by Meara Platt
Diana slowly rose from her chair. “It’s impressive that you were able to gain an offer in a single day. Not that I didn’t have faith in you. But still.”
She swallowed. Did she admit he hadn’t asked her? “He was already looking for a wife.”
Cordelia pushed up her glasses. “I find that concerning. Mary deserves more than to be a bride of convenience.”
Mary gripped her skirts. “You’re wrong. I am lucky to have this chance at all.”
Grace brushed an invisible strand of blonde hair back from her lovely face. “What are you talking about? You’re beautiful, kind, and strong. You deserve the very best.”
Mary shook her head. They didn’t understand. “My chance at love died five years ago. I wasted it away…”
“What does that mean?” Minnie asked.
Mary sat in the chair behind her. “I was so angry that Harold wished to go on another military tour. Instead of asking him kindly or with love, I railed at him in anger. I practically pushed him out the door. He died a month later. My Chase temper, it—”
“You don’t really believe that?” Diana pushed out of her chair and crossed the room, crouching before Mary. “If he’d had a choice, he would have returned for you. You can’t blame yourself.”
Mary shook her head. “I must be to blame. My father, mother, brother, and fiancé are all gone. I try to do good in this world, but I must have done something terribly wrong to—” She couldn’t finish, a sob breaking free from her chest.
Diana wrapped her in a hug, Minnie joining until Cordelia and Grace had wrapped her up too. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Cordelia said, squeezing the whole group. “Life has been cruel to you. You, however, have done an admirable job of rising above that. And it’s your turn for happiness. Don’t forget that.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. How did she explain that Sin made her happy? Perhaps it wasn’t what they had. She’d just met him, but the idea of what they could build together filled her with joy. Though in her heart of hearts she wished for love, she was content to be a wife and a mother, and she’d make the most of this situation. “Thank you for saying that. I suppose it’s time that I confess to you he didn’t ask me to marry him.”
The hug loosened as her cousins stepped back forming a ring about her chair. “What does that mean?” Minnie asked.
But Diana let out a peal of laughter. “You asked him.”
Mary nodded. “My Chase sensibilities took over.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “I find him to be…”
“Gorgeous,” Grace suggested.
“Stunning,” Diana corrected.
Minnie tapped her chin. “Handsome as Sin.”
They all laughed. “And he hurts too. He needs someone to—”
“Oh dear lord,” Cordelia gasped. “Not only are you trying to save Anne but you’re going to help him recover from his grief.” She reached for Mary’s hand. “How can you not see how good you are?”
Diana pressed a hand to her shoulder. “And be careful. A man like that… It would be so easy for you to end up hurt.”
Mary winced, her mouth twisting into a frown. Diana was right. Her feelings were already involved. “He is attracted to me, I know that.”
Grace nodded. “That attraction could turn to love.”
No one spoke for a moment. “How though?” Diana asked the room in general. “What forces a man to develop such feelings.”
Cordelia tapped her chin. “Well, for us, there was an element of danger involved. They were saving us. Mary doesn’t have the threat of real violence hanging over her head but…”
Grace spread her hands in front of her. “What if we fabricated it?”
“What?” Mary asked, her stomach twisting. She didn’t like where this was going. “I don’t think…”
“She could fall into the Thames,” Grace raised a finger. “Or be in danger of a runaway carriage.”
Diana gasped and Mary was certain her cousin would put a stop to this madness. “Or we could have one of our husbands attempt to kidnap her so Sin would have to save her.”
“You’ve lost your senses,” she said. “We’re not tricking him in any way. It’s a terrible idea. After what he’s been through—”
“I think it has merit,” Diana sniffed, her dark hair glinting in the sun.
“That’s enough,” Minnie said from just behind Mary. “We’ll trust Mary to find her own way.” She leaned down and kissed Mary’s cheek. “But ask us for help, would you? You’ve done so much for us, don’t be afraid to ask us to return the favor.”
Mary nibbled her lip. In this, there wasn’t much they could do to help. Mary had gone and fallen in love with a man who didn’t love her back. Was there anything she could do for herself?
Sin sat at his desk watching the sun sink below the buildings in the distance. He’d spent the afternoon mired in reports from his land and the business, which had been a welcome distraction from his thoughts of the blonde-haired beauty flitting about his home.
He’d caught scraps of sound from Anne and Mary as they moved about the house. A laugh here, a crash there. Each one pulled at his legs, making his feet itch to find the two most important women in his life. He loved Anne with all his heart but he was beginning to think that Mary might claim it as well.
Which stole his breath. He pushed back from the desk, banging the chair into the wall behind. What was happening to him?
“Sin?” a feminine voice called from the other side of the door.
Mary. He skirted around the desk, crossing the room in a couple large strides. He yanked open the door to find her standing on the other side with her fist raised to knock.
He reached for her hand and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind her. After the path his thoughts had travelled, somehow holding her in his arms seemed the perfect solution to his fear over his feelings. “Don’t call me that.” And then he gathered her into his arms crushing her against his chest.
“What should I call you then?” She placed her hands on his shoulders.
He raised a brow as her body fit against his. He drew in a deep breath, breathing in her scent. She smelled of vanilla and wildflowers. Without thinking, he dropped his nose into her neck, surrounding himself with her. “Call me Cole,” he said. “It seems far more fitting for my wife than Sin.”
Her lips grazed his shoulder, soft and tender. “Cole,” she repeated. Then again. “Cole.” The second one came out as almost a sigh.
He loved the sound more than he could express with words. It shivered down his spine, settling in his groin and tightening both his chest and his cock. “The way you say my name. It makes me want you so much. I—”
Her lips travelled to his neck. “Cole,” she murmured against his skin, so the vibration of her voice echoed down into his soul.
Pulling back, he turned his head to capture those lips with his own. It was a simple kiss, the joining of two pairs of lips, but somehow, it was so much more. The touch spoke of feelings no words could. His passion for her, his growing conviction that he loved her, but also, under that, his fear. What if something happened to her? “Mary. We’re not married yet. I…” He didn’t know how to say that since Clara’s death, he hadn’t been with another woman. The intimacy had been more than he could bear.
She skimmed her hands across his shoulders in a light touch. “I’ve never been with a man.” She kissed him then. “We don’t have to do any of that today.”
He straightened, looking down into the exquisite palette of her face, the ache inside him intensifying. Inwardly, however, he berated himself. She’d loved and lost too, and she needed something from him now. The way she touched him, the way she’d sighed out his name. This wasn’t just about him. “What is it you would like to do?”
Her lip trembled as it parted. “I just came to check on you. I know my family can be rough. And then…” She drew in a breath searching his eyes.
“Then?” he asked.
She gripped his shoulder
s tighter. “I’ve never experienced any passion at all really. I just…”
Sin understood. And he knew just what to do.
Chapter Eleven
Mary thought she might be going to hell for her wanton behavior. Never mind her thoughts. Those were naughty.
But Cole had tucked her against him, the hard feel of his body making her insides turn to jelly. Even more exciting was the stiff man parts pressing into her much softer belly. She ached with desire to know more, to experience the passion he effortlessly brought out in her.
He brushed his thumb across her lips and then he dropped his mouth to hers again. This kiss ignited the fire inside her as he slanted her lips open and brushed his tongue against hers. She held tight to his shoulders, her knees threatening to buckle.
But, apparently, he wasn’t done with her. A thick carpet lay under their feet. With his hands tight about her waist, he guided her back until they were both on the floor, her on the carpet and him perched above her, his mouth still locked with hers.
Then his hands began skimming down her body. He cupped her breasts, tweaking her nipples before he moved lower across the flat of her stomach, around her hip and down her leg. She wore a light muslin gown, with the weather so warm, and very little underneath so that when his fingers grasped her hem, he was able to easily lift her skirts. Her pantaloons were rather sheer and his fingers skimming along the fabric were almost like he was touching her skin and goosebumps broke out all along her flesh.
He slid his lips across her jaw and down her chin. “I can’t wait to see you in my bed,” he whispered close to her ear. “I’m going to strip off every stitch of clothing and kiss every inch of your skin.”
Heat, warmth, and wetness was flooding between her thighs and, as if he sensed that, his hand sought out the area. Finding the slit in her pantaloons, he trailed his fingers through her curls and then gently along the slit of her womanhood, causing her to let out a gasping moan. He smiled against her neck. “Do you like that?”
“Yes,” she didn’t hesitate in her answer. “Oh yes.” She still gripped his shoulders and she started kneading the skin in her restless want of more.
He brushed the flesh again and again, her head beginning to toss from side to side until he finally parted her soft folds and slid his middle finger through them again. Her hips bucked and she said his name again. “Cole.” It was a plea, a cry for more, the neediness coming through in the high pitch of her voice.
“Yes?” he chuckled, caressing his hand up and down again until he found her opening and suddenly, slid a finger inside her channel.
She gasped in a breath, feeling both needier and more complete all in the same breath. As the heel of his hand pressed against her sensitive nub, she rocked against him. “Oh,” she moaned. “Cole.”
“Say my name again,” he spoke against her neck. “Say it over and over and I’ll give you everything you want.”
She blinked her eyes open. “Everything?” Hope filled her chest, making her lighter. Would he give her his heart?
“Everything, love,” he answered, pulling out and pushing back into her.
She closed her eyes again. In this moment, she would pretend. Pretend that it meant something he’d used the word love. Make believe that he’d meant his heart as well as physical pleasure. “Yes,” she hissed. “I want everything.”
Her words nearly undid his last shred of control. He wanted everything too. He wanted to bury his cock deep inside her. He wanted to hear her moan his name in pleasure when he did. But mostly, he wanted to tuck her against him and keep her there, warm and safe forever. And that was the problem.
No matter what he did, there were no guarantees in life. She could be gone in an instant…ripped from his arms.
That thought was the only one that kept him sane. Insured that he didn’t undo the stays of his breeches and take her right here in the office.
Instead, he pushed his finger in deeper, taking pleasure from her reactions, her moans and cries of pleasure as he watched those lovely lips part. Her eyes dilated, her cheeks flushed, and her body writhed in tandem with his strokes inside her.
And when she came undone, she cried his name again, her neck arching. He kissed the slender column, his own body begging for more. Instead, he gently pulled his finger from inside her, closing her pantaloons, and pulling down her skirt. “How was that for your first experience?”
Her eyes, which had drifted closed, fluttered open and a sassy little smile played upon her lips. “What I am wondering is if that’s as good as it gets or if it gets better?”
He nearly spilled his seed in his pants. “Mary,” he pushed out between gritted teeth. “Do you want to make it to our wedding a virgin?”
Her eyes closed again. “Not particularly.” Then she skimmed her hand down his back until it reached his ass. She gave his cheek a light squeeze. “Do you want me to?”
He throbbed. “No and yes.”
She stiffened underneath him. Stiffened away. “What does that mean?”
Did he tell her that he was afraid to be with a woman again? That such intimacy frightened him after his loss? “I did promise your family there was nothing untoward happening.”
She relaxed again. “And there wasn’t. Now we’re engaged.”
She did have a point. And the part that wanted to be inside her was slowly but surely overruling his worries. “What if you get pregnant before the wedding?” Or at all.
She sighed again and he realized that he loved her little sounds. “We’ll have a baby that much sooner.”
He pulled back. “Is that a good thing?” He knew they’d discussed an heir but the more he considered the idea, the riskier it seemed.
She cupped his cheeks with her hands. “Does it make you feel better to know that the women in my family have very few problems with birthing?”
That did actually. A lot. Air rushed from his chest. “Even the small ones?”
She gave him a grin. “Even the small ones. We’re a tenacious bunch.”
He lifted her skirt again. This was less of the seductive caress and more of a needy yank. “And you’re sure you don’t want to wait until our wedding?” His grip on control was slipping away.
“I’m sure,” she said quietly next to his ear. “I’ve been waiting since forever.”
He fumbled with the fall of his breeches even as he peppered her neck with kisses. “Mary. It’s been so long I…” Did he want to tell her he couldn’t control himself? He took several deep breaths as he parted her pantaloons again, the silky fabric brushing against his thighs.
She slid her fingers into his hair, pulling him tighter to his chest. “I’m ready for you.”
His entire body responding to those words, hardening, lengthening. As beautiful as he found her, her voice might be the most erotic feature of them all and it undid his control as he pressed the head of his cock against her soft folds. She was so wet and ready that he slid inside her without much resistance, her tight channel wrapping him in warmth. A low groan slid from his throat, as he stopped, not wanting to hurt her. But her arms tightened, encouraging him to keep going so he tilted his hips closer to hers, pushing further inside.
She made a small whimper but he froze nonetheless, lifting his head to look into her face. “Mary.”
A thin smiled graced her lips. “I’m all right. I knew it would hurt the first time. Keep going.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, searching her face.
Her smile grew. “The benefit of age. A little pain never hurt anyone.” Then she leaned up and kissed him. “I want to be yours, Cole. All yours.”
Her lips, her voice uttering those words, unseated the last of his reserve. He thrust fully inside her, her maidenhead giving way. “It’s done,” he gritted out, even as she locked her arms about his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
She let out a little gasping breath that sounded half like a laugh. “I never thought this day would come.” Then she gave his back a little tap with her
hand. “Keep going. What’s next?”
He shook his head but slowly moved out and then back inside her. Starting a rhythm, she relaxed underneath him. A minute or two passed and his own control grew thin. “I’m not sure I can last much, it’s been so long.”
“Don’t last then.” She kissed the lobe of his ear. “Cole.”
Her whispering his name was his final undoing. In a roar, he finished, his seed spilling inside her. But something else, deep in his chest, came undone as well. A flood of feelings he’d been holding back for ages poured out from inside. There was love. He was falling in love with this woman, he couldn’t deny it any longer. There was hope too.
But there was also grief and fear. Sharp, it bit behind his eyes making them sting with unshed tears. He was opening himself up again and that was bloody frightening.
Chapter Twelve
Mary gave Cole another squeeze about his shoulders. She wasn’t certain if he was awake or asleep but his weight had collapsed on top of hers. She liked it, immensely, but it was getting difficult to breathe. “Cole,” she placed a kiss where his shoulder met his neck.
“Mmmh,” he answered, not really moving.
“Are you awake?” she asked stroking his back.
“Mmmh.”
She moved under him wondering if she could wriggle to the side to get more air. She didn’t want to disrupt the moment, it was one of the best in her life, she just didn’t want to faint during it either.
“Mary,” he said, lifting his head. “If you keep moving like that, we’re going to have to do it again and I don’t think your body’s ready for more.”
She tried to giggle but it came out as a gasping breath. “It’s just that you’re squishing me,” she finally admitted. “You’re quite a bit larger than I am.”
His face shuddered and he immediately rolled to the side. “I shouldn’t have done that.”