Chapter Eighteen
Astring ofharsh storms and incessant rain made the whole wedding a muddy, undignified affair. Carriages lay abandoned in the road—wheels stuck in six inches of mud—a quarter of a mile from the church, hems were ruined, coifs were matted messes, and Danny couldn’t have been happier.
Three weeks of waiting for the bans to be read was four weeks too long. She’d offered to elope on more than one occasion, but in this Percy would not budge, on the formal wedding or on spending the night together until after the contracts were signed.
Every night Danny sat up in bed, listening for a telling knock on her window in hopes Percy would relent in his ridiculous notions of chastity. And every night she fell asleep disappointed and unbearably aroused at the thought of him sneaking in and laying his naked body atop hers. Not even Charlotte’s early wedding present—a scandalous book of erotic positions—made any difference.
If there was any question of Danny’s impatience, there could be no misconstructions when she’d grabbed Percy by the lapels and planted one on him in front of her family, friends, and a red-faced vicar as they were presented as the Duke and Duchess of Grandfellow.
Danny had felt no shame rushing through the courses of their wedding dinner, and even less shame shoving her grin-faced siblings out the door before the moon had reached its apex in the sky.
And there had been no question of a lady’s maid tonight.
Percy had laughed the entire way up two flights of stairs and into the master’s wing when she’d taken his hand and dragged him behind her.
Danny tapped her foot, waiting for him to unlock the door, shaking with need. He’d dressed in a non-formal suit of grey moleskin that showed off his thighs and rear. Curls brushed back to reveal sharp cheekbones and piercing eyes. The man was a walking god. And he knew it.
She crossed her arms over her chest, not giving a fig for wrinkling the starched, white linen that came up to her neck, and refrained from snarling at him to forget the room. He could push her up against the wall and have her in the hallway.
His eyes danced in the low light. “In a hurry, love?”
How was he not ready to shred off her dress? All blasted day had been torture to remain civil and clothed. She snarled this time. “To get the awful ‘consummation’ portion of this evening finished, yes.”
All he did was smile: straight, white, dashing. Damn the man!
“Fine!” She ripped the veil off her head and threw it to the floor. “I want to be in bed with you, or on a rug, or on a chair.” The way her stomach fluttered, and her legs trembled, she didn’t care which.
His gaze darkened. “We’ve done the last two. My vote is for the bed this time.”
At the word ‘bed,’ Danny’s core clenched. Swallowing a moan, she touched her breast through her dress and confessed, “I may not make it that far.”
His fingers laced through her wandering hand, and he pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, his eyes full of heat and humor. “Then come, my dear.”
Aclicksound of the lock unlatching and the door opened.
And she attacked him.
Fabric ripping, buttons flung across the floor, Danny took weeks of sexual frustration out on the innocent wedding ensembles, not relenting until they were both down to their last articles of clothing and their ragged panting filled the silence.
Thankfully, Percy’s maddening composure seemed to have finally snapped.
He cupped the back of her head and tilted her lips up for access, his grey eyes black in the low firelight. “I meant to be gentle this first time.”
She nipped at his hand, not caring how she’d digressed into a rutting animal. “When I want gentle, I’ll ask.” She pulled back and released the clever drawstring at the back of her neck, holding the two ends closed with one hand.
Eyebrow cocked, he asked, “And?”
“I didn’t ask.”
She let go of the strings and her slip fell in a pool of satin at her feet, leaving her completely naked.
Percy muttered a foul oath and grasped the straining rod through his trousers like he’d done at the Crystal Palace.
But there’d be no teasing this time around.
She inclined her head, making herself clear. “That’s mine.”
He huffed a laugh and shook his head. “Now and always, my lady.”
