“Dearest, I think you should give Lady Chimes leave to go home with her husband and pack what she needs. The two of you can depart at first light when you collect her in our carriage. Meanwhile, I’ll have my horse saddled and some provisions put in my saddlebags and be away within the half-hour.”
Lord Chimes huffed. “I need to go get my best runner. Will you head out without me or wait at Hick’s Hall?”
“If I see you, we’ll ride together,” James said, not making any promises.
Caroline had neverbeen happier. The only blight was how she’d deceived her parents and how disappointed they would be. She might never see her father look at her withhis loving smile again. Moreover, they might instruct her brothers to shun her, too.
Yet she would have her heart’s desire by her side. She would be Geoffrey’s wife and hopefully, one day, mother to his children. They both wanted a large family if they were so blessed. They’d had so much time to confirm their compatibility during the hours of travel, she was amazed at how perfectly they suited.
And the night before, after dinner, he’d taken her innocence gently and given her pleasure in return. After another long day of travel, with the Scottish border growing ever closer, she was looking forward to another night of passion.
“You ate your dinner rather quickly,” he teased once they were alone in their chamber. Already, he was helping her to undress.
“As did you,” she said, letting him pull her gown over her head, not feeling the least shyness now when she stood before him in her shift. When that last barrier was slid off her shoulders and down her breasts, her nipples stiffened.
“You are so beautiful,” he said, reaching out to brush his knuckles over each peaked bud.
“There are many beautiful women in the world,” she said.
“I love only one,” he promised. “And if all you had to recommend you was your beauty, I would not have fallen in love with you, but if you had no beauty at all, I vow I would love you as much as I do now. Caroline Chimes, you have captured my heart and own it entirely.”
Her cheeks heated. “You sound more like a poet every day.”
“Indeed, you have brought out the romantic side of me. But also, the animal side.” Without warning, he scooped her into his arms and deposited her upon the bed.
She yelped and then laughed. “Hurry,” she beseeched. “Undress and join me.”
The night before, for her sake, he’d dimmed the lamps before they removed all their clothing, making it all the more sensual when they stroked each other’s bare skin while preserving a modicum of modesty for her first time.
Tonight, she could see all of him, his hard planes and his muscular figure, the dusting of hair across his chest and legs, and his manhood jutting out and up.
“We are so different,” she said with wonder.
He chuckled. “And for that, I thank God.”
Once beside her, he claimed her mouth under his while stroking her sensitive skin. Circling her breasts first, he caressed lower, down her stomach.
When he tore his mouth away and bent lower to suck upon first one of her pink pearls, then the other, Caroline thought the bed was tilting beneath her. Arching back, closing her eyes, she gripped his shoulders, only to feel Geoffrey’s hand slide lower. Unable to help her wanton behavior, she lifted her hips to meet his skilled fingers as at last he touched her core.
As happened the previous night, it took very little time for her to reach the utmost pleasure, her body tightening almost unbearably and then releasing all at once in a joyful, exquisite blossoming sensation.
Even before her heart ceased its frantic racing, he fitted his jutting arousal to her damp channel and surged inside her. Again, her hips lifted to meet his thrust.
“I love you,” he reminded her.
“I love you,” she echoed.
They said nothing more as he began a slow rhythm of desirable torture.
When she was panting with exertion, trying to reach the pinnacle again, he slipped his hand between their bodies to touch where she most throbbed.
“Yes,” she hissed, then shattered beneath him into a thousand pieces of ecstasy.
With a guttural groan, he continued rocking, increasing the pace until his body tensed. While she felt him shudderunder her fingertips, he released the warm proof of his fulfillment deep inside her.
When Geoffrey collapsed atop her before quickly rolling to the side and hugging her to him, she decided she wouldn’t mind if they had a baby by next autumn. In fact, such a happy occurrence would please her immensely.
As she drifted off to sleep, she was thinking of names for their children, names that evoked the many facets of a diamond — clarity, purity, and brilliance.
