply looking at the flowers and at the river beyond,” she said, her voice a little breathless.
Alarm bells rang loudly in Matthew’s head as if half of London was burning and all brigades had been called. His desire was certainly as scorching as any fire!
Perhaps it was the look on his face, desperate and ravenous, that caused her to spin away from him. Purity circled to the far side of the fountain where, if desired, she could enjoy the soldier’s equally impressive naked rump, but she didn’t. Instead, she craned her neck, looking up at the sky.
“We shall not see any stars come nightfall. The clouds are moving in thickly now. Don’t you think?”
He didn’t bother to look. He knew there was a breeze, growing stronger by the soft curls moving across her delicate shoulders.
She looked like a summer goddess, and even a ten-foot statue of her would not be enough to show off her beauty.
At his silence, she glanced at him again, and he moved helplessly toward her. When was the last time they’d kissed?Too blasted long!
He knew he ought to behave like a gentleman, which meant escorting her immediately to an area where there were other people. For the briefest moment, he nearly gave in to his nobler instincts, but his baser ones took over when she tilted her head.
She might not mean it as a come-hither look, but when her lips parted, he could feel the blood pulsing in his veins.
At least, he certainly felt it in one place.
Still, she said nothing.
He believed she knew how much he wanted her, and perhaps she wanted him as desperately.
“Foxford,” she began and took a step toward him.
That was a mistake. She ought to have moved away.
Matthew didn’t remember giving his feet the command to close the distance between them, but in an instant, she was in his arms as he had dreamt of all day.
Without hesitation, he kissed her like a thirsty man drank water. To stop himself from sinking his hands into her hair and destroying any semblance of a tidy coiffure, he grabbed her buttocks. As soon as her warm globes were in his hands, he couldn’t help kneading them with his fingers and drawing her up against him.
