“May I prove otherwise?” he asked.
Charlotte pursed her lips, swallowing back a pleased smile. “You may certainly try,” she said. He reached out for her mouth and she pulled away, teasing him. His face read as if she had taken his entire dinner plate away almost immediately after it was served.
“You cannot wait?” she asked.
“Must I?” he asked. “I have waited for too long in my opinion.”
Charlotte bit her lip, smiling. “You cannot resist me?”
“No.”
“Maybe you should try,” her voice was light and teasing,
And before he could respond, he leaned towards her in the heat of the moment and kissed her, threading a quiet murmur from her lips. She leaned back, feeling for the wall. When she found it, she settled against the rough wood and pulled him towards her so their bodies were flush against each other. His breath was already ragged, his chest rising and dropping against her. She could feel the stiff bulge in his pants growing, making her even more desperate. “I could not,” he murmured against her lips. She was happy about that. She wasn’t sure she could resist him either.
The mill was dusty. It creaked loudly as every gear and hinge grunted and sputtered through the water. Even through the walls, they could hear the swirling of water, so that when she closed her eyes, she felt like she was miles below the surface with him. She ran her fingers into his hair while he sucked at the pale flesh on her neck.
His kiss was hot, as magnetic as it always was, but this time, something was different about her. Kissing him was fun enough, but she had been fighting an ache between her legs for a long time and the thought of his hands on her hips as he entered her was enough to make a cry of desperation bubble up in her throat.
He pulled away. “Are you well?”
“Please,” she begged. “I cannot do this again. It is torture.”
William stilled. “You wish for me to stop?”
“No, no, I do not know I just…” her mouth hung open, afraid to say the words. They had kissed, and he had just barely touched her breasts, and although they had talked about it, they had never gotten this close to passion “I just do not think it would be right for us to…,” she trailed off.
He caught his breath and pressed his nose against the side of hers. “I cannot resist you,” he said, his voice breathy and raspy. “But I do not intend to ruin you.”
Charlotte breathed in sharply, knowing that even a kiss was too far for them to go, but the thought of him touching her had been one of her most reoccurring thoughts. It was tempting to agree, and she wanted to, but all her life she had been told that this would destroy her virtue. She hadn’t expected such reservations from herself. She was never one to worry, but now that it was happening, she was finding herself withdrawing.
It was terrifying, especially after the world had told her so often that she would lose something from allowing a man to pleasure her. She wasn’t supposed to even enjoy it and although she knew that much to be a lie, she wasn’t sure about the rest. Would she really lose something? Would she destroy herself? Would he even want her anymore after he finished?
William leaned back in and trailed warm kisses along the hollow of her neck and over the top of her chest. She ached, wondering what it might feel like for him to press his lips against her bare breast or gently explore her heat with his fingers. She gasped, clawing at his back with her nails.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“What if you do not want me anymore?”
William stopped, head still buried in her neck. “Of course, I will still want you. It is not like a fever, Charlotte. I want you now, I want you tomorrow, and I want you every day after that.”
“Oh.” It was all she could say as her fingers pushed into his back, wanting to pull him even closer to her.
“I will ask again. Is that a yes?” he asked, nipping softly at the skin on her throat.
“Mm,” she agreed, her mind too foggy with lust to commit to any actual words.
He turned and took a plank of wood from the corner of the room and wedged it beneath the door to assure that no one would discover them. Then he turned back and continued to kiss her, this time even more hungrily, until teeth were clashing and tongues were searching. After a moment, he slowly coaxed her down until they were both on their knees, lips locked. The floor rumbled as water rushed beneath, the wheel gurgling and sputtering on mouthfuls of the creek.
Charlotte arched her neck so that he could find her favorite spot before he ran his lips across her, trailing his breath and raising the gooseflesh on her arms. He sat up higher on his knees and guided her backwards as he adored her mouth. While she lay on the hard floor, he took off his waistcoat and offered it as a cushion for her head.
When she was reclined, he climbed over her and reconnected with her mouth. A trail of desire clawed its way up through Charlotte’s belly as he trailed his hands up over her hips and across her breasts. He took a moment to squeeze them before he felt around for the stiff bud through the fabric. He tugged at her gently and she cried out, clutching his head closer to her.
“Shh!” He laughed. She could feel him smile against her lips, which made her laugh in return.
Once they composed themselves, he pulled away and slowly lifted the hem of her skirts up–up her legs, across her thighs, past her heat and around her hips. He gasped when he took in the sight of her nearly naked before him. “May I?”
“What are your intentions?” she asked.