Iris gasped, and her hands flew to his chest to steady herself as Finn, wild from her teasing, surged into her again and again, his hands guiding her hips down onto him with each upward stroke. He bit her earlobe, his whispers lost in his ragged breath as he begged her to come, to come for him…
Her release was hard and sudden, crashing over her like a wave and then sucking her deeper and deeper into the undertow, so deep she was gasping for breath and clinging to Finn as he toppled into his own release with a shout, his body going rigid for a long, heart-stopping moment before it let him loose at last.
Their skin was flushed and damp and they were both still breathless when he collapsed onto his side and tucked her against his chest, murmuring broken words of desire and love to her as she succumbed to a dreamless sleep.
When she woke again, weak morning sunlight was filtering through Finn’s window. It was early still, just past dawn, but Iris shrugged off her delicious languor, tossed the covers aside, and struggled to a sitting position.
Finn wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. “No.”
“I have to, before Violet comes in search of me.” She gently unwound his arm from her waist and slid from the bed.
“She won’t be up for hours.” Finn flopped over onto his back with a grumble, then shoved a pillow against the headboard and leaned back against it, watching her as she scrambled to find her clothes.
Iris tugged her petticoat over her hips and struggled into her skirt. “She rises early, and if she sees even the least sign a debauchery has taken place, she’ll guess everything. I’d rather not be wearing a wrinkled riding habit when she finds me.”
“Wrinkled, and inside out.” Finn grinned and waved a hand at her. “The skirt, anyway. I’m not sure about the petticoat, but if you’ll come over here and climb into bed, I’d be happy to examine it.”
Iris scooped her shirt off the floor. “No, indeed, for you’ll have it off me in a trice, and…where in the world is my corset? Have you seen—” She slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide. “Oh, dear God. We’ve left it in Charlotte’s sitting room!”
Finn yawned and shoved his hands behind his neck. “You’ll be all right without it. Your bedchamber is just on the other side of the stairwell, and no one will be in the hallways at this hour.”
She bit her lip, her brows drawn with worry. “But what if someone should find it in the sitting room? They’ll know at once what we’ve been up to! No lady happens to just leave her corset lying about in a sitting room, unless she’s been up to something she shouldn’t!”
“It’s all right, love. I’ll fetch it. Though if someone did find it, it wouldn’t be so terribly shocking. We’ll be married by the end of the week, after all.”
Iris was struggling to tuck the ends of her shirt into her skirt, but her head jerked up at his words. “What?”
He looked taken aback at her incredulous tone. “I spoke to Captain West about it yesterday. We’ll marry here, at Hadley House, before the end of the house party. We need to be wed before we return to London, Iris, to dispel any lingering rumors about you jilting me. I won’t have every half-wit in London gossiping about my wife. Captain West and I discussed it, and we both agree its best this way.”
“I see.” Iris crossed her arms over chest. “And are you marrying Captain West?”
“No, I’m marryingyou.” Finn stared at her for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. “You look as if you’re contemplating jilting me.Again. For thethird time. I swear to you, Iris, if the words ‘we don’t suit’ cross your lips right now—”
“Oh, hush. Of course I’m going to marry you. Do you think I would have permitted you to…” Her cheeks heated, and she tilted her chin at the bed. “To dothatto me if I wasn’t?”
“As I recall, you did that tome, as well.” He gave her an inviting smile and pulled back the covers. “Now, come back to bed and do it again.”
“I most certainly will not.” She pressed her lips into a prim line. “You’re incorrigible. What happened to the honorable, proper Marquess of Huntington?”
“I’ll wear my cravat, if you like.” His eyes gleamed with playful humor.
Iris fought back a smile, and gave him a stern look. “I’m simply saying I would have preferred you discuss wedding plans withme, rather than with Captain West. You’ll keep that in mind with any future staggeringly important, life-changing events, won’t you?”
“If you insist. I meant to discuss it with you last night, but I became distracted.” His gazed roved over her, lingering on her unrestrained breasts. “I’mstilldistracted. I expect I’ll be distracted for many years to come. I may never let you leave the house once we’re wed.”
Iris flushed with pleasure, and this time she didn’t bother to hide her smile. “Go back to sleep, Lord Huntington. I’ll fetch the corset myself.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Of all the people who might have caught her sneaking around Hadley House with her clothes askew and her corset tucked under her arm, Iris would have chosen Lady Honora.
“Iris! Oh, thank goodness. I must speak to you at once!”
To be fair, she would rather not have been caught at all, but it could have been far worse.
It could have been Violet.
Iris turned with a sigh, trudged back down the stairs, and met Honora in the entryway. She hid the corset behind her back and sent up a quick prayer Honora wouldn’t notice it, because there was no plausible explanation for it. For the corset, or the handful of buttons missing from her riding skirt, or her hair, which hung in tangled knots down her back, as if she’d been rolling about in bed with a marquess all morning.
