“Have dull friends, do you, sir?” She challenged him. Had to.
“Too many.”
“What of the lady you met in the small salon at Lady Wimple’s?” She had to know from his lips if he was engaged in a new affair with anyone. She wouldn’t stand for him having mistresses. She couldn’t bear the competition. She was no Diamond, no Incomparable. But she had her assets. Good hair. A straight nose. Abundant breasts. So she’d brook no competition. Never. If he wished to marry her, he had to be hers, all hers…or not at all.
“Esme, listen to me.” In that crowded drawing room with dozens of the ton chatting on and noting every eye that drifted to every heaving bosom, he put a hand to hers and held it tightly. “That was no lady.”
Oh, how she wished to believe him.
“May I call?” he asked once more, his face full of earnest hope.
“Yes.” She wanted him, as she’d wanted no other. “Tomorrow.”
And so he had.
For three days in succession.
By the fourth day, her Mama (reading the air, Esme supposed) left them alone on some flimsy excuse.
He moved to Esme’s side on the settee and took her hands. Into both palms, he’d placed hot little kisses. Her nipples had beaded. Her belly had swelled. And her head had swum as he threaded his fingers into her coiffure and placed his firm lips on her own. And oh, he felt like heaven.
“Darling, I want to marry you,” he whispered. His mouth traveled her cheek and he bit her earlobe.
She sank her fingers into his thick soft curls and kissed him back with an ardor that (afterward) frankly shocked her.
“That’s yes,” he stated with finality. “I know it is.” He stood up so fast she thought he’d been shot. He left her there, aching to have his hands on her everywhere. But to his credit, he went in search of a footman and asked for her father. Straight away, he asked Papa who gave his immediate approval.
And then, quick as you please, Northington had disappeared.
The man who had rushed her into courtship, who had teased and bantered and lured her to fantasies of lying abed with him naked, had simply vanished.
Then two weeks ago, he had reappeared at Courtland Hall with a special license in hand. He apologized for his absence, but gave no explanations. Then he had promptly taken her out into her mother’s parterre and had kissed her senseless.
“May second, I want us to wed, darling.”
Not a question. A statement.
And she—twenty-three and aglow from head to heart to breasts to quivering belly—was in lust with him. She marveled, for she was no twit. No foolish woman whose daydreams ruled her life. No. She’d entertained numerous swains over the years. After all, she was a wealthy catch. She’d refused six gentlemen in marriage. She hadn’t found any of those fellows—titled, well-healed and accomplished in their own rights— interesting or even vaguely exciting.
But this man, this Northington, mesmerized her.
Truth be bald and bold, she pulsed to feel him wholly devoted to her. And soon, all things to her, dear and vital, tender and lusty, sacred and nakedly profane.
That, she concluded, or she was going to run off with him without benefit of marriage and allow him all sorts of liberties.
But that was two weeks ago.
And this morning as she looked out upon the rolling meadow, rosy in the rays of a rising sun, she questioned if her unmaidenly ardor to have him was enough to bind him to her for the next thirty or forty years.
Or did she need much more?
Who is Cerise DeLand?
Cerise DeLand
Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore. Whether she’s penning historical romances or contemporaries, she has received praise for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail.
An award-winning author of more than 50 novels, she’s been published since 1991 by Pocket Books, St. Martin’s Press, Kensington and independent presses. Her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild. Plus she’s won nominations and awards for Best Historical of the Year, Best Regency and scores of rave reviews from Romantic Times, Affair de Coeur, Publisher’s Weekly and more.
To research, she’s dived into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She’s also traveled abroad, trusty notebook and pen in hand, to visit the chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters.
And at home every day? She loves to cook, hates to dust, goes swimming at least once a week and tries (desperately) to grow vegetables in her arid backyard in south Texas!
Also by Cerise DeLand
Regencies
Lady Starling’s Stockings
The Stanhope Challenge, Regency Quartet, box set
Regency Romp Series:
Lady Varney’s Risque Business, #1
Rendezvous with a Duke, #2
Masquerade with a Marquess, #3
Interlude with a Baron, #4
Christmas Belles, Romantic Comedy Series:
The Earl’s Wagered Bride, #1
The Viscount’s Only Love, #2
The Duke’s Impetuous Darling, #3
The Marquess’s Final Fling, #4
The Butler’s Forbidden Fancy, #5
Aunt Gertrude’s Red Hot Christmas Beau, #6
Delightful Doings in Dudley Crescent, Romantic Comedy Series:
Her Beguiling Butler, #1
His Tempting Governess, #2
His Naughty Maid, #3
Her Enticing Stableboy, #4, Coming Soon!
Four Weddings and a Frolic, Romantic Comedy Series:
Lady Fiona’s Tall, Dark Folly, #1
Lady Mary’s May Day Mischief, #2, August 2020
Miss Harvey’s Horribly Lovable Fiancé, #3, August 2020
Lady Willa’s Divinely Wicked Vicar, #4, October 2020
Miss Weaver’s Last Handsome Frolic, #5, November 2020
Box sets, Historical romances:
When You’re Mine, A Medieval, Regency & Victorian Romance Collection, 4 complete novels of 4 different series
Erotic Regency Romances:
His Delectable Cook
Sense and Sensibility
Victorian Romances
Those Notorious Americans Series:
Wild Lily, #1
Daring Widow, #2
Sweet Siren, #3
Scandalous Heiress, #4
Ravishing Camille, #5, Winter 2020
Medieval erotic romances:
Knights of Passion Series: Re-releasing soon!
At Her Service, #1, currently in When You’re Mine, box set
For Her Honor, #2
With Her Kiss, #3
* * *
Military Romances
7 Brides for 7 SEALs Series:
You Were Always Mine, #1
No Getting Over You, #2
SEALs Going Hot, box set
Burning for Nero
Conquering Zeus
A Long Time Comin’ (erotic romance)
Hard Drivin’ Man (erotic romance)
Contemporaries
Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? (erotic comedic suspense)
Tall, Hard and Trouble, box set
Tall, Hard and Mine, box set, Coming Soon!
Tall, Hard and Fierce, box set, Coming Soon!
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Lady Mary's May Day Mischief: Four Weddings and a Frolic, Book 2 Page 12