Chapter Twenty-One
Thirty minutes later, William sat in his closed carriage with Francesca—his fiancée—on the bench opposite. They’d been compelled to listen to the well wishes from her parents as well as have a quick discussion on when they might wed before they were allowed to escape to the relative privacy of the carriage.
“Where are we going?” she asked with a peek around the black velvet curtain she nudged to the side.
“Hyde Park.” He glanced at her in profile, and his heart constricted. She was truly his and would soon be his wife. Twin threads of anxiety and exhilaration went up his spine. Dear God, I hope I’m worthy of her. “I thought it a better venue than indulging our baser instincts while in Mayfair traffic.”
“Oh!” Francesca let the curtain drop back into place. Her eyes rounded with both confusion and anticipation. “Do you mean to…” She gestured between them with a hand. They’d left her townhouse so quickly she’d neglected to don a bonnet or gloves. To say nothing of any sort of outerwear. Thankfully, there was the breath of spring in the air that kept the chill at bay. “To do that in a carriage? I didn’t think it possible…”
William grinned. Need tightened his shaft, for she was adorable in her naiveté. “My darling girl, two people can have relations any place if they’re inventive enough.” Then, because he couldn’t bear to remain parted from her any longer, he took her hand, tugged her over the narrow aisle, and encouraged her onto his lap so that she straddled his hips. “Unless you’d rather not?” he asked against the satiny skin of her neck.
“Of course I want to. I’ve been nearly out of my mind from desiring you these last two weeks.” She held onto his lapels as she stared into his face, her expression entirely too somber for his liking. “When I thought I would die in that awful butchery, I was so disappointed.”
“Why?” He drew his hands up her sides to cup her breasts. The mounds of flesh were the perfect size to fit into his palms.
“Because I didn’t have the chance to tell you how much I loved you, wouldn’t have another opportunity to share intimacy with you, or anything else with you.” She sighed when he eased her bodice down and kneaded those glorious breasts. “You’ve completely taken over my thoughts, Inspector.” A shiver racked her shoulders. “I can’t think when you do that.”
“Then don’t.” He encouraged her onto her knees so he could better take a pebbled nipple into his mouth. “And if I were you, I’d keep your ardent responses to a minimum. I trust George with my life, but I’d rather him not get his jollies off if he hears you being pleasured, for I’m quite selfish in that regard.”
“I’ll try my best,” she whispered as her back arched and she dug the fingertips of one hand into his shoulder. “But you make me feel—” a moan interrupted her words when he rolled the other tempting pink bud, gave it a playful pinch. “So wicked,” she finally finished in a rush and then bit her bottom lip.
“Then you and I are of the same accord, and by the by, that color is amazing on you. I think I might prefer that over the blue gown you wore the other night.”
“Good, for I’m not sure I’ll be able to wear blue any time soon without horrid memories of the night coming back to haunt me.”
“I understand.” With a certain smugness to his grin, William spent the next several minutes taunting and teasing her breasts, and as her breathing became increasingly shallow, he set out to kiss her senseless.
But it was him who soon found himself lost. The warmth of her in his hands, on his lap, the sweet apple blossom scent, the faint sounds of pleasure she made, the way her fingers curled into the hair at his nape all worked to hurtle him close to the edge and they’d yet to embark on intercourse. How was it that meeting this one woman had managed to not only turn his world upside down but had also sent him falling into love so vast and deep he never wanted to surface?
“William.” She pressed a line of tiny kisses to the underside of his jaw. When she worried a specific spot that had him nearly launching off the bench, he eased backward. Her eyes were wide and dark, that blue ring around her irises more pronounced like the color of the sapphires in her ring. “Show me the depth of your feelings. I can’t wait.”
The urgency in her whisper matched the hunger prowling restlessly through him. “I’m helpless to deny you anything, apparently.” But he spent the next several seconds kissing and licking her neck, the curve of her shoulder, exploring the curves of her breasts until she fairly quivered with need.
“As it should be.” Francesca tugged at his cravat, loosening it so she could delve a hand beneath his clothing and kiss the bit of skin she’d exposed. “Yet part of me is annoyed with you.”
“Why?” He was moments away from exploding, but he wanted to prolong the foreplay. They both deserved it. Still, he burrowed a hand beneath her skirting and didn’t stop until he brushed his fingers through the curls hiding that swollen bud at her center.
“Oh, I, ahhh…” Her eyes briefly closed and she once more bit her bottom lip. That tiny tell drove him closer to the edge and he claimed her lips for the sheer joy of kissing her. The mother of pearl combs in her hair fairly glowed in the dim light inside the carriage.
Was it wicked to pleasure her like this in a carriage where a random stop could expose them to prying eyes? Yes, yes it was. Did he care? Not in the least, for she was his and he couldn’t hold back his wonder of that fact. Over and over, he strummed his fingers along that button, and as she gyrated her hips against his hand, he continued to kiss her, taking every sound of pleasure into himself, gathering them all as if they were the finest jewels.
When Francesca hit release, it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She threw back her head and arched her spine while biting her lip. Her body shook, and randy man that he was, William took full advantage. He nipped and licked and suckled her nipples until he’d brought her to the brink once more. The moisture that came away on his fingers gave testament to the fact she was more than ready for him.
Seeing her so responsive to his touch was incredibly erotic, and he couldn’t have enough of her. “Bloody hell, Francesca,” he whispered against her neck. “I can’t wait to see you laid out on my bed, clad in nothing except that ring and perhaps your hair combs, for I’ve yet to have you naked, but I imagine you’re as spectacular as you are now.”
“That was my point exactly, before you stole my ability to think or speak,” she said, her dulcet tones breathless. “You must work on your patience.”
William snorted. “It’s definitely not a virtue, but if you’d rather I leave off…”
“No!” She fought her way through yards of skirting before her fingers fumbled at the buttons of his frontfalls. “Don’t you dare leave me feeling as if I’ll explode with no recourse.”
“I adore your daring and enthusiasm for bed sport.” He batted her hand away in order to complete the task of freeing his hardened shaft. “Never would I have guessed at your appetite.”
“Only for you, Inspector.” Her eyes winked with wicked promise. “Which is another reason not to delay in wedding.”
He groaned. There was every possibility he wouldn’t survive his first year of marriage. “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer a younger man? I might not be able to keep you satisfied.” The new worry lodged in his head and wouldn’t fade.
“Never think that.” She nipped at his chin, pressed tiny kisses to his cheeks, his forehead, the side of his neck. “You are perfect for me.” When she claimed his lips, he was lost, falling down in a dizzying slide, tip over tail, secure in the knowledge that she’d catch him and wait for him at the end.