Page 80 of Snowbound Surrender

Her body clenched at his cock as if finding purchase. They remained on their sides, her back to his front, which was surprising in and of itself. She hadn’t realized there was more than one way to engage in sex.

He took another thrust, this time harder. His arm came around her and held her in place as his hips moved in a rhythm she found both familiar and foreign. James had thrust into her similarly, but then she had been tensed for the distasteful sensation of invasion. This was different in the best possible ways. She was slick with arousal and craved the feel of him stretching her. That was how she felt with Callum. She craved him.

His pace increased until he suddenly withdrew from her. Wet warmth spread across her buttocks and trickled down. His laugh was rueful as he pressed her to lie on her stomach.

“Apologies for the mess. Lie still for a moment.” The bed moved under his bulk.

Boneless and warm, she followed his direction, her mind wandering almost into a doze. The feel of a cool cloth jolted her back to full consciousness. He cleaned her before throwing the covers back over her.

She turned to her side to watch him. He had dressed and was sitting on the lone dining chair to pull on his boots. “What are you doing?”

“Checking on my horse.” He twitched the curtain aside to look outside. “And if the snow isn’t too deep, I should take you back to the manor before everyone awakens.”

“Don’t tell me you’re worried about my reputation,” she said with a smile.

“I would rather avoid gossip.” His matter-of-fact tone wiped her smile away. “Hopefully, you can join your sister in her room with no one the wiser.”

Was he already beset with regrets? “I see.”

He paused at the door to look at her with a cocked head. Then he returned to sit on the side of the bed. Her nakedness increased her sudden emotional vulnerability.

“What do you see?” he asked.

What she saw was a murky future full of unknowns. She had no idea what he wanted. Or what she wanted for that matter. Her plan had been to spend the winter with her sister and then decide where to go and what to do with her life. Now she’d started an illicit affair. Or was it merely a onetime liaison? “I’m confused.”

“About what exactly?”

She tried to distill her feelings into something simple but it was impossible. “Everything. Aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not. For the first time in a long time, I am clear-eyed. It is rare that a man gets a second chance. I want to court you, Eleanor. Properly.”

A tingle went through her and made her stomach whirl even as his next words brought her back down to earth.

“And I want you to be able to hold your head high in the village.”

“Are you ashamed of what transpired between us?” She couldn’t look at him.

He took her chin between thumb and forefinger and forced her gaze to meet his. “Of course not. I feel reborn in my own skin. I’ll always have regrets about what happened with my father and Amelia, but the crushing guilt is gone. You made me realize I have been paying a penance that was not necessary. Both of them would want me to be happy, I think.”

“Of course they would.” She took his hand and kissed his palm.

“Will you allow me to court you?” The sudden vulnerability in his manner set her heart aflutter.

But James had courted her properly, and it had turned into a disaster. She hadn’t known what lay behind his exquisite manners. If she were to marry again, it would be to a man she knew and understood soul deep.

“You can court me, but I will not be content to sit in a parlor sipping tea and talking of trivialities.”

“What do you want?” he asked.

Her mind whirled. No one had ever asked her such a pivotal question. Thoughts traipsed through her head, but she needed time to tame them into coherence. “I will let you know.”

“I will be content to follow your lead, Eleanor.”

Her lead. She hoped to avoid leading them off a cliff like so many ignorant sheep.

With exquisite sweetness, he leaned in to kiss her mouth. It was a kiss filled with promise and optimism. She dropped the covers and wrapped her arms around his neck, her naked breasts pressing against his waistcoat. It was surprisingly erotic.

“As much as I would like to remain here with you for eternity, I need to saddle my horse and clear the path.” He kissed her nose. “And you need to dress.”