Her smile was blinding.
Craving hit him in the gut, tensing his muscles and hardening his cock.“When?”
“Tonight?”
Christ, yes.
Laughter spilled into the air.Bloody hell.They were at a bloody ball, surrounded by Society.He forced himself to think, but it was damned hard when all the blood in his body had rushed to his cock.“We cannot do this here.We must have a bed.Your first time should be in a bed.”
She glanced at the house.“There are beds here.”
He shook his head.“I want to take my time, and… It should be special.Your first time should be special.”
“It is already special, Benedict.It shall be with you.”
Christ, she undid him.Rubbing his chest, he searched her face.“Are you certain, Eleanor?”
Her eyes widened.“I cannot remember the last time you called me Eleanor when it is just us.”
He could not either, butshehad to know how serious he was.In the carriage, it had been flash and desire but now… It could be she had been swept up, that she had made a decision she would regret.“You must tell me if you are uncertain.You must not regret this, El.”
Her smile was soft.“I am certain, Benedict.I would never regret anything I did with you.I want you.”
He wanted her, too.He wanted to kiss every inch of her skin, to learn the shape of her body, to feel her softness beneath his hands, and he wanted the privacy to do it— “Caraney House.My brother has offered me Caraney House should I—”Bloody hell, don’t mention your brother’s asinine demand you end the season wed now.“Caraney House is empty and mine.”As she would be.Christ, she would behis.
Her smile languorous, her eyes heated, she said, “Then let us make haste to Caraney House.”
Yes.Let them make haste.
He held out his hand.And she took it.
Chapter Fourteen
CaraneyHousewasshroudedin darkness with only the candle Benedict held casting light on its silent halls.El’s hand was soft in his, her fingers small and delicate, as they passed dust-covered furniture and shuttered rooms, the house empty of even the most casual of caretaker staff.
“This is so odd,” El whispered into the hush.“I’ve never been in a house so wholly empty.”
He grunted, his mind wholly focussed on leading her to the master bedchamber.He had not thought much on Caraney House prior to tonight.It was simply one of his brother’s many properties, and even when Colgrove had offered it to him—or rather, attempted to bribe him into marriage with it—he’d still had no connection with it.Now, it would forever be the place El made him her lover, where he would kiss her and caress her and she would take him inside her.Where he would make her moan and plead and scream with pleasure
He quickened his step and El followed, her hand tightening in his.
The master bedchamber was as shrouded as the rest of the house.Letting go of El, he went first to the shutters, opening them to allow light from the moon and the streetlamps to stream in.Next, he swept the dust covers from the furniture in the room and beat them as best he could before using them as a very poor form of bedding.Damnation, he’d not thought this through.He needed to make it as special as he could.She deserved the best, and it was bloody poor form all he could offer was a shuttered house with moonlight and dustcovers instead of candles and the finest of silks.
El stood at the bedchamber’s door, watching him curiously.“Benedict?”
“I had not thought of the practicalities of Carney House.I had not thought the bed would not be made, or the fireplaces unprepared, or the lightning unmaintained, and I should have thought of that.I should have made sure—” Suddenly, the enormity of what they were about to do crashed over him.He was to introduce her to pleasure.What if he fucked it up?What if he hurt her?Christ, what if hehurther?
Soft hands wrapped around his.El had moved from the door and now, cupping his cheek, she rose on her toes to brush his mouth with hers.Her hand ran over his hair, his cheek, his neck as she kissed his upper lip, his chin, the corner of his mouth.
The panic receded, replaced with need.“El,” he rasped.
“Benedict,” she said.“Unbutton me.”With a final brush of her lips, she turned, presenting her back to him.
Her skin was silvery in the moonlight.His mouth dried at the play of shadow over her skin, need thickening his cock.She shivered as he undid the first of her buttons, his fingers brushing against her warm skin.He worked them deftly, her gown parting to frame her smooth back, her chemise and stays.Her gown fell from her body and her petticoats followed, though her stays required more effort.She lifted her arms as he raised the stays over her head, and then she stood only in her sheer chemise.He could see the outline of her body, the luscious dips and curves he’d always pretended he’d never noticed.He couldn’t resist kissing her nape, and then running his lips along her shoulder, his hands curling around her waist.
She sighed, her neck arching as she rested her head on his shoulder.Her breasts rose and fell with her uneven breath, her hardened nipples pressing against the sheer fabric.Christ, he could tell the colour of them even in this dim light, pink tips against creamy flesh.
He brought his hands to them and his mouth dried as he cupped her, weighing the soft flesh that overflowed his hands.She made a noise, halfway between a gasp and a mewl, and Christ, it made him hard, Need roughened his voice as he said, “I can remove your chemise, El?”
