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“You are right. When we return, I will grow my beard.” Thomas slipped the shoulders of her dress off her shoulders to expose the tops of her breasts. “You are so beautiful. My love. Your eyes are like the sea in Spain, your hair like spun honey, and your breasts fit perfectly in my hands. I cannot be more than an arm’s length from you without wanting to touch you in some way. I am a very greedy man when it comes to you, my delicious wife.” He kissed the dip of her shoulder and kissed his way down and over the tops of her breasts.

Her hands were in his hair, and she pulled him up, so he had to look up at her. “I want you. Now. Take me to bed, Tomas.”

“You know I love taking orders from you.” He pulled her towards the bed as she kicked off shoes and unpinned her hair on the way. She nearly ripped his shirt pulling it over his head, her hands greedily splaying across his chest, raking her fingers through the fine dark hair there.

Thomas took her mouth in a greedy kiss, clumsily pulling at the laces at the back of her dress. All the time she was walking backward. When her legs hit the side of the bed, he gripped her about the waist and lifted her onto the counterpane. He reached up to find the garters that kept her stockings up and pulled the ribbons undone and pulled off her stockings, throwing them over his shoulder and wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Elena was laughing until his head disappeared under her skirts, and his mouth found her apex. She gasped as she felt his tongue on her. Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the pleasure of his most clever mouth. Her hands clutched her skirts, and she moaned as he hit that spot over and over again. “Oh, Tomas. Ay dios mio. Me estas matando. You’re killing me,” she said between gasps until the rush of pleasure was upon her.

She had no sooner caught her breath than she found him looming over her with a grin. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she urged him to fill her. The need to be one with him was strong, and he obliged her by thrusting into her with a groan. Elena grabbed his buttocks to urge him to go harder, deeper. Rocking against each other, Tomas kissed her neck and whispered words of love in her ear.

He rolled her over, so she was now straddling him, and he sat up to meet her mouth with his. Every part of her body quivered under his touch, and she thought she might go up in flames as he thrust into her. His mouth smothered her climax, and she held him to her like he was the only thing saving her from drowning.

Chapter Twenty-Three

They arrived at Lord Anthony Ashton’s neat townhouse in Mayfair just in time for dinner. They were ushered upstairs to a room and given a half-hour to change and refresh after their journey. Elena was so nervous to meet yet more new people, and she desperately hoped that Ashton’s wife, Tomas’s infamous ward Lucinda, would like her.

A maid came and dressed Elena’s hair and helped her dress. She found the whole experience embarrassing, but the maid put her at ease with gentle and patient hands. Her husband came out of the small dressing room looking more handsome than when they got married. He wore a dark-blue superfine jacket and white waistcoat. His pantaloons were black as were his stockings and shoes.

“You look beautiful, my darling wife, but then you always do, even when en tenue d’Ève,” he said to her in French.

She gave him a scandalized look but then laughed. Rising up on her toes she kissed him then patted his cheek with her gloved hand. “Come, you ridiculous man. Stop this talk of nakedness. I need food.”

They entered the parlor and were greeted warmly by Ashton and his auburn-haired wife in French. She was thankful but at the same time would have liked to have listened to some English. How was she to learn it if no one spoke it to her? Tomas always spoke to her in Spanish, and French when his family was around.

“My goodness, Captain,” Lucinda said. “You have not aged a day since I saw you when I was but fourteen years old.”

“I cannot say the same for you, Lady Ashton. You have grown into a most beautiful woman. You must allow me to apologize for my shortcomings as a guardian. I should never have left you at that school for so long, but to be honest I was not sure what to do with you. I was told to hide you, and that is what I did. I’m sorry that clearer instructions were not given to Ashton, but I was not expecting to be sent to Spain, let alone presumed dead.”

She looked up lovingly at her husband. “Luckily for you, Captain, Ashton was very attentive, and everything worked out.”

“You are too kind. I wish I had known about the message in your ring,” he said.

“You could not have known. It is better at the bottom of the Thames never to be found again. For everyone’s sake.”

“I quite agree; when Ashton told me of its contents, I was dismayed to think it could have fallen into the wrong hands. Like Lord Stafford.”

“I shudder to even think of that man.” She turned to Elena to change the subject. “I understand that you are responsible for saving the captain’s life.” Her hostess put down her glass and said, “Tony tells me that you were a doctor when you were in Spain.”

Elena smiled. “No. Not a doctor, although Tomas seems to like saying that I am.” She looked over to see her husband smiling at her. “I simply learned a lot from my father, who had actually gone to medical university and was a doctor. I simply did what I had to at the time. Now I am very grateful I was able to help him. He was worth the effort.”

Tomas kissed her hand.

“Shall we go into dinner?” Ashton asked.

They all nodded, and Ashton and his wife led the way to the dining room. Elena had never seen anything quite like it. The table was so pretty with the flowers and all the cutlery and dinnerware all shining under candlelight.

Footmen seated them, and Elena copied whatever Lucinda did. Wine was poured and then soup arrived. It was white and slightly creamy. She thought maybe some sort of bean or potato might have been used.

Lord Ashton said, “All that medical knowledge would make you very handy to have around, I am sure.”

Elena put down her spoon. “I don’t think I will be doing much healing now. There is already a doctor in the village, and I do not want to get on his bad side.”

“Of course not,” Lady Ashton remarked. “You may need him in the future, but I am sure he will not mind if you tend the cuts and bruises of those immediately around you.”

“Perhaps. I would like to be helpful. I am not used to being idle.” She’d remembered Tomas saying the same thing to her once. How long ago that seemed now.

“You should have seen her when on our way to Milford we came across a coach accident. Seeing her at work is a sight to be seen,” Tomas said. “In any case, we have not had a chance to be idle. No longer was I home from bringing my mother and sister home than we got your message.”