He shook his head.
“The bedroom. This will not be a quick coupling. I intend to take my time. As soon as I have you naked on the bed I am going to slip my tongue inside you, and then hold you down while I take you to the brink. Rest assured my love I am not going to spare you this time. You can forget about sleep.”
Once inside his bedroom, Will pulled Hattie to him. She responded with a kiss that would make any grown man weak at the knees. She had learned a great deal from their time together on the ship. Will quietly congratulated himself on being such an excellent tutor.
“I want you. I want you now and forever,” she said.
He heard the hunger in her voice, echoed in his brain. Hattie unbuttoned the top of her gown and let it fall open. He whistled his appreciation of the fact that she was naked underneath.
‘Naughty girl,’ he chuckled.
She kicked off her slippers. Will stood watching as she slowing let the rest of her gown fall to the floor. She was now completely naked before him. He felt himself go rock hard.
He came to her and knelt on the floor before her. With hands held on the top of her thighs he pulled her toward him.
Hattie whimpered as Will slid his tongue inside her heat. He held her steady as he began to tease her. When he flicked the outer edge of her clitoris she shuddered. She placed a gentle hand on his head, spearing her fingers through his hair when he delved his tongue deeper inside.
“Will,” she whispered.
He took his cue, knowing he had roused her to a state where she would be ready for him.
He rose to his feet and guided her to the bed. He playfully threw onto the bed, where she lay watching as he quickly rid himself of his shirt and trousers.
“How do you want this?” he asked, climbing onto the bed.
She bit her lower lip for a moment. His cock twitched. He was desperate to sink deep into her and bring them both to completion.
Hattie clambered on to her knees and pushed Will onto his back.
“I was watching the riders in Hyde Park yesterday with Miranda. I think I should like to go riding right now, Mr. Saunders,” she replied.
Will lay back on the bed as Hattie threw one leg over his hip and sat on top of him. As she moved into place, he guided his hard shaft into her slick, wet passage.
“Oh sweet…” he murmured.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to rock back and forth. Her feet gripped tightly to his hips as she increased the pace of their coupling.
Will pulled her head down to his and caught her lips in a searing kiss. Tongues tangled together as their bodies met one another in a thrusting rhythm.
When Hattie whimpered, he knew she was close to the end. He flipped her over onto her back and thrust deep into her, knowing this was the best position for her to reach maximum pleasure when she came.
“Will. Oh god.” A long low groan escaped her lips.
He kissed her as the wave of her orgasm ebbed. When she finally focused on his gaze, he knew she was ready to give him the submission he craved.
Will withdrew from her body, but he was far from finished. He arranged her with her knees bent and facing away from him. He stood on the floor and pulled her to the edge of the bed. Her long dark blonde hair which had been piled up in a soft chignon, was tussled to a perfect state.
He leaned forward and slowly entered her once more. With hands gripped tightly to the side of her hips, he began to thrust slowly in and out. He closed his eyes and let his need for her take control.
In the room the only sound was that of Hattie’s soft sobs of pleasure.
As Will quickened the pace of his thrusts, he took hold of her nipples and squeezed them hard. Hattie groaned.
“It’s been so long since I took you like this,” he murmured in her ear.
To have her at his mercy, to make her give herself to him completely, was his deepest desire.
“Don’t be gentle with me, Will. I need you to take me hard. I need you to mark me, to possess me,” she begged.
He did as she asked, thrusting harder and deeper than he had ever done before into her willing body. Her cries urging him on until he finally came in a fiery rush. His roar of completion shook the night.
Chapter Forty-Two
“All set?”
Hattie gave Edgar an encouraging smile. “Yes,” she replied.
Her long white gown took up a good deal more of the carriage than she had expected. Initially she had opted for a simple design for her wedding gown, but Miranda had convinced her otherwise. There was only one time a woman walked down the aisle at St. Paul’s cathedral to be wed.
The crowd outside the cathedral when the carriage drew up had her heart thumping in her chest. As she stepped out onto the pavement, she could see many friends who had been pushed away from the family over the past few years.
Standing alongside them was one who she now also called friend. Reverend Retribution Brown stood among the well-wishers, his hands calmly by his side holding his beloved bible. She released her hand from Edgar and went to him.
“Thank you for coming. This means a great deal to me,” she said.
He kissed her hand. “He is a good man your Mr. Saunders. You have chosen well,” he replied.
“Joshua sends his apologies for not being able to make your wedding. He did not want to leave his mother. He asked me to give this to you.”
He opened his bible and took out a piece of folded paper which he handed to her. Tears formed in Hattie's eyes as soon as she unfolded the paper and saw Annie’s simple drawing of a tree and a house.
“Mr. Saunders has found them a place in the country. Somewhere they can all live safely. Mrs. Mayford can spend the remaining time she has left on this earth happy in the knowledge that her family has a future. Joshua is to be apprenticed to a local blacksmith, so he will be able to provide for Annie and Baylee in the years to come.”
Hattie folded up the piece of paper and tucked it into the sleeve of her gown. She knew she would never be able to save all the poor of London, but with the Mayford family she had succeeded in giving at least one family a better future.
“Will you come inside and see Will and I get married?” she asked.
Reverend Brown looked up at the towering magnificence of St. Paul’s cathedral and grimaced. St. John’s church was nothing like London’s grandest cathedral.
“Well, I don't expect anything untoward will come of it. Besides you are about to marry the Bishop of London’s nephew, you might be able to put in a good word for me.”
Hattie took Edgar’s hand once more.
“I am ready to take another leap into the unknown,” she said.
Hand in hand her brother led her up the stairs and into the cathedral to where Will and a new life awaited.
The End
Epilogue
Dearest Harriet,
Your father and I are standing here in our modest cottage in Freetown, holding one another and thanking God that you are safe and home in London. Your letter was the greatest gift we could have ever received.
Daughter you do not need to beg our forgiveness for having jumped from the ship, it is we who should offer our most humble apologies for trying to force a life upon you which you clearly did not want. The fact that you were driven to undertake such a dangerous endeavor, only showed us the depth of our failure as parents.
The grief we felt during those long months believing you were dead, made us question many choices we had made. Please believe that when we do return to England it will be with loving hearts and the hope that you and your brother can find it in your hearts to forgive us.
We shall write again soon telling you more of our work and lives here, but I wanted to make sure this note made the ship which leaves for England today.
Your loving and much relieved mother and father.
PS: You may also wish to know that Peter Brown married your maid Sarah Wilson. They make a sensible and suitable couple. He does exactly what she tells hi
m.
Coming Soon
Lord of Mischief: June 2018
Eve and Freddie’s story
The Duke of Strathmore series
Book 1: Letter from a Rake
Book 2: An Unsuitable Match
Book 3: The Duke’s Daughter
Book 4: A Scottish Duke for Christmas (novella)
Book 5: My Gentleman Spy
www.sashacottman.com
About the Author
Born in England, but raised in Australia, Sasha has a love for both countries. Having her heart in two places has created a love for travel, which at last count was to over 55 countries. A travel guide is always on her pile of new books to read.
Her first published novel, Letter from a Rake was a finalist for the 2014 Romantic Book of the Year. Sasha lives with her husband, daughter and a cat who demands a starring role in the next book. She is always on the look-out for new hiding spots for her secret chocolate stash.
On the weekends Sasha loves taking long walks while trying to nut out the latest plot point in her writing.
www.sashacottman.com
My Gentleman Spy Page 25