Page 19

“If I had been at your side, you would never have been made to feel alone or less than.” He didn’t dare let himself feel joy.

Not yet. “I’m sorry for the sorrows in your life, sweeting, and there will no doubt be others, but I can promise you will never need to suffer by yourself.

And I can promise you that I will love you enough to help seal the cracks in your heart, so they don’t hurt as much.

Further, I promise there will be wonderful times, happy times that you can add to your memories. ”

“Oh, Edward…”

“And lastly, I have nothing but love, for you, and have had years of practice holding those feelings, nurturing them, keeping them intact and secret in the event I had a second chance.” He squeezed her fingers, and he meant every word, from the depths of his soul.

“I’m a changed man, sweeting. A man you can be proud of. ”

“I have always been proud of you, even more so now when I see how you care for your family, but I was young and reckless and na?ve back then, perhaps a bit frightened of what being a countess might entail.”

“Neither of us was ready for a life together.”

She nodded. “But I am now.” When she looked at him with moisture-spiked lashes and a quivering chin, he fell all over again. “I have always known you would wait for me, and I love you for that. Please tell me we won’t delay the wedding, because we have waited far too long for that day already.”

It was as if the floor disintegrated beneath him and the sensation of freefalling assailed him. She will be my wife. “You have my word.”

“Good.” Another round of tears rolled down her cheeks. Nancy surged forward, and the leather pouch and watch chain tumbled to the Aubusson carpet, unheeded. She slipped a hand to his nape and then kissed his lips.

Edward’s world exploded into being. The warmth in his chest expanded to obliterate every other emotion except love, and perhaps that was as it should be on this night of nights. He kissed her back, and before the last vestiges of his sanity left him, he pulled back.

“Let me put the necklace on you.” After taking the jeweled pendant from her, he fastened it about her delicate neck. “I have a ring for you with sapphires to match the locket, but I accidentally left it upstairs, for I was wracked with nerves for this conversation.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She rested a palm against the side of his face. “I have all I could ever want right now.”

The long case clock in the corridor chimed the midnight hour, but it went unheeded, for Edward kissed his fiancée, and when that wasn’t enough contact, he joined her once more on the sofa and pulled her into his lap so she straddled his hips.

Interest immediately shuddered along his shaft as her skirting pooled about them.

“After all this time, I have finally managed to win you.”

Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders, and he swore he could feel the burn of each individual finger. “We have both been quite stupid, I think, and have indeed wasted so much time.”

“Agreed.” Since she hadn’t offered a protest, he slipped his hands up her arms to cup her cheeks.

“No more. We will live life to the fullest starting now.” Then he brushed his lips over hers.

“If you wish it, I can try and secure a special license to marry here during the holidays, or we can wed as soon as we return to London.”

A blush spread over her cheeks. “Let me think about it, and I will need to write to my son, and you should probably meet him at some point.” She giggled, and the sound worked to further arouse him.

“We shall talk about everything soon.” Holding her head steady, he fit his lips to hers and kissed her with an intensity that surprised even him.

When she uttered a soft sound of surrender at the back of her throat and one of her hands drifted to his nape, he groaned, settled her more comfortably in his arms, and then set out to kiss the hell out of her. Because he finally could.

Nancy met each one of his advances. The sweet, tart taste of champagne on her lips and tongue spurred him onward.

Clearly, she’d indulged before leaving the ball.

The veriest pressure at his nape from her fingers guided him, let him know what she liked, and he claimed her mouth, determined to discover her secrets, but when she surged up onto her knees and pressed her soft body to his in an effort to kiss him back more fiercely, Edward was in danger of being lost, for each movement, every brush of her form against his ramped his need.

It took very little effort to loosen the laces at the back of her gown, and even less to slide the upper portion of that velvet and satin creation down her arms and torso.

Making short work of the stays and chemise beneath was accomplished in a twinkling and he was well rewarded for that effort.

When her modest breasts were bared with their pert rosy tips practically begging for his attention, he held her gaze with his.

Surprise mixed with desire in her hazel eyes that were now more green than brown.

“I knew you would be beautiful.” And he couldn’t wait to see the rest of her.

“Hush, you, I am quite average,” she answered in a whisper that lit tiny fires through his blood.

That utterance coupled with the anticipation in her expression chipped away at his control.

“I’ll admit, I dreamed about what coupling with you might be like more than a few times…

when things were less than ideal in my marriage… ”

Damn it all to hell. Needing to bond with her and hopefully give her new, more pleasant memories, he kissed her again while kneading the soft globes of her breasts.

Pushing away the awe of finally being able to share intimacy with her, Edward traced the pads of his thumbs around her erect nipples, over and over again, in an effort to encourage her to acclimate to his touch.

Then breaking the kiss, he dragged his lips along the side of her neck, peppered that satiny skin with feather-weighted kisses that continued beneath the underside of her jaw.

The soft sounds of pleasure and encouragement she made sent him hurtling closer to the edge of insanity.

When he brought one breast to his mouth, sucked on that tip, teased the pebbled surface with the flat of his tongue, Nancy writhed on his lap.

Urgency went through his shaft until it throbbed with need.

The moment she held his head between her palms, kissed his lips, his cheeks, his chin, he was hurled perilously close to the point of no return.

“Nancy…” He needed her off his lap to keep certain inevitable endings away, so he gently urged her onto the sofa, laying her on her back while he settled on his side facing her, cradling her body with her head resting in the crook of his arm.

“Bid me nay,” he whispered against the underside of her jaw.

“I’ll leave you untouched with no one the wiser.

We can indulge another time if you’re not—”

“Hush.” She fisted a hand in the fine lawn of his shirt, tugged him closer. Desire reflected in her eyes. “Continue. I want you, Edward, have wanted you for so long.

“Bloody hell,” he whispered against her lips, for he wanted to lose himself in her, to navigate those delicious curves and ferret out all her secrets, make up for lost time.

“Show me you never forgot me,” she said in a low voice then kissed the side of his neck, licked that same spot.

The hold on his control slipped another notice. “I have always wanted you.” Edward dipped his head and took her nipple into his mouth while rolling the other with his free hand.

Her back arched, which put her charms more firmly into his care. A moan escaped her throat, and once more the blonde arcs of her lashes lay against her cheeks in a beautiful design. “Mmm, yes, just there.”

“It has been months since I have dallied with such a beautiful woman.” He drew his hand down her body, from her breast to brush his fingers along her ribcage, to sail along the sweet curve of her hip.

Little by little, he drew up her skirting until he could trace his fingers along the edge of her garter and stocking.

“This in infinitely better, this exploring my soon to be wife.”

“Ha.” Nancy slipped her hand down his chest, leaving a trail of heat behind.

A few tendrils of hair had escaped her elegant updo from the evening, but those wisps and curls framed her face, giving her a touch of whimsy and mystery.

Mischief and wonder warred for dominance in her hazel eyes. “This is hardly a bed.”

“Indeed, it is not, but the sentiment stands.” Unable to help himself, he shoved her skirting out of the way to caress the outside of her thigh. “I want to explore your body.”

“There is nothing stopping you, Armestead.” She continued to ease her hand down, down, down, and when she reached the waist of his trousers, he held his breath. That boldness was all too captivating. “Are we not engaged? That assumes no permission is needed to—”

He silenced her explanation by pressing his lips to hers in an exquisite long and drugging kiss designed to show her without words how much he adored her and how much he desired her.

When he shifted position to ease a knee between her legs, parting them, giving her a taste of what friction would feel like, it was he who became lost in that embrace.