Page 16 of Surrender Your Grace (Impromptu Brides #1)

“Evidently,”he said, lips twitching, but stopping short of outright laughing.

“The context of the original quote has changed quite a bit as it’s made the rounds through the clubs and gossip circles.

In truth, it’s from a Yank’s anti-suffrage sermon some years back, declaring a woman’s place is in the home.

It’s not as sensational as you and your friends thought, I’m sure. ”

“You’re incredibly well read. Often, I feel like a ninny around you.”

He pulled her close in an affectionate hug.“Nonsense, you’ve undoubtedly spent your time reading gothic thrillers and penny dreadfuls, while I was immersed in philosophy, literature, and law books, which are full of history.”

He was lumping her in with all the other debutantes, and she instantly took offense.

“Our tutor introduced us to the classics, I’ll have you know, and I availed myself of Papa’s library often. I just lack the skill to spout quotes as rapidly as you can.”

Leaning back, he regarded her with a dubious look.“Your sister read the classics?”

“Hardly,”she said, emitting a sound that was half laugh, half snort, and decidedly unladylike.

“Elizabeth lacked the patience. I eagerly devoured them then gave her the truncated version with enough plot points for her to fool our teacher. I may not be worldly or well-traveled, and I am certainly not as old as you are, but I’m interested in things other than fashion, balls, and gossip.

Recently, I had the chance to read One Thousand and One Nights , which was most, um… enlightening.”

“I’d call the tales of Scheherazade a damn sight more than enlightening. It’s erotic and considered scandalous. They’re considering banning it, in fact. Where in London would a young lady get her hands on a copy of that?”

“Ah, so you’ve read it too?”

“Never mind that. Answer the question.”

“I hate to condemn your sister, dearest husband, but I believe she got it from your library.”

He stared at her, appalled, then shook his head.“I shouldn’t be surprised. Leave it to Maggie to corrupt my wife before I even had the chance to meet her.”He closed his eyes, shuddering slightly.

“Andrew! Have you taken a chill?”

“No. I’m imagining the trouble the two of you could get into together.”

If he but knew, it would curl his hair.

Cici’s eyes rose to his thick, only slightly wavy hair, and she gave him a saucy grin.“Best not think about it.”

Unable to keep from smiling in return, he wondered aloud,“How did we get on this unsuitable topic? Ah, yes, we were discussing ballrooms and bedrooms, and ladies and harlots.”

“I said nothing about harlots and bedrooms,”she replied.“That was you.”

“Yours was implied, my dear. But having both would give me the best of both worlds and make me the luckiest of husbands.”He waggled his brows suggestively and pulled her onto his lap.

As he cuddled her close, his hands wandered, caressing and teasing her until one found its way under her skirts.

His kisses were so distracting, before she realized their destination, his fingers found the seam of her drawers, which in the current style of hoops and cage crinolines was open out of necessity.

Slipping his hand inside, he barely got to touch the warm wetness all the saucy talk and his kisses had created before she started to wiggle and protest.

Cici gasped against his lips.“You can’t mean for us to—”She lowered her voice and uttered,“ Fornicate right here by the path . Anyone could happen by!”

“We are in a secluded area on private property. No one is going to happen by,”he assured her.

The thought of her disgrace if word got around that he had her stripped bare on a bench out in the open dampened the spark he was trying to kindle.“You don’t know that,”she argued.“You’re going to ruin me!”

“Going to?”he asked, kissing down the slope of her neck.“Sweet pea, you were ruined in deed weeks ago.”

“Andrew!”she exclaimed, pushing at his hands.

“I have no intention of embarrassing you or sparking rumors.My goal is for us to avoid being featured in the scandal rags. Would it ease your mind if I told you we could find our pleasure without removing our clothing?”

His suggestion piqued her interest enough to ask,“How?”

Without removing his hand, he eased her to a sitting position on the bench and knelt before her.

Before she could utter another word, he had two fingers fully embedded within her, and his thumb found that most interesting spot at the front of her sex.

Quickly losing her will to protest, she parted her thighs a little more and arched against his magical fingers, silently answering his question.

“That’s it. Relax and let me send you soaring.”

“What you do to me, Andrew, and where you do it, is beyond scandalous. We really ought not to.”

Her objection was a feeble whisper, escaping with a sultry sigh as she writhed beneath his touch.

“Ought not, but we will. This is our honeymoon, and I mean for us to enjoy it.”

That said, he pushed her skirts up. The sight of his hand inside her pristine white drawers was shocking.More so, when he stopped, and with both hands, gripped each side of the seam and ripped it clear to the waistband.

“I’m going to taste you, Cici. If someone should come along, which they won’t, flip your skirtover my head.”

Near apoplectic with shock at his boldness, she sank her fingers into his hair to pull his face away, but her husband’s talented lips and tongue soon had her forgetting all but his mouth upon her.

He added his fingers to the heady mix, sliding them in slowly, stretching her tight channel.

Cici moaned at the sensation, fisting her hands in his hair.

Her obvious delight intensified his movements.

His fingers stroked deeper and faster, while his mouth and tongue continued their enticing movements.

When the muscles in her lower belly tightened and her legs trembled, his fingers left her.

She whimpered in disappointment because she’d been so close, but he didn’t leave her wanting for long.

He returned to the bench, lifted her, and set her astride his lap, positioning his shaft, which was somehow free of his trousers, at her entrance.

Being cautious with her newly initiated body, he pressed eased into her heat and possessed her once again. Once he’d seated his length inside her, Cici gasped at the incredible fullness.

She opened her eyes and found herself nose to nose with him. The sensation of tingling and building pleasure created in her the overwhelming need to move. Tentatively, she shifted her weight and was rewarded by a flare of heat between her thighs and an answering groan from Andrew.

“That’s it, Cici. Move against me and find your pleasure. You’re in charge. It won’t happen often, so take advantage while you can.”

The ghost of a smile on his lips and the hint of mischief in his eyes told her he was teasing, but she had learned in a short time a large kernel of truth lay beneath.

Andrew Ashwick wouldn’t allow a woman to rule him, but in this, she had some power.

Balancing on her knees, she raised up and gradually sank down, her inner muscles tightening around him.

It felt good to her but had a more profound effect on him.

He groaned louder, uttered a word she’d never heard before but instinctively knew wasn’t at all proper, and clasped his hands around her waist, holding onto her but still allowing her to set the pace.

When she rose above him again, she slid off almost completely, leaving only the head of his shaft lodged inside her.

Watching the strain on his face and feeling the tension in his body, she could tell he wanted to take over but was keeping to his promise.

It must be driving him insane, rather like he’d done to her so often.

This time, it was she who wore the mischievous grin.

She paused there, waiting. When nothing further happened, his eyes flew open, and he peered up at her.“You are a quick study, my naughty bride. Let’s advance your lessons, shall we?”

There was a loud ripping sound as he shredded what remained of her ruined drawers and tossed them aside, eliminating the thin barrier between his hands and her backside. Gripping her full cheeks, he squeezed as he pulled her down, sheathing himself in her body.

“No more games,”he whispered hoarsely, his desire for her written clearly across his face.“Ride me,” he demanded, urging her on with a robust swat to her backside. “And I don’t mean at a sedate trot.”

“Excuse me, but who is the horse in this scenario, my lord?” Cici squealed, her lapse earning her another lusty spank.

His hands curled around her tingling bottom, and the fire in his eyes intensified.

Cici suddenly was no longer in the mood to play.

She wanted to soar as he’d promised. His guiding hands showed her the rhythm and, even though it wasn’t the bedroom, the lady became the harlot, moaning and writhing above him, until they both shouted their pleasure to the willows and the swans floating by who couldn’t care less about their antics.

Afterward, Cici lay across his chest, still full of him, while their breathing slowed and they recovered. She didn’t move when he rearranged her skirts to cover her legs and bare backside.

“Wouldn’t want you to burn,”he explained.“I’m guessing that part of you has seen little daylight.”

She giggled. She couldn’t help it. He said the most outrageous things.

They lay together in the aftermath, content in one another’s company, until Andrew’s stomach growled.

“I should have brought along another picnic.”

Cici sat up and looked down at him.“I’m hungry too. But I hate to go back. We only have one day left.”

Andrew's hand curled behind her neck and brought her face close to his, lips near enough to kiss.“We’ll make a day of it. And perhaps revisit the bench. It has surpassed all others as my new favorite spot.”

His mouth claimed hers before she could utter a response, kissing her breathless.

When it was time to remount, Cici found it disconcerting to sit on a horse with one less layer of protection. She eyed the bulge in her husband’s coat pocket where he’d tucked the scraps of shredded drawers.

“You’re dreadfully hard on my underthings,” she said with mock exasperation. “A costly satin corset and a perfectly good pair of pantalettes ruined in a single week.”

“I’ll make it up to you,”he vowed, gazing up at her.

“You’ll replace them?”she asked in shock.

“The drawers, with certainty. The corset, because propriety demands it, but only for wear while in town.”

“I’m relieved about the drawers,”she said, squirming in the saddle.“Riding is most uncomfortable without them.”

“I can’t allow you to have abraded skin. Perhaps I should check before we head home.”

“What? No… Andrew!”Cici squealed as he lifted her from her horse, tumbled her into the thick, fragrant grass, and shoved her skirts to her waist once again.

The sun was past its zenith and dipping toward the western horizon before they remounted and started for home. They hadn’t gone far when two figures appeared on the path, approaching on foot.

Andrew turned calmly, all aristocratic composure, and offered a genial smile.“Reverend Hale, Mrs. Hale. How very good to see you.”

Cici nearly choked on her own tongue. Her cheeks flamed as she shot Andrew an accusing look.

If they had been ten minutes later—five, perhaps—they would have found the viscount and his new viscountess in a state of scandalous undress.

She could never have shown her face in the village, the parsonage, or at church!

As the Hales chatted verbosely, Cici sat her horse stiffly, acutely aware she was lacking undergarments.She answered politely but tried to keep the conversation brief. The couple seemed to sense her impatience and, in parting, invited them for tea someday soon.

Mrs. Hale turned and pointed out the vicarage.“You can see the rooftop through the trees.”

Cici searched until she spotted it across the water.“We saw a boat. Did you use it to cross?”

“No, my lady. There is a footbridge across a narrow inlet hidden by the trees. Folks from the village will often cross to the Arendale side for a morning or evening walk. There’s a bench farther up where you can watch the swans. We were headed that way. Did his lordship show it to you?”

“He did,”she said tersely,“but my lord failed to mention the bridge or that this was a popular walking path.”

Andrew shrugged and commented,“Funny. I’d completely forgotten the bridge was there.”

If the vicar and his wife stared curiously, it wasn’t because she shot her knave of a husband a scathing glare. It was because his lordship found it all vastly amusing and couldn’t contain his laughter.

“We were on our way home,”Andrew said when he contained himself.“We shall look forward to tea. I imagine my wife would love to become properly acquainted.”

“Certainly, my lord,”said Mrs. Hale, with a suspicious gleam in her eye.“Perhaps Tuesday?”

“That would be lovely,”Cici managed, voice pitched slightly too high.

They parted with pleasantries, but as soon as the couple was out of earshot, Cici let him have it.

“You rogue,”she hissed, swatting at his arm.“We were seconds away from being caught!”

He chuckled.“But we weren’t.”

“Only by thegrace of Godand the slowness of Mrs. Hale’s gait!”

He laughed harder at that, entirely unrepentant.“I’ll behave at tea, I promise. No indecent proposals in front of the vicar.”

She narrowed her eyes.“You’d better not.”

Even in her outrage, Andrew left her breathless—and alive. He made her feel unlike herself—beautiful, adventurous, and deeply, desperately in love. Yes. Within a matter of a few short days, unimaginably perfect days, she’d fallenhead over heelsfor her husband.

As they turned their horses toward home, she felt giddy and with something that had been absent since that awful night in the garden at the Easterly’s ball—hope for happiness in her future.