“But what if the others are better, stronger, more skilled? Then my poor Starlight will be diminished.”
“I very much doubt it. I think your beautiful Starlight would find it in her to be even better, even stronger, even more skilled. You surely don’t want to deprive her of being the best she can be?”
She turned to him, and he could see the confusion in her eyes. “You really believe isolation isn’t in her interests?”
He nodded, knowing that neither of them were talking about Starlight anymore. “I do.” He reached over and looped a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her thick, glossy hair immediately sprang back. He smiled. “I don’t think there’s any part of you which I can affect.”
Her face was serious. “You’re wrong. My hair may spring back, and I don’t like being told what to do, but inside…” She clutched the shirt above her heart. “Inside, it’s a different matter entirely. Inside, you’ve changed me.”
He took both her hands in his. “I’m glad, I think,” he added, suddenly wondering how exactly she’d been changed by him.
“You’ve challenged me and made me stronger.”
He fingered the velvet box in his pocket which held his grandmother’s eternity ring, which he’d taken from the bank safe in London. He held it tight in the palm of his hand.
“That’s good. You’re a remarkable woman, no doubt like your mother, and you need to know that. You can do so much for the estate, and we can do even more as we run it together.”
She shook her head, and his heart nearly stopped. Had he misunderstood something?
“I don’t mean that.”
He felt sick at the thought that she was thinking something very different to him.
“Then what do you mean? Strong enough to do what?”
“To not hide anymore.”
“You want to leave,” he said, his voice as dead as his spirits suddenly felt.
A few seconds of silence followed. “Not exactly,” she finally answered. “You gave me the freedom to believe in myself and my place in the world.” She looked around. “I love this estate and I always will, but I can’t be restricted to it anymore. I have to step outside of my comfort zone.”
He breathed a deep sigh of relief, cupped her face, and kissed her, not willing to wait any longer. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that.”
She smiled up at him, rolled up on to her tiptoes and kissed him deeply. For a moment, it was like time stood still. He could hear the birds singing in the trees, a distant rook cawing from the towering trees beside the house, and her breathing quickening under the coaxing of his lips and tongue. She pulled away, her breathing coming rapidly, her eyes darkening with desire, and gripped his hand. “Let’s go inside.”
“Inside?” He shrugged. “What’s wrong with here?” He flung his arms wide, indicating the isolated grove in the center of the woods. It wasn’t open to the public, and it was too far from the estate offices for anyone to have reason to wander over. “This is ours. Yours and mine. Perhaps we should christen it.”
She bit her lip and gave a shy nod. As soon as they were in the enclosed space, he very carefully undid the buttons of her dress. He wasn’t in so great a hurry to rip the dress from her now. This time he wanted to savor her, to take his time and appreciate every square inch of her skin. He wanted her to never forget this moment.
He stepped away as she helped him remove her dress, and admired her standing in her simple white underwear, a stunning contrast to the rich hue of her skin. He swept his finger across the lacy bra before dipping his head and kissing the rise of her breasts above the half-cup. Then, with a quick flick of the fastening, he took it from her. Her nipples were peaked with desire, asking to be tasted, and who was he to refuse? She dropped her head back and hung on to him as he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked. Her fingers dug into his scalp as her breathing quickened. When he rose, he could see the rapid pulse in her neck and her mouth open, her full lips inviting.
He stepped back, all the better to admire her as she slipped out of her panties. The tall, fragrant grass full of wildflowers rose up to her thighs.
“You look like a dryad, a beautiful creature of nature about to seduce me.”
“Only if you takeyourclothes off. I’m a little under-dressed here.”
He’d never taken his clothes off so fast in his life. He didn’t care about the buttons on his shirt—they pinged off the cloth with one swift rip, and Indra helped ease the zip over his erection. Kissing, they fell into the long grass. She took hold of his erection, stroking it, guiding it to where she wanted him to be.
She hooked her legs around his and he thrust into her. He watched her, alert to every nuance as she gasped and blinked up at the bright sunlight. He kissed her closed eyelids and she raised her mouth to his shoulder and bit him lightly. It was his turn to gasp. The smell of crushed grass rose from beneath them as he continued to thrust into her—his sole intent to give her everything of himself. Only when they both came together did the world seem complete and return into focus again.
The shadows from the fresh green leaves of the trees overhead flickered over their joined bodies. He heard the bird song again, and he felt the warm breeze over his back. He rolled off her, drawing her to him in his embrace until they both lay, looking up at the blue sky and bright green leaves overhead. As he moved his fingertips over Indra’s satin-smooth skin, drawing imaginary patterns over her breasts and body, he thought he never wanted this moment to end. Then he remembered.
“I have something for you,” he said, sitting up.
She grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles. “Something else? It can’t be better than that.”
He shrugged, teasingly. “It might be. That depends what you appreciate the most. The physical or a promise.”