It was a daring question, filled with the promise of impropriety. She stepped aside, granting him entry, and swiftly closed the door behind him. Her heart hammered wildly against her breast, and her skin pricked with increased awareness. It was as if a gust of wind was blowing straight through her, gathering force as it swirled up inside her, causing a frenzy of tingling nerves and charged vibrations.
She turned to face him, and every sensation he’d managed to stir in her since their first encounter pulsed through her. Desire, so raw and direct, burned in his eyes. The intensity of it caused her to gasp, which brought his attention straight to her mouth. And then she was in his arms, his mouth on hers, gently at first but then with added pressure.
His lips were soft, pliable, and so very different from the rest of him which was hard and angular, firm and secure. Her arms wound around his neck and she swayed against him, letting him drag her closer, his hand at her back, pressing her to him. Yes, this was nice, lovely, intimate...closer than she’d ever been to another person in her entire life. They were joined now, in a manner of speaking, exploring each other in a new sort of way that confirmed their courtship better than words ever could.
A sound something like a low moan filled the air, and Leonora realized it had come from her. Philip answered by nipping her lip, provoking a gasp that allowed him to deepen the kiss most provocatively. She could not only feel him now but taste him as well and, oh! His hand molded against the curve of her bottom, erasing all distance between them and...and she could scarcely think her mind was so drugged by what he was doing and what she was feeling. For now, without any sliver of air between them, her body was able to do nothing else. He was all hard muscle, pressing against her softer curves, surrounding her with his virile masculinity and drawing her focus to the proof of his undeniable need.
“Perfect,” he murmured as he kissed his way along her jaw. “Better than I ever imagined.” His teeth grazed her earlobe, causing her breath to shudder in response to the hot little shivers. “And I have imagined,” he continued, punctuating each word with a kiss. “The most scandalous things where you are concerned.”
Dear god, she was seconds away from catching on fire.
To her surprise, his words had the opposite effect of what she would have imagined her response would be to a gentleman saying such things. It did not fill her with indignation or cause her to want to end their embrace. Quite the contrary. Which was probably why she arched against him, needing more closeness in spite of the fact that all space between them had long since vanished.
But she felt irrational, restless, in desperate need of more.
His mouth nuzzled the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “I want you with a desperation I cannot describe.” To her astonishment, his words shook with emotion – with a sense of vulnerability she would not have expected – and that undid her completely.
“I feel the same about you,” she said, determined to be just as honest and courageous as he was.
His mouth met hers once more, with added roughness and zeal. “Marry me, Leonora. Be my wife and let us...let us simply surrender.”
It sounded like a wonderful idea. No rules to stop them from carrying on as they pleased behind closed doors. Nothing to prevent them from discovering where their kisses might lead. To heaven, she expected, smiling as he kissed her again.
Her fingers raked through his hair and then down his back. “Yes,” she managed on a gasp before digging her fingers into his muscles and pressing her mouth to his jaw. The stubble there scraped at her tongue in an interesting way.
More interesting was the low growl he produced in response. “Leonora...” His hands squeezed her bottom, and she suddenly wished they were already married, with fewer clothes and endless days ahead for all manner of wicked explorations.
“I suspect our courtship will be the shortest in existence,” Leonora told him wryly.
“Do you mind?” He’d leaned back enough to meet her gaze, the hint of concern in his eyes reminding her that in spite of what had just happened between them, he was a gentleman who worried about ensuring her comfort and pleasure.
She shook her head and watched relief wash over his face. “Not at all. Indeed, I look forward to being your wife more than you can possibly imagine.”
He grinned. “Oh, I can imagine. You may rest assured that I feel quite the same.”
No words of love. It was too soon for that. But they knew they would get along. The attraction was there along with respect, understanding, and friendship. It was what Leonora had always hoped for, because it was what she had witnessed growing up, between her own parents. Few people were as lucky as they had been, so she was pleased to count herself one of them, and as she rose up onto her toes to kiss Philip back, she knew that love would come, with time.
#
PHILIP WAS THRILLED. In fact, he could not recall a time in his life when he’d been so happy. Leonora would be his. The wedding was already set to take place in less than a week. On Christmas morning, thanks to the special license he’d managed to procure through a courier. His whole body tingled with anticipation and the knowledge that he and Leonora would soon be able to continue what they’d started in her bedchamber five days earlier. Since then, they’d both been under constant observance by the Lockwoods and a small army of servants who somehow managed to appear from the woodwork each time he thought he’d managed to get Leonora alone. Which was frustrating and annoying and irritating and a whole lot of other synonyms for bothersome. But he supposed it wasn’t as bad as it would have been if Leonora had decided she wanted a London wedding or that she must wait for her parents to return from wherever they happened to be at this exact moment.
That would have been completely intolerable.
So in truth, five days wasn’t terrible, even though it did feel like an eternity.
“Have you considered what to give her?” Lockwood asked Philip when he happened upon him in the library one afternoon. He’d gone to ask Leonora if she was up for a game of cards, but when she’d answered his knock at her bedchamber door, she’d been wearing her robe and her hair had been down over her shoulders and then he’d spotted the bathtub behind her and well... He’d promptly turned on his heels and walked away, because the alternative had been to ravish her right then and there and damn whoever happened to pass by and see them.
“Of course,” Philip told his friend in answer to his question. “I’ve a couple of things in mind, both as a wedding gift and a Christmas present.”
Lockwood smiled. “You’ve found your match, Dalton. I couldn’t be happier for you.”
The way he said it...
Philip frowned. He tilted his head, considered his friend’s smug expression. “When did you start playing matchmaker?”
Lockwood grinned. “Since Leonora announced her intention to come spend the holidays here. Her sister has been hoping she’d find someone wonderful to marry for quite some time.”
“So then, when you wrote to suggest I take the eight o’clock carriage on the tenth because that meant the arrival time would suit your schedule—”
