“You are, so I’m sure everything else will be.” Drew dismissed all the servants then with the flick of his hand, asked them to close the door, and said he would like to serve her himself. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve always hated being watched while I eat.”
“Me too,” she whispered back in case the servants were listening at the door.
He leaned close as he added ham to her plate. “It’s better this way. Just the two of us,” he said, offering to feed her a bite of food from his own fork.
Aurora took a dainty nibble, watching him smiling at her.
Then she loaded up her own fork and held it out to him. “What’s good for one…”
“Is a pleasure for both,” Drew agreed, snatching the morsel from her fork in one big bite.
She watched him chew, and then he swallowed and licked his lips. Aurora felt that lick as if it had been placed between her legs instead. She gulped at how easily her lover could arouse her, and in so many ways. “More?”
“Definitely more.” He moved his chair closer, right beside hers, and they fed each other every bite until she could eat no more.
Drew wasn’t satisfied yet and continued eating, cleaning off every serving dish spread before him.
She winked at him. “You really were hungry.”
He smiled slowly. “Yes, and I still am, too, because of you.” Drew suddenly pulled her out of her chair and onto his lap. “Wherever you are, is where I want to be.”
“Oh, Drew!”
He met her gaze slowly. “You must know that when I am with you, I feel I am home,” he whispered, cupping her skull tenderly and pulling her face close to his. “There’s nowhere else I want to be but here. Let me show you how well we fit together.”
Aurora nodded, imagining a long night of lovemaking ahead. She hoped when it was his time to leave, he would not propose again. She would only say no, and he’d go away with a sour parting.
She grabbed his hands. “Yes, let’s go upstairs.”
“That’s not what I meant?”
“But we’ve been apart for days and days.”
He raised a brow. “You missed me?”
“I missed a lot of things about you, but this is a special occasion. My first day here as your mistress should be a memorable event. I want to please you.”
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Already done, my dear.”
“No, I mean the other way.”
“And what would that be?” he asked and then chuckled to himself. “I think it safe now to make a wager on your likely answer.”
“I’m sure you might be right.” She stood and caught hold of his hand. She tugged. “I won’t make you chase me anymore.”
“But I might enjoy that,” he answered, rising to stand. He towered over her a moment and then grinned. “Run.”
It took her a moment to realize he was in earnest. He meant to chase her through the house and to her bed. She took a few steps back, and he advanced, one seemingly threatening step at a time. Aurora stopped when the door was at her back. She fumbled with the handle and eased it open. He winked, and Aurora caught up her skirts, raised them above her ankles, and dashed out the door. She bolted for the staircase, laughing because she hadn’t run anywhere since coming to live with her cousins.
She had stopped doing a great many things that had made her happy in a good long while. Everything except Drew. He was her only true indulgence.
Drew had longer legs than hers, and he’d reached the bottom before she was halfway up the flight of stairs. He waited a moment then took them two at a time, bounding after her in great leaps and laughing as he came.
Aurora’s heart did a little flip of joy. She loved it when he was playful. She let him catch her at the door of her new bedchamber, and nearly swooned into his arms. She kissed him, threading her arms around his neck and holding him tight. Drew lifted her feet from the floor, so she only had him to moor herself to, and deepened the kiss.
Aurora was vaguely aware of the doorknob being fumbled with behind her back before they were in her chambers, her spine pressed against the other side of the door a moment later. Drew began to hike up her skirts, while Aurora attacked his cravat and the buttons on his shirt. His big hands settled on her bare bottom, his hips wedged against hers and her knees spread wide to allow him to stand between her legs.
The press and thrust of his arousal against her sex was exquisite, and very distracting.