Page 35 of Unforeseen Affairs (The Sedleys #6)

And then he left the rest to her, continuing to kiss her as she shimmied out of her drawers while he undid the fall of his own trousers.

Only then did he step back, needing two hands to work effectively at his own buttons.

Once that was done, he went to work at his shirt’s placket, staring at her with an intense and determined gaze all the while.

Charlotte stared back, nude from the waist down and with her chemise hanging completely open. He shucked his shirt off, and she felt a leap of excitement at the broad line of his shoulders. Her fingers itched to touch him, to dig into the hard, muscled flesh, but she waited.

It felt as if to speak now would break the spell and destroy everything they’d woven between themselves, beginning in the pre-dawn morning with minds sleepy and suggestible to the magic between lovers.

There was no doubt clouding her mind now; she was accustomed to plotting her courses and was certain this would not force her into the hated position of her mother, having to bear a child out of wedlock.

But something else nagged at her, something both heavy in its import but fascinating in its novelty: Had she shown her genuine affection for him, beyond just simple lust?

She could not say for sure.

And then he took the undervest off, revealing the planes of his chest and the light trail of red hair covering his flat stomach, all the way down to his undone trousers.

Now the aching between Charlotte’s legs was the only thing informing her judgment. And when he removed his final garment—his enticingly tight woolen underdrawers—and his manhood sprang forth, thick and upright, she found she did not care whether she felt something for him beyond physical lust.

He could have whatever romantic gestures he wanted from her—as long as he took her body with them.

Colin had thought he would certainly spill in his trousers; he’d nearly lost his head every time she’d ground into his cock with her tight little bottom, and especially when she’d cried out upon reaching her climax.

He’d managed to hold off, only just. But now, with Charlotte smiling one of her rare smiles at him, coy and sensual, he had to pause and gather himself.

For he did not wish to have to apologize to the proprietor for making a mess of the bedlinens.

He desperately wanted to thrust inside her, wanted to hear her breath hitch and feel her fingers claw into his shoulders as he came. But he couldn’t spill his seed within her. The risk they were taking was already far too high as it was.

She’d all but agreed to his unspoken question.

It wasn’t that simple, Colin knew—the moralizing voice in his head certainly kept reminding him of that—but it gave him hope.

That if he were to give in and take her as he meant to, and a child was born as a result, that she would accept him.

He’d fain begged her to give her agreement, which she had seemed to, though without waiting for him to finish his plea.

If need be, he would wed her, and save her reputation. Would she truly allow him to do the proper thing?

Crawling across the mattress, he covered Charlotte with his body. It was not the time for more questions, but his inner voice kept scolding him, unsatisfied with the answer it had been given. He had to be absolutely certain.

First he kissed her, slowly and passionately. Then he murmured against her lips, giving her his breath and his vow.

“You must know… you wouldn’t allow me to say, but if there is a child, or a scandal, I… would do everything to defend you. I will not abandon you. We could—”

She cut him off with a kiss of her own, hard and impatient. Her hands tightened upon his arms in what felt like an assent.

His body thrummed with heat and want, and he allowed her to take charge—having her fill of his lips, rubbing her soft breasts against his chest, wrapping her legs around his middle. His cock pressed against the curls between her legs.

Was he about to do this?

There’d been that officer’s widow, once.

She’d taken an interest in him—likely for no other reason than the sheer novelty of it—and Colin had been young and curious.

And although she’d expected nothing from him afterward, the experience had felt more like a warning than an enticement.

A warning to keep his head down and do his duty until he’d command of his own ship.

Only then would he return to England and wed Alice, as was the way these things were done.

Except circumstances had changed. He didn’t want Alice anymore. And she didn’t want him.

But Miss Sedley—Charlotte—did. At least right now, in this way, with her so deliciously slick with need. There was no mistaking that.

But Colin did not wish to behave like Beaky.

Her hand slid down his stomach, pausing to caress him in low circles. He groaned into her mouth.

Would she really marry him, if propriety demanded it? What did she even think of marriage? Had he ever thought to ask? Or had he only stared into her eyes—eyes that saw everything and gave away nothing—and imagined her lips upon his, her body underneath his?

Now here she was, begging for him to have his fill, unconcerned with the fact that only the proprietor of the inn believed them pledged to one another.

He pulled away, heart racing out of control. He had to try and ask her once more.

“Charlotte, please, you must understand, I—”

“Colin,” she sighed, kissing along his jawline, over his scratchy night whiskers. “Do not cry off with some noble intent,” she cooed as she licked his ear. “Please do not reject me.”

“Reject you?” he breathed, clutching her closer. Colin could not fathom a future containing that regret.

Her cunt was slick against his throbbing prick now. She moaned, long and luscious, as she slid herself along his length.

“Never,” he gasped, the single word sounding ragged and harsh even as it conveyed all he felt for her, all he wanted to give to her. “I’m only trying… I only wish to…”

She reached down and placed him against her entrance. With a shuddering sigh, he closed his eyes and laid his forehead against hers. It felt cool.

“Colin,” she murmured.

“I—”

She bucked her hips, taking him.

It was even more exquisite than he’d recalled. Tight, silky-wet and warm, and the safety, the rightness of it. The sound of her gasping breath, the loosening of her fingers upon his arms as her muscles relaxed with her growing pleasure.

The reserved and controlled Sir Colin Gearing suddenly fell away, leaving only Colin, the strong and decisive young man, one unafraid of a wobbly railcar or of embarking on an adventure with a beautiful young woman.

Colin, a man who admired Charlotte’s quiet musings and sharp observations, her dry wit and admirable restraint, her resolve.

He, Colin, was a man determined to see the world and enjoy its myriad pleasures.

Like this, the pleasure of having a woman he’d thought forever off-limits to him—she so remote and strange, he so wrecked and ruined and whose honor was his only refuge.

He pulled back, gentle and slow, then thrust into her with more force. He braced himself against the shock of pleasure that raced through him, and he knew he would not last long.

She wrapped her legs around his middle once more, pulling him closer.

To see what it felt like.

It felt like nothing else. Like standing atop towering white cliffs, the wind blowing hard against him, the waves crashing down below with immense force… and then jumping off, trusting the air currents to carry him on. It had not been like this before, with the widow who’d once pursued him.

Seemingly sensing that he was approaching his own pleasure, Charlotte lifted her hand to his cheek. She stroked it as she tenderly brought him back to her lips and patiently accepted his kiss, soft and delicate this time.

“Charlotte, I—”

She pressed another kiss upon him.

“I would do anything for you,” he panted, his voice rising as the massive knot of anticipation unfurled low in his middle.

“Anything,” he repeated, not knowing why he said such a thing in that moment, breathless as his release exploded across his body and through his limbs.

Pinpoints of light sparked at the corners of his vision.

She buried her face against his neck, pulling him deeper within her as he rode out his climax, accepting everything he gave her.

“Colin,” she gasped, barely audible.

Colin felt himself melt into a pool of pure pleasure. His head felt light, but in a pleasant way. Not ominous this time.

Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Charlotte and held her tight against him.

It ought to always be like this . The thought came out of nowhere, but he sat with it, allowing it to diffuse into a happy daydream of what life could be like, if she could somehow forever be his.

How long they remained like that he could not say. Eventually they fell back to the bed, still joined, still embracing. He placed a kiss atop her gorgeous black hair before smoothing it down.

Then he silently prayed that he’d not just destroyed everything good that had begun between them.