by Lily Holland
There is so much love and passion in this embrace, so much feelings I would never have believed possible to find in him, the Duke I have despised with all my heart.
When we pull back and catch our breath, Andrew brings his lips to my forehead for a gentle kiss and I melt in his arms. We head back to the party some minutes later, the amount of sensations our embraces are creating in our bodies too much for any of us to endure any longer.
◆◆◆
The following day, Andrew comes in the morning as he had promised me. He greets my mother before asking for a private meeting with my father and I know the day has come.
I wait by my father’s office door, pacing endlessly as I try to hear and recognize any word coming from the room but my thundering heart doesn’t allow me.
With short, suspicious gazes and a satisfied smile on her lips, my mother flits in the corridor, once pretending to go grab her needlework and then telling me she wanted to ‘take a few steps’. I only shake my head at her words, I am too focused on what might be being said behind this door.
What if my father refuses Andrew’s proposal? What if he isn’t satisfied with the Duke’s reasons to marry me? When he refused the mining deal and decided he didn’t want me to be his wife, my lovely fiancé gave back the upper hand to my father. Papa could decide I am worth more than a stubborn and snobbish Duke who was too contemptuous to see the wonderful bride I could be. What if I am not allowed to marry Andrew and my father lets his pride ruin my entire life and forfeit my happiness?
Thoughts swirl in my head and a flash of pain rushes through me. I might faint, if my father refuses for Andrew to marry me, we will have to elope, I don’t see what else could happen!
I wait and wait as I pace the room when, finally, the door opens on my fiancé.
“Come in Lucy.”
My father’s voice echoes behind him and he closes the door back behind me. I stare at both men in turn and my breath catches in my throat.
“The Duke has shared a fascinating version of your relationship, my dear,” he starts, the hint of mischief in his voice making me frown. “Would you care bringing some answers to some of my questions?”
I open my mouth to speak but his gaze keeps me silent. I nod and sit in front of him as he gestures for me to join him.
“He says the two of you are very much in love and he wishes to marry you without delay. I am not a fool, Lucy, even I have noticed the two of you have grown close recently but, I must ask.”
He straightens his back and looks me deep in the eye.
“Are you in love Lucy? Are you sure you want to put your happiness in the hands of this man? You will not get a second chance, this is a matter of grave importance.”
A grin finds its way to my lips as I nod gently.
“I am certain, papa.”
I look up to find Andrew’s caressing eyes on me and the hints of love I see in them is enough to give me all the courage I might need.
“I love him.”
My fiancé smiles and I grin back amorously as my father arches an eyebrow.
“But, Lucy, my dear, a few months ago the two of you couldn’t stand each other. I am very happy you talked your matters over and reached the status of friends, but I keep wondering…”
“Don’t worry, papa,” I say as I stand up and walk to take Andrew’s hand in mine. His blue eyes lock with mine and he squeezes my hand in tenderness. “I have been wrong about him for a long time but I am more than convinced that he will be the best guardian I could ever find to preserve my happiness.”
A sigh escaping my father’s lips brings me back to Earth and I turn to him.
“We will be happy together, papa, I know it.”
A smile stretches my father’s lips and he nods gravely before standing up and walking to us. Andrew’s entire body tenses beside me but, when my father offers him his hand to shake, his shoulders relax softly.
After another few minutes of greetings and congratulations my father feels obliged to offer, we head to the drawing room where my mother’s smile tells me she already knows about the news we are to announce.
“Engaged? How amazing Your Grace! And oh, Lucy darling, how happy I am for you! How proud! You are to be a married woman soon, I couldn’t be happier.”
We drink some tea to celebrate and my father soon stands.
“I hope you will forgive me,” he says hurriedly, “but I have a session to attend and I must go at once.”
He leaves as my mother stands up as well.
“Unfortunately,” she says, a sincere embarrassment making her skin paler than it actually is, “I have to go as well. Mrs Portman and I are to do a fitting for a ball gown at Mrs Latey’s shop. I dare hope you will not find it rude of us to desert you thus, Your Grace.”
“Not at all,” he says standing up to bow over my mother’s hand. “I shall go as well.”
“Oh Dear Lord, no! Stay awhile! Lucy has missed you dearly while you were away and I am sure you have a thousand words to exchange.”
She smiles kindly as she sets her eyes upon me.
“Don’t you agree, darling?”
I nod and thank her with an affectionate squeeze of her hand.
“Indeed mama, you know I have.”
She tilts her head in a nod of agreement and, as she lets go of my hand and exits the room, her voice echoes in the corridor in search of Mrs Portman.
◆◆◆
A few minutes later, the two women are gone and I am left alone with Andrew in the drawing room.
“It is quite uncommon,” I say as I sit back on the settee.
“What is?”
Andrew observes the scenery outside the window, his clasped hands behind his back conveying the haughty attitude I know is only a facade.
“That we might be allowed to be left alone that way, without a chaperone.”
He laughs as he turns and joins me.
“I believe it is the best way to live, is it not?”
I am about to answer when his lips close over mine and he ravishes me with a kiss. A slight moan makes its way up my throat as he pulls back and I detail his face.
“My mother is right, you know.”
His brows crease at once and he looks for an explanation in my eyes.
“About what, please?”
“When she says I have missed you,” I reply, caressing the soft fabric of his cravat tightly fastened around his neck in many elegant folds.
“Oh, is that so?”
He leans forward for his lips to hover just above mine and I nod with determination.
“Yes, my love. And I dare hope you missed me even a little bit.”
At this, he laughs and pulls back. My eyes go wide as he slides an arm around my waist and flushes my body all against his. He brings his mouth to mine in an eager kiss, his tongue finding mine roughly as his fingers on my skin firm intently.
“I have missed you so, my beautiful Lucy,” he argues pulling back and trailing his nose on my cheek. “I don’t want to ever be separated from you again.”
“Don’t worry,” I say in a low voice, “in a few weeks you will become the center of my world.”
A large smile appears on his face as his nose digs in my hair and my eyes close at the sensation. He inhales me and a wave of desire flushes through me.
“I like that,” he says, “but as far as I am concerned, you are the center of my world.”
I chuckle as a flow of happiness and joy runs over me.
“Then everything is perfect.”
He nods and holds me close as I lose myself against his chest. Holding me that way, there is nothing more innocent than this embrace and yet, were someone to see us, it would be deemed inappropriate.
I jerk back as a thought crosses my mind and he details me with surprise.
“Is something the matter, my love?”
I frown before standing and taking his hand.
“There is something I would like to show you.”
His brow creases i
n a thin line as he tries to get a meaning from my eyes. I tug on his hand and he follows me out of the room. When he understands I am leading him to my room, he flushes and holds me back in the corridor.
“Lucy what are you-”
“Please,” I demand softly, “it will not take long.”
He inhales a difficult breath as he tries to figure out my intentions but follows me to my room. When I close the door behind us, his discomfort is visible on his face.
“My love if anyone were to find me in you room, you-”
“Don’t worry,” I laugh softly, “no one is home and they won’t be for the rest of the day. Now come, this is what I wanted to show you.”
He squints his eyes as I point to a silver box on my dressing table and he follows me to it.
“Take it,” I say as I press the box in his hands. “It is my most precious belonging.”
His forehead remains creased until he opens the lid and peers inside.
“Those are… All the letters I have sent you?”
I nod.
“Yes. You see, when you are not with me, I spend my time reading them. Sometimes I like to imagine you reading them to me and I swear I can hear your voice in my mind just as if you were right beside me! There is something magical in the way you write, Andrew, something that keeps you near my heart even when you are far.”
As I gaze into his eyes, I notice he loses his smile and puts the box back on the dressing table. His face is so different from a second ago, so serious and almost cold.
“Did I say something I sh-”
He clasps his hand on my nape and captures my lips in a heated kiss. I moan in our joined mouths as his tongue meets mine and the fuel of passion runs through both of us.
When his lips get more demanding, I answer his call, my hands closing around his body to feel his strong frame all against me, his tall, chiseled figure making me feel close and oh so safe within the protective cage of his arms.
Our kiss turns into kisses and soon waves of heat warm my entire body as I shiver between his hands.
He pulls back, both his hands cupping my face as he keeps me close and he inhales a deep breath. I do my best to steady my heart and my fingers on his back dig at his jacket. His eyes open and he grins when our eyes meet. One of his fingers trails over my jaw and he caresses my lip and I cannot breathe anymore. There is so much passion in so small a gesture…
“I will cherish you forever, my love, do you understand? Always, from this moment forward, I promise you, Lucy.”
I inhale his scent as his hands on my face are making me lose my ground and I nod slowly.
“So will I, Andrew. I love you,” I add after a second. “With my all heart, my entire self.”
His fingers tense on my skin for a second as a shiver goes over him and he nods.
“And I love you too, my amazing love.”
“Promise me we will never let the past come in between us ever again,” I say my voice breaking as a remaining fear keeps on weighing over my heart when I allow myself to think about. “I feel terrible for having felt anything else but love for you before,” I confess.
He smiles and drops his hands to my waist, pulling me closer to his body, our chests pressing together in a delicious sensation that gets me wanting more.
“I promise. What we have felt before is in the past. Our past selves were mistaken but we know the truth now, we know our hearts and that, of everything, is what matters the most. I will always love you, Lucy. Nothing will ever drive us apart, I won’t let it happen again.”
His words break my last doubt and I close my eyes as I fuse my lips to his. He kisses me slowly for a time, but soon his desire takes the lead and our tongues meet in a delicious dance of fire. He devours my lips as I hold him close to me, my hands traveling to his hair and my fingers digging at the soft brown hair that smells like him.
When his lips fall to my neck and a whimper of delight escapes my lips, passion clenches my stomach and there is nothing else in the world but us, only the two of us kissing and sharing this instant of pure love. He kisses my skin, my neck, my collarbone, all down to my breasts and I fear my legs are going to abandon me. He is so gentle, so kind, the path of his lips is creating goosebumps all over my skin and I can only focus on him as his mouth makes me forget the rest of the world.
As the taste of my skin becomes too much for him, he pulls back hurriedly. His breath is short and ragged, his hands roaming my back as firm as I have ever felt them on my body, and, when he looks up at me and presses his forehead to mine, I notice his eyes are darkened by a deep passion he fears he might not be able to control.
“We should… We should stop. I have to go, Lucy. You are too tempting for me to resist.”
I blink at his words as I study his face and caress his cheek with the back of my hand.
“Why should you resist?” I say as a wave of timidity turns my cheeks red at my daring words. “We are all alone…”
He inhales a sharp breath as he pulls back and studies my face closely. He frowns, observes, searches for something he doesn’t seem to find and ends up sighing.
“You are perfect, my love,” he says as his arms desert my body and are replaced by cold, ambient air. “Unfortunately I cant-”
“Why not?” I interrupt him. “Do you not want me?”
“Want you?” he repeats, puzzled. “My God, Lucy, I want you more than I ever wanted anything in my life!”
I bat my eyelashes as I look away and his muscles under his jacket tense at once.
“I don’t want you to feel obliged.”
“Obliged?” I repeat, lost.
He bows his head.
“It is not something that can be undone, my love. I dream of nothing more than to make love to you but it would compromise you and-”
“But there is nothing to compromise!” I exclaim. I sigh as I glide my hands over his forearms until they press to his chest. “I want you Andrew, we are to be married in a few weeks. I trust you will not abandon me before joining me in front of the parson,” I say with a cocked eyebrow.
“Of course not! I dream only of you Lucy, how could I turn my back on you?”
“Then there is no reason to wait at all.”
He sighs before smiling kindly and pressing a soft kiss on my mouth.
“My love, you have to be sure. I love you but I would be willing to wait for our wedding night.”
As he speaks, he loses his nose in my hair and I am there again, perfectly protected between his arms as he closes them in my back and I press my hips closer to his.
“Lucy…”
He growls in warning and I close my mouth on his for a passionate kiss. He answers me after a second of surprise and his hands start roaming my back, gliding to my lower back and heading lower and lower…
“I don’t want to wait,” I say in a panted breath as I pull back and lock my eyes with his. “I want to belong to you, Andrew, only you from now on and forever.”
As my words reach his ears, a powerful shiver courses over his body and he slams his mouth on mine, my lips opening to his hot tongue and my fingers pulling at his clothes.
He leans back gently and his lips hover over mine for a couple of silent minutes. His stillness is driving me crazy as the tension and pressure building in my entire body is requesting for more of it, more of him.
His eyes flicker over me and he nods, the final sign of agreement I was desperately begging for. A sigh of relief passes my mouth and I lose my lips on his face, kissing his cheeks, his eyes, his mouth, his chin, all of his skin as long as it tastes of him and smells of his delicate perfume I love so much. He walks me to the bed softly, my busy mind already overwhelmed by his very presence to notice my calves hitting the mattress.
“My perfect bride,” he whispers and he trails a path from my neck to my breasts again, his hands pulling at the tight fabric of my dress with the hope of offering himself a better part of my skin for him to kiss.
His fiery mouth leaves hot tra
ces in his trail and I shiver between his expert hands as he unties the lace on my back. His fingers glide over the fabric and soon the dress pools at my feet. I have never been so exposed to a man’s eyes before but, strangely, I don’t fear his judgment of me. What I see in his gaze is leaving me no doubt on what his thoughts might be and they make me blush.
He holds me close to him as he starts working on my corset and he whispers in my ear.
“You are perfection, my Lucy. As beautiful as you are smart, there is no man on Earth as happy as I am today to be your future husband.”
Goosebumps cover my skin as his breath tickles my ear and I lose all the patience I have. I capture his mouth with mine and ravishes as strong a kiss as I can muster. My body close to his, he leaves me no doubt of his excitement. I gasp, his firm hands clasping under my bottom to lift me up and lying me down onto the bed softly. Every single one of his moves is kind, gentle, caring. How come I once hated this man with all my heart? As he kisses me so, I cannot remember clearly. I only know I was wrong and, thankfully, God and fate have brought us finally together.
I lay under him and Andrew examines my face for a few seconds, his hand tracing a path from my lips to the crease between my breasts.
His breath catches as he finishes unlacing my corset and he gets me out of it. At once, his hands find my skin and he kisses me again, my fingers tugging at his clothes. I start undressing him gently but I am losing patience and, as he feels my hands becoming restless, he takes off the rest of his clothes and they fall beside the bed where mine are already warming the ground.
When Andrew pulls me to his bare chest and keeps me there for a long minute, I know this isn’t a mistake. He is the love of my life, the only one I will ever love for the rest of my days. His entire body weighting over me, the pressure of his skin sends tingles throughout my body. My mouth finds his in a languorous kiss as my fingers in his hair pull at his brown locks.
Our tongues swirl in passion and he soon devours my neck and my skin as he so likes to do. I wince as his warm tongue travels to my breast and he tastes my skin without an ounce of hesitation. The sensation sends a surge of pleasure right through my core and I twist under him, his skilled hands fondling my body and making me even more receptive to his caresses.