It was not long before they were exactly as they had been beside Steepwood Pool, Lavender in her shift, speechless with desire as Barney unlaced the bodice to slip his hands inside and cup her breasts. The yielding hay surrounded her, filling her senses with the hazy, fruitful smell of summer, a scent that mingled with her desire and made her light-headed with need. She wriggled the shift down to her waist, arching against Barney so that her breasts were pressed against his chest as she raised her mouth for his kiss again. He drank deep of her and she could sense his need, barely held in check. Her questing fingers stole down to his waist and tugged at his breeches, seeking the fastening.
‘A moment—’ His impatience matched hers. She could hear it in his voice, feel it in the tension of his body. Lavender closed her eyes as he moved to pull the trousers off, then opened them wide again as he followed his own divesting with hers. A belated modesty made her clutch the shift and drawers to her nakedness, but Barney prised them from her fingers, covering the coolness of her bare skin with the warmth of his own at the same time as his mouth covered hers. She felt his hand on her thigh, and shifted to accommodate his body with her own. There was the most intolerable ache within her and she longed for him to appease it with his body on hers, and even as she thought it, he was inside her and the pleasure filled her and she cried aloud.
They lay still for a long time afterwards, clasped in each other’s arms, half-hidden in the hay. Eventually Barney stirred, pushed the tumbled hair back from Lavender’s face and kissed her slowly, drawing out the pleasure. He allowed his hands to travel over her in triumphant possession, sliding over her hips, tracing the curve of her breasts. Lavender made a little noise of contentment, pulling him back into her arms.
‘Who would have thought it would be so pleasurable,’ she murmured.
‘Not I, certainly.’ Barney’s face was pressed against her neck and she could feel him smiling against her skin. ‘Is it better than painting?’
‘Oh, far better!’
‘Or botany?’
Lavender stretched, raising her arms above her head. Barney let go of her a little, but only so that he could bend over her and kiss her again. Lavender squirmed.
‘Barney—’
‘You were flaunting your exquisite body and how could I resist?’
‘Exquisite…’ Lavender thought, warmed suddenly by pride and something else. Suddenly Barney’s hands were on her waist again, pulling her close to him again. The tide of passion swept over them.
‘Barney—’ Lavender gasped, spun up in the sensations of the moment.
‘I said that you would prefer to be married,’ Barney said later, lazily. They were lying entwined in the hay again, unable to move far away from each other. ‘Unless, of course—’ his mouth brushed hers ‘—you do not wish to marry me now?’
In response, Lavender snuggled closer and they lay quiet again until the clock on the stables chimed the hour. Barney stirred and said:
‘I imagine my grandfather may be back soon, and the servants are returning this evening so perhaps we should get up—’
Lavender let out a little shriek and sat bolt upright, casting around desperately for her clothes. ‘Oh no! If Sir Thomas finds me here, he will scarce consider me a suitable bride for his grandson!’
Barney pulled her back down into his arms. ‘I think you suitable, and that is what matters. So, are we to make our unequal match?’
Lavender smiled into his eyes. ‘With all my heart,’ she said.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4016-6
AN UNLIKELY SUITOR
First North American Publication 2003
Copyright © 2002 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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