Perdie did not complain.
In fact, she leaned forward to kiss him again. He parted from her with reluctance minutes later, his breath coming short. From the way her chest heaved, she was every bit as affected as him.
“I did not lure you into this carriage to ravish you.”
“Why not?” she asked, her voice low and husky. “It seems a waste of privacy to do anything else.”
As she shifted closer to straddle his hips, he groaned. “Perdie, I am trying to be a gentleman.”
The smile she gave him lit him aflame. “’Tis a lucky thing, then, that I’m not interested in playing the proper lady.”
When she slid her hands into his hair, his topper having long since fallen to the bench or floor, he made one last, desperate bid to retain his sanity. “We haven’t had time alone to properly speak since the cottage. I doubt a few stolen kisses will seduce you to my way of thinking.”
He was speaking of marriage, of the fact that he still meant to woo her. The mention cooled her ardor for a moment. She pulled back, settling her weight on his lap in a way that only aggravated his burgeoning erection.
Her fingers were still in his hair, tugging lightly. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, but her eyes were sharp. “You’re right,” she whispered. “Ravishing me will not change my mind.”
As much as it killed him to put a stop to her lovely hands and body atop him, he said through gritted teeth, “Then I think I would prefer conversation. Ravishing can wait.” Wait for their wedding night. Wait until she was his until death do them part.
Still, she didn’t move. She cocked her head, a slight smile on her lips. “I disagree. This might be the only moment we have together for months, and I intend to make the most of it. If you insist on conversation, you can escort me home, and we can have it in the drawing room.”
That did not appeal to him at all. He would be constrained by convention. He wouldn’t be able to speak with her frankly for fear of the servants overhearing and rumors spreading. Nor could he touch her.
Somehow, his hands had found their way to her hips. He explored her soft figure through her muslin gown. He didn’t want to push her away.
Worse yet, she knew his weakness. Leaning forward, she whispered in his ear, “I haven’t heard your answer.” The brush of her breath raised gooseflesh on his neck.
He hadn’t been able to resist her in the folly, and he couldn’t now. Thaddeus turned his head to take her mouth in a kiss that offered his surrender and demanded hers. She softened against him, her breasts pressing against his chest. Her fingers roved through his hair, tilting his head to her liking, her fingernails scraping across his scalp. Without meaning to, he fitted her against his erection and rocked up against her spread legs.
She gasped into his mouth and he was lost. He lost all sense of the present, save for where the two of them touched. He lost all reason. The only thought left in his mind was of how much he wanted to touch her.
The first brush of his thumb over her breast made her breath hitch. She squirmed against him. Helpless, he rocked into her again, taking her mouth. The bonnet was in the way. Whether she ripped it off or he, he wasn’t sure, but it ended up somewhere in the hazy vicinity of his topper. The pins in her hair followed, one by one, until he could grasp her thick locks in his fist. He pulled her head back, making her arch against him and baring her throat. With every taste of her skin, every catch in her breath, he was pulled deeper under her spell.
Only the jolting of the carriage beneath them stopped him from removing her dress entirely. Her stays prevented him from properly caressing her breasts. He slid his hand beneath her skirts instead, finding her hot and wet. He moaned against her neck and blindly sought out her mouth again.
She kissed him with abandon. Gone was the uncertain, if eager, virgin from the folly. Perdie was determined to take what she wanted, and she wanted pleasure. She wanted him. Perhaps he could convince her to have him for life by stolen kisses.
Or more. He found her entrance and dipped his finger inside. She arched her back, her breath coming short, her cheeks flushed with pleasure. He had never seen anything more beautiful. He watched her, memorizing every fleeting expression on her face as he circled her sensitive bud with his thumb. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, a dim memory of when she’d clung to his back in the folly. He wanted more. Oh, so much more, but he had to content himself with this. With her.
As she neared the peak of her pleasure, she bit her lips. She opened heavy-lidded eyes to look at his face. “Thaddeus, please.” Her voice was little more than a whimper. He loved that he could reduce her to this wanton version.
“I have you.” His voice was rough with his brogue. “Let go, Perdie.”
“No.” She moaned and shifted against him, as if she couldn’t help herself. “I want to feel you. I want…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but he understood well enough. He swallowed heavily. “Then take what you want, love.”
She attacked his fall as she kissed him. The change in position nearly unbalanced her, and he caught her around the hips with both hands. She didn’t appear to notice, so intent was she in undoing his buttons. The moment her hand dipped beneath to free him, he took control again. With her eager touch, he was afraid she would end this too soon.
He wanted to give her what she wanted. Everything she wanted.
Taking her mouth in a deep, sensual kiss, he repositioned her above him. With one hand, he ran the tip of his cock across her folds. She arched against him, eager. He positioned himself at her scalding sex and slowly pressed up inside her.
She whimpered at the tight fit. Thaddeus groaned low in his throat. She was slick and so damn tight she almost choked his release from him. Biting her bottom lip, Perdie held onto his shoulders and took him to the root.
Seated deeply and fully on his cock, they stared at each other.
Thaddeus’s throat went tight. It was love he saw in the lass’s eyes. It was tender and profound, but he also understood she was afraid. He kissed the top of her head. He couldn’t help it. Thaddeus wanted to reassure her that he understood, but instead, he gripped her hips, held her gaze and urged her to ride his cock.