by Gill, Tamara
She bestowed the loveliest smile, and it was equal to a fist to the stomach. He ought to tell the truth. Tell her that his courting of her had been born out of greed. The need to have his ancestral home back and nothing else.
But how could he tell her such a thing? She would never marry him then, and that goal had now changed. Morphed into something new and real, something true that made his heart full.
"You said you would marry me," he continued. "I have a reverend waiting for us. Married acquaintances of mine who live on an estate just outside of Dalmahoy will meet us at the church and be witnesses to our vows."
"However did you organize all this so soon?" she asked him, her eyes bright with wonder and excitement.
"You are over one and twenty, so we do not need your family's approval. I paid a hefty fee today to secure a special license. Not easily found here in Edinburgh. Our union will be legal, then nothing can come between us."
The carriage lurched to a stop, and Sebastian turned to her, taking her hand. "We're here. Are you ready, Lady Elizabeth to become Countess Hastings?"
She squeezed his hand in return, nodding once. "I am ready."
And so was he.
Chapter 13
Elizabeth walked up the aisle alone, wishing her family could be here with her, and yet, overjoyed at the idea that she was about to marry a man she adored. Seeing Sebastian waiting for her before a stone altar, the reverend smiling as he stood with his bible in hand, made butterflies take flight in her stomach. Soon she would be his, and she could be with him always. A small part of her had to admit she was marrying him for more than the mere reason she enjoyed his company and found him amusing, not to mention, devastatingly alluring.
Her heart had been speared by love's arrow, and for several days now, she had come to realize she did not merely like Sebastian, but loved him. Loved his humor, his conversation, and kisses. His hot, commanding gaze that even from across a room made her skin singe.
After all the legalities were dealt with, the thought that she would be alone with him, and as his wife, set her senses rioting.
Absently she heard the reverend declare them husband and wife, and before she had a chance to thank the father, she was caught up in Sebastian's arms, his mouth taking hers in a searing kiss.
Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back. The day was simply perfect, and when she returned home to Moy, she would celebrate with her family and friends, but tonight, right now, was her time. A time to savor with her new husband.
He set her back down on her silk slippers before turning to his friends and the reverend. "Thank you for tonight. I shall not forget your kindness for our sake."
"You are most welcome, Hastings," Lord Pitt said, smiling at them both and holding his wife's hand atop his arm. "I took the liberty of preparing a room at our estate if you wish to rest."
"That is most kind, Pitt. I do not know how to thank you," Sebastian said, smiling down at Elizabeth a moment.
"Ah, it is no trouble at all," his lordship said, waving Sebastian's concerns aside. "There are plenty of rooms at the big house, no need for thanks."
They quickly signed the register, making their union legal, before Sebastian paid the reverend handsomely and they were on their way. Soon they arrived at the dark-gray stone home of Lord and Lady Pitt, where they would spend their wedding night.
During the short journey neither of them spoke, but Sebastian held her close, his arm about her shoulder, his thumb idly sliding against the skin on her arm and sending her wits to spiral.
She could not wait for them to be alone.
They made their way upstairs. The mansion with its dark, rich woods and heavy window coverings was too sullen for Elizabeth's taste, but it was still opulent and comfortable. Lady Pitt pointed out several rooms, the servant's stairs, the upstairs parlor if they cared to use it. Finally, they came to their room, and she gestured them inside, looking about and checking everything was in order.
"If you need anything, ring for a servant, the bellpull is beside the mantel, and they will assist you." Lady Pitt wished them good night and closed the door softly behind her.
Elizabeth walked about the room, taking in the furnishings of rich, mahogany wood and deep-green velvet coverings both on the bed and the chairs that sat before the fire. Animal skins covered the wooden floors and the curtains had been pulled closed to keep out the night’s chill.
She went and stood before the fire, turning to face Sebastian, who leaned against the door, slowly untying his cravat, his wicked, heated gaze focused solely on her.
Heat pooled at her core, and she could hardly wait for him to touch her. To be with him as a wife should be with a husband.
"When you stand before a fire, I can almost see through your gown. Did you know that?"
She flushed but did not move. Instead, she reached up, pulling out the pins in her hair and letting her long, red locks fall about her shoulders. "No, I did not know, but I thank ye for letting me be aware of the fact. I'll be sure not to stand before any fires when I'm next in a ballroom."
"You have lovely legs, wife," he said, stepping closer still, his jacket and waistcoat thrown onto a nearby chair without care. His hands reached down, pulling his shirt out of his buckskin breeches. He reached behind his head, slipping it off.
Elizabeth swallowed, having never seen him naked before. A delicious part of her reveled in the knowledge he was hers to admire, to have. That no one else would ever see him thus again. Not unless that person was her. She met him halfway across the room, not willing to sit idly by, wait for him to take her in his arms.
He pulled her close and shuffled her toward the four-poster bed, making quick work of the hooks at the back of her ballgown. Before she had a chance to be shy, he'd stripped her of her gown and shift, turning her quickly to unlace her corset.
Sebastian stood back and took her in, his eyes running over her body like a physical caress. Elizabeth took a calming breath, unsure of what was going to happen, what was expected of her. If he liked what he saw.
"Dear God, you're stunning." He scooped her into his arms and deposited her in the middle of the bed, following and pinning her beneath him.
She slid her foot along his calf, the feel of his hairy legs tickling the base of her feet. He still wore his breeches, a fact that now with her beneath him, she wanted to amend. "Undress, Sebastian. I want to feel you."
He kissed her quickly before kneeling on the bed. Like his other clothes, he made short work of his breeches, throwing them somewhere on the floor at the base of the bed. Her mouth dried, her eyes fixed on his manhood. She swallowed, nerves pooling in her stomach and something else, a warmth, a need, at the sight of him.
Would they even fit together?
As if reading her thoughts, he chuckled. "We'll fit, my darling." He joined her, kissing her deep and eliminating all the fear that had spiked through her at the sight of his sex.
Their tongues tangled, and heat pooled at her core. She undulated against him, her body afire, and seeking something she did not know but was certain she would soon understand.
He surged against where she burned, and pleasure spiked through her blood. She gasped, clutching at his back as they kissed deep and long, as he prepared to make her his.
It was too much. She needed him now. Enough with the teasing. They had played that game. Now it was time for her to have him fully. To claim him for herself.
"From the moment I saw you, I wanted you," he admitted, a truth that had nothing to do with why he'd married Elizabeth, but certainly why he pursued her without caution. She was a beautiful woman, but what made her especially different from all the rest in his vicinity was her intellect, her kindness. A woman like her should have been scooped up and married years ago. She should have a hoard of children already.
The thought that tonight he could get her with a child, that she could grow round with his children, fortified his growing feelings for her. Emotions he could no longer deny. He had l
ong ended merely liking her. He now realized, with trepidation, he was falling in love with her.
"Did ye really?" she gasped, arching her back and giving him the ability to kiss her neck, the tops of her breasts. Her skin was flushed, her hair long strands of red hair curled about the pillows. His heart stuttered.
She was so beautiful it hurt.
"What did you think of me?" he questioned her, kneading one breast, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss and tease.
She moaned, trembling beneath him. "I thought you extremely handsome, but English," she teased, watching him as he licked her nipple. Their eyes met, and he teasingly bit her flesh. Elizabeth pouted but purred, spiking her fingers in his hair to hold him against her.
He wasn't going anywhere. Tonight was just for them, and he would savor every minute he had her in his arms. A gentleman partook in one first night with his wife, and Sebastian wanted to make the most of it with Elizabeth.
Her skin smelled of jasmine, and he kissed his way down her stomach. Her breathing was ragged, and he intended to make it a lot more so before their night was over.
He pushed her legs apart, sliding his hand on the inside of her thigh, running his finger across her mons. She moaned his name, clutching him.
"Do you trust me?" he asked her, settling between her legs.
She nodded, watching him with wide, clear eyes. He kissed between her legs, smiling that it was the same shade as her head before kissing her fully. She gasped, tried to twist out of his hold, but he held her still, suckled on her sensitive nubbin. Within a moment, she stopped, waited to see what he did next. He teased her flesh, kissed and licked his way along her slit, loving her with his tongue.
He slid one finger into her hot core. So damn tight. The thought of her wrapping around him made him almost spend. The fear that he would hurt her spiked fear in his soul and he worked her into a fervor, needing her to be ready, to be wet, out of her mind with need before he claimed her virtue.
It did not take her long to relax, to lift her taut ass off the bed, and undulate against his mouth. He held her there, bringing her closer and closer to release, but never quite giving her what she wanted.
"Sebastian, please," she moaned when he flicked her nubbin with his tongue before giving her one last kiss. He came back over her, settled between her legs, and thrust into her core, taking her virginity.
She stilled beneath him, and he stopped moving, giving her time to adjust. He swallowed hard. The urge to take, to satisfy himself, bore down on him. "I'm sorry, my darling. It'll only hurt for a moment or two. I promise."
With the slightest nod, he felt her relax with each breath, and with the slowest, most excruciating thrusts he'd ever known, he started to make love to her while she adjusted to his size.
It didn't take long before she had grown used to him, was moving with her own rhythm. She lifted her legs, clamping them about his hips, and pleasure licked up his spine, hot and demanding.
"Harder, Sebastian," she gasped, her hands clutching his shoulders. He kissed her neck, pumped into her, taking her as she wanted. It was all the approval he needed to increase his pace, give them both what they craved.
He claimed her with abandon, reached down, lifted her bottom. She moaned, and he could feel her tighten about his cock. So good. So damn tight that he was sure he would see stars. Her core pulled at him, and then she broke.
"Sebastian," she cried, clutching at him as he continued to give her what she wanted. What they both needed. Her climax brought on his own, and he came, deep and long. Allowed himself his release to spill into the first woman ever in his life.
He cried out her name, kissing her as his orgasm licked up his spine and didn't seem to abate.
Sebastian breathed deep, trying to calm his racing heart. Damn, he'd never come so hard, gained such pleasure before in the bed of a woman. But this was not any woman. This was his wife.
He lay beside her, pulling her into the crook of his arm before kissing her fiery-red hair. "Are you well? I hope I did not hurt you too much."
She rolled against him, running her hand idly over his chest. "No, ye dinna hurt me at all." She met his gaze, touching her palm to his cheek. "I cannot believe we're married in the truest sense now." She kissed his chest, her lips skimming his flesh and tickling him somewhat.
"You do not regret your choice?" he asked her, needing to reassure himself he was who she wanted. An absurd reaction considering what they had just done, but he could not help himself. Their union had been so fast, not that he regretted a second of it, but he hoped that she would not. Not ever, if he could help it.
"No, of course not," she replied. "I couldn't be happier to be your wife."
"I am glad," he replied, leaning down to kiss her sweet lips that he doubted he would ever tire of. "Because I'm so happy that I'm your husband." The words truer than he ever thought possible, especially since he'd courted her for one reason and one reason only; what she brought to the marriage.
Not anymore. His ancestral childhood home he cared little for, he realized. So long as the woman in his arms was his, he was home wherever she was, and if that so happened to be at Halligale, then all the better.
Chapter 14
Three days later, after telling her friends in Edinburgh her great news, they were on their way south and toward Moy Castle, her childhood home. Julia and Georgina were beyond thrilled by her marriage, if not somewhat put out about her eloping. But once Elizabeth had promised them both she would renew her vows after the Season, they were both willing to let the slight go.
They had several hours to go, and having just broken their fast at an inn several miles back, the carriage ride ahead did not seem as long and arduous as it normally would. Not with the handsome gentleman sitting across from her in the vehicle. She watched him read the newspaper, a small frown between his brow, and couldn't quite believe she was married. That this year it had been her turn to find a husband.
As if he sensed her regard, his eyes flicked over the top of the paper and met hers. The heat banked in his deep-blue orbs made her stomach clench in desire. They had barely left each other's sides these past days, and the bedroom even less.
At the time, Elizabeth had thought there may be something wrong with her that she wanted him as much as she did. That every time he threw her a lazy smile, or knowing look, a wink or grin, she was powerless to deny his pull.
They had made love in numerous places in Georgina's home while she was packing her things to leave, some of them long, delectable hours of lovemaking, while others were quick, sinful tidbits that sated her until they came together at night. Some of the things Sebastian had done to her made her wiggle on her chair. She had been so green, so unaware of what could be between a man and a woman.
She was no longer so innocent.
He set his paper down, a lazy smile across his mouth. A mouth that was as wicked as his tongue. "What are you thinking, my Lizzie?"
He had started to call her that. My Lizzie. Every time she heard the name, it made her heart flutter and gave her hope that someday there would be an unbreakable love between them. It had not escaped her notice that neither of them spoke of the emotion or the lack of such a declaration. Elizabeth knew in her heart she was well on the way to loving the rogue sitting across from her and giving her one of his wicked come-hither looks that she could never ignore.
But did he love her? She knew he enjoyed her company, had chased her down over the past weeks until she was his wife, so he must like her very much, but was he falling in love with her? That she could not say, but she hoped and dreamed he would and declare his heart soon. She did not want to be the only one in the marriage, falling in love.
"Nothing of importance, merely admiring my handsome husband."
He chuckled a deep, husky sound that promised all sorts of delicious pleasures. He leaned back in his seat, studying her in turn. "The green velvet you have on today makes your eyes look fiercely bright and absolutely stunning."
Warm appreciat
ion thrummed through her at his words. How had she come to be so lucky to have secured his hand? She glanced down at her gown, running her hand along the gold thread at her bodice. "I had it made especially for the Season this year. I'm glad you like it."
"Come here," he said, his eyes darkening with hunger.
Elizabeth moved to sit beside him. The carriage lurched, and she glanced out the window, noting there was still some time to go. Nothing but fields and forest darkened the view.
A light kiss on her neck startled her a moment before she tipped her head to the side and allowed him to continue his seduction.
"Hell, you smell sweet." He reached for her, tilting her to face him. Their gazes collided, and she knew he wanted her. His eyes burned with need and determination.
Heat pooled at her core, and she went to him, kissing him with all the passion she felt. His hands wrenched her onto his lap, jerking her dress to pool at her waist. Cool air kissed her stockinged legs as her body craved his touch.
He wasn't gentle. He ripped open the front falls off his breeches, his hard manhood spilling against her mons. Elizabeth pressed against him, trying to sate the need that coursed through her body. She wanted him, had watched him for hours, and hoped they may come together in the carriage before they reached her childhood home.
It was naughty, wicked fun to be with Sebastian in such a way. They were husband and wife. There was no real harm in them behaving so, even if it was utterly roguish.
He kissed her hard and long, his tongue tangling with hers. He clasped her hips, his fingers biting into the velvet and her skin beneath. Elizabeth wrapped her arms about his neck, using her knees to place him at her core, before lowering onto his erection.
They both moaned as he settled inside her, fulfilling her every need. Their lovemaking was frantic and fast, both of them needing to sate themselves of the other. He helped her take her pleasure, rocking onto him, pushing her closer to release. He whispered delicious, naughty things in her ear, his whispered breath sending a shiver of desire down her spine.