Leticia took hold of Richard’s hair and ran her fingers through the strands. They were still damp, but she cared not at all. She loved the feel of the soft texture, and when she tugged on the ends, a moan escaped him. He began to move his fingers more deftly then at a little faster, more rhythmic pace, and just as she thought she might burst from the sensation his thumb glided over her womanhood, and he pressed gently.
She began to pant as she had never done before. Her mouth fell away from his as she needed to try to catch her breath, but it was an impossibility. The things he was doing to her, combined with the feelings she was already experiencing made her mind go foggy, and all she could do was cling to him and pray that her release would come quickly as she teetered on the edge of a cliff, right between agony and ecstasy.
“If you slow your breathing,” Richard whispered, “you’ll enjoy this more.”
“I…can’t—” Leticia moaned, and as she said as much, her insides began to throb. She gasped as the pulsating continued, and Richard slowly pulled his hand away from her. He kissed her on her forehead, on her temples, and on her neck. “Are we…” she paused and tried to catch her breath, “are we done?”
Richard smiled secretively. “I hope not, but the carriage has stopped, and I was hoping I might be able to persuade you to come inside with me.”
“The carriage has stopped?” Leticia sat straighter in her seat and looked around. While she couldn’t see out the window because the curtain hung in the way, she could feel that the carriage was no longer rocking. She held out her hand to Richard, and he brushed his lips across her knuckles. “If we go inside together, will we continue or—”
Richard did not allow her to finish her thought. He pushed open the door, hopped out, and turned to assist her. She felt wobbly as she stood, and this time, she was grateful to Richard for offering to help her as she wasn’t sure she would have been able to descend the step quite so easily. “Come along, My Love. We have much yet to discuss.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
She stood for a moment, trying to get her bearings, when Richard gave her fingertips a gentle squeeze. “I don’t think I can wait until we reach the Manor.” The driver had stopped the coach near the entrance to the Estate but had not ventured up the long stone driveway that led to the Manor itself.
“What shall we do?” Leticia asked, and she saw a smile of delight creep onto Richard’s face.
He dropped her hand and nodded off in the distance. “Last one to the lake has to—” But his words fell away as he began running.
She was so amazed, she continued standing in one place for a moment, but as she watched Richard disappear over the hillside, a streak of white and black, she saw him tear his coat off and fling it behind him. She giggled and hitched up her skirts, dashing after him. “Wait for me!” she called, knowing that he had given himself such a head start, she could never hope to catch him.
As she ran through the field, she encountered bits and pieces of Richard’s clothing which he had continued discarding as he raced toward the lake. She gave chase, laughing as she began peeling off her gloves and stopping for just a moment to kick out of her shoes. By the time she got to the shoreline, she was still mostly clothed, except for her accessories, but Richard stood waist deep in the water, his bare chest glistening with sweat and beads of water.
He moved toward her, and she needed no further inducement to rush toward him. Her skirts billowed out around her, and as they met, with the water up to their knees, he began hurriedly shucking off her dress. “Turn,” he ordered, and she spun. His nimble fingers made easy work of her stays, and she was released from all her undergarments at once. She shimmied out of her chemise, watching as the gauzy material floating in the water around them. Still standing behind her, Richard ran his hands over her smooth backside as he lightly brushed his lips along the spot where her neck and shoulder met. He spun her toward him, and before she had a chance to look down and admire either of their naked forms, he grabbed her hands and began towing her out into the water.
When it was chest high, he kissed her once more. “I must have you,” he said, his voice low and guttural.
“I’m yours,” she whispered as she pressed her lips to his. “Do with me as you wish.”
His hands made for her waist then, encircling her bottom, and as he lifted her effortlessly into the water, she jumped, so she could wrap her legs around his torso. She had absolutely no idea what to do next, but instinct guided her as she remembered the way he liked her to gyrate against him before when they had been fully clothed. She began rocking her hips back and forth, but now, there was no barrier between them. The water rose to her chest, and as it lapped at her shoulders, she summoned her confidence and began to move in time with the flow of the water.
Richard groaned and reached down between them, positioning himself so that his manhood might enter her. “Leticia,” he whispered her name, and slowly, using the very greatest of care, he plunged his member inside her. She had not been sure what to expect, but the pain most women told her she would experience did not seize her at once. It was as if their bodies molded together, and aided by the water, the connection felt natural. Gently and much more slowly this time, she began to rock, and he groaned with pleasure. “This is how we were meant to be.”
She saw now how this new exploration of their bodies thrilled him, and she also became more aroused. She began to move faster, urging him onward, and he thrust his body, making a slapping sound in the water around them. Just as it seemed they found their rhythm, Richard grunted, and the hand he pressed to her backside faltered. “Blast!” he cursed. “I’m sliding in the mud.”
She slowed both her breathing and her movements and looked toward the shore. “Come on,” she whispered, trailing the tip of her tongue along his lower lip. He let out a low growl and a fire lit behind his blue eyes making them shine brightly. They swam ashore with Richard’s fingertips brushing softly against her heels. She collapsed on the silty embankment, already feeling exhausted from all this exertion, but when Richard moved over the top of her with his body hovering there as if waiting for her permission to proceed, she reached for him, pulling him downward.
His hands slid in the soft mud near her shoulders, and he made a disgruntled sound. “Richard,” she purred, “stay with me.” His hands found purchase when he moved them toward her waistline, and she heard a squishing sound as they sunk into the mud.
“I don’t know what to say—” he began, but she silenced him by kissing him gently.
“Then don’t say anything. Just act.” With his hands still at her waist, he began to move over the top of her. When his manhood approached her center this time, she felt a brief shock, but it did not last long. A pool of warmth began to gather in her lower abdomen, and her muscles contracted. She recognized the sensation as it was similar to what she’d felt in the carriage, but now, it was much more intense.
Richard’s hot breath floated across her face as he lowered himself even further. Their chests met, and she could feel now that he was breathing just as erratically as she was. “You are mine,” he said, and this time, when their bodies began to move in time with one another, she felt something inside her open wide, and then, her muscles began to spasm.
She screamed his name and listened as several ducks quacked at her in return so startled were they by the disturbance of their peace. Not a full second later, Richard’s whole body quaked, and he began to giggle softly. They lay there, locked together. Leticia felt the tickle of the waves as they washed ashore and caressed her toes. She heard the ducks as they continued to make their displeasure known, and as she looked overhead, seeing the blue sky with nary a cloud to mar its lovely appearance, she finally understood what the lake poets had been writing about as the world seemed to be nothing short of miraculous.
“Will it feel like that every time?” Leticia whispered as she watched her words float away on the tendrils of a summer breeze.
“I bloody well hope not,” Richard muttered as he rolled off her and came to rest at her side. He stretched out on the sand.
Leticia turned to stare at him in disbelief. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Richard hastily said as he scooted closer to her so he might wrap an arm around her body. He pulled her nearer. “You could never do anything wrong…at least not in that way. It was all my fault. I was trying to be spontaneous and do something that would surprise you, but I wound up laying you down in a muddy embankment.” He paused and shook his head. “I swear to you, I’m much smoother than I proved myself to be today.”
Leticia snickered. “I thought you did just fine.”