“Miss Kinsey, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“I thought my answer was obvious.”
“Humor me.”
“Oh. Well, then, yes. Will you kiss me now?”
“It will be my pleasure…”
He rose to his feet, pulling Jillian up by her hands until they were both standing, face to face, a few inches apart. Then he closed the distance.
His hand slipped across the small of her back as he drew her toward him, their bodies crushing against each other as his mouth sought hers. His passion awoke, heat searing through hiscore as he pulled her ever tighter against him. She answered his touch with equal fervor, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers pushing through his thick hair.
Lewis lowered his lips to her chin, her neck, his tongue wetting her smooth, feminine skin, while Jilly—his own hot-blooded Jilly—did likewise with the shell of his ear, teeth gently tugging at his lobes until he was forced to pull away.
“Merciful heavens, woman, you will undo me!” he cried, only to draw her back into a deep embrace. “Was that what you wanted, my love?” he whispered into her hair. “Was it the kiss of your dreams?”
Jilly lifted her chin, her cheeks flushed with exertion, her eyes dancing. “It ended too soon,” she said, and she placed her head on his chest, where his pounding heart struggled to slow.
“I suppose we should tell our friends the good news,” Lewis murmured.
“Not yet,” said Jilly. “They will only spoil it with their disapproving looks.”
“I think they worry for us. But when they see how happy we are, they will share in our joy. We will show them it is not a fleeting whim, but a lifetime of bliss, just like their own.”
Jilly pulled back quite suddenly. “Wewillhave the wedding in Ermenbrough, won’t we? I don’t want it here, where people like the viscount and Ellena—and maybe even your parents—will mean well but will wish to add excess to the event.”
“You want it at your village church?”
“Yes, among people who don’t care about silverware or who is wearing the latest fashion. I want to be married in a place where no one will shame my family, with simple folk who only want to celebrate our special day. I don’t mind if that means only our families attend, or whether I am holding a posy of wildflowers instead of an arrangement from an expensive florist. None of those things matter.”
“Then that is exactly what we shall do.” Lewis tucked Jilly back into his arms.
But she extricated herself again and added, “When shall I meet your family? I think I shall love Miss Bradford—or Penelope, I suppose I’ll be able to call her—most of all. Afteryou, that is. The rest shall have my respect as long as they are kind to you. I shall be quite the tigress in your defense.”
Lewis tucked a golden curl behind Jilly’s ear. “I can see I shall have to make arrangements at once. And while I am at it, I shall write to the vicar at Ermenbrough and have the banns read beginning next Sunday. For it seems you will not stand still in my arms until we are wed.”
“Oh, I think we could sneak in a little something before that,” said Jilly as she climbed back into his embrace. She nestled there as if it were her home, and Lewis felt his heart beat more evenly, as if he had found his home too.
