by Amelia Grey
“My father will not be up for hours. Both he and Lily will assume the party has gone on through the morning, which is not unheard of, I believe.”
“Certainly not, but I don’t want to do anything to hurt you.”
She raised her head and pushed her mask up her forehead so she could look into his eyes. “Then don’t deny me this time with you.”
Maybe she just needed to be held and reassured that it was not the end of the world just because she hadn’t found Prince Charming. Maybe all she needed from him was comfort. Whatever she needed he wanted to provide it for her.
He wanted to tell her properly that he had fallen in love with her, and that he wanted to marry her. He wanted her to be his for a lifetime. But they could work out all those things later. Right now she wanted him and he wanted her and that was all that was important.
“I won’t deny you anything you ask.” He kissed the tip of her nose, and then pulled the mask back over her eyes. “Keep this on until we are safely inside. Should anyone see us going into my house, I wouldn’t want them to recognize you.”
She nodded.
The carriage stopped. The driver opened the door. Camden reached into the pocket of his great coat and brought out several coins. As he handed them to the driver, he said, “Forget you saw the lady.”
“What lady, sir? I ’aven’t even seen you tonight.”
Mirabella stepped out, and she and Camden hurried in the front door. The house was quiet as Camden slowly, softly closed them inside. Though dawn was on the sky, it was dark in the house. Camden pulled off his mask, then hers and laid them on the foyer table. He reached down and gave her a hard, brief kiss. She smiled at him, and Camden had no doubts they were doing the right thing.
He took her hand and led her up the stairs. At the top of the landing, Camden paused. The house was quiet and dark.
He looked down the hallway to Hudson’s room, which was opposite his. Camden tensed. Hudson’s door was open. He motioned for Mirabella to stay at the top of the stairs. He walked to his brother’s doorway and peeked inside. The room was empty. Hudson’s bed was made up.
Camden relaxed. Obviously, Hudson had found somewhere else to spend the night.
“He’s not here,” Camden said. He walked back and took Mirabella’s hand, and she willingly followed him into his room. He closed the door and threw the latch.
Camden reached for her, and she willingly went into his arms. Their lips met softly at first but the longing and the passion between them was too intense to go softly or slowly. He kissed her madly, and Mirabella matched his fierce hunger.
He shoved his hands between them and found her unbound breasts. He cupped, lifted and squeezed them firmly, feeding his passion. In a moment, her nipples hardened. Through the thin silky material, he found the tight buds and gently tugged on them. It aroused him as they grew harder under his touch.
The soft sweet sound of desire she whispered into his mouth elated him and quickened his own enjoyment.
“Does that pleasure you, Mirabella?” he mumbled against her lips, not wanting to stop kissing even to speak loving words.
“Oh, greatly, sir. Does it gratify you?”
“Exceedingly so.”
He continued to massage her breasts. He loved the feel of the weight of them in his hands. Her breasts were not so large that they were too soft and not so small as to be too firm. She was the perfect size to build a burning heat in his loins and a longing in his heart to possess her.
“My sweet Mirabella. There is so much to teach you and so little time. Forgive me if I rush your pleasure today.”
He grabbed hold of the large stone on her shoulder and pulled the toga down her arm, leaving the flimsy material to glide down her legs and puddle at her feet. He ran the palms of his hands and tips of his fingers over her naked shoulders and breasts and back up again as he caressed her beauty with his gaze.
Huskily he said, “I want your hair down.”
“As you wish.” Mirabella reached up and tore the crown of leaves off her head and threw it to the floor.
Camden slid his fingers into her hair and shook it free of the pins that held it up. He crushed its lush length into his palms before letting it tumble to her shoulders. It was so long it covered her beautiful breasts, so he quickly pushed her hair to her back.
His body ached and throbbed to possess her immediately, but he was determined to take their loving slower than his body wanted him to and please both of them this first time.
“You’re so beautiful I don’t want anything hiding your loveliness from me. I don’t want to stop looking at you or touching you.”
“I want to look at you, too.” Mirabella reached up and placed her open hand on his bare shoulder. “I want to feel your skin against mine,” she whispered as she pressed her lips to his.
Camden reached up and grabbed hold of the black stone that held his toga on his shoulder and jerked it, breaking the threads that held the toga together. The white muslin dropped like an unwanted garment to the floor and covered Mirabella’s toga.
He reached around her and untied the strings at her back and her thin drawers fell to the floor. Mirabella stepped out of them. Camden pulled on the strings at the front of his undergarment and sent it the way of Mirabella’s. They stood there unselfconsciously looking at each other for a moment.
She smiled at him. “You are magnificent. Your body looks just like paintings of Adonis.”
Camden’s lower body grew harder at her praise, but he humbly said, “You have always given me more credit than I deserve.”
Mirabella lowered her gaze to view that part of him men were usually most proud of, and said, “This time it is truly deserving, my lord.”
She reached out and let her fingertips glide softly, tantalizingly slowly over his chest. He trembled with need, willing her to abandon any thoughts of shyness and allow her hands to go lower and touch his hardness, feel its thickness and weight. Her fingertips tripped down his midriff, along his stomach, feeling like no more than a feather stroking his burning need.
Camden threw his head back in indulgence. His muscles contracted in sweet pain. His eyes closed with wanting. Her gossamer-light caress teased him and offered no mercy to the pure torment she inflicted on him.
She must have read his mind. Her hand closed around him and his breath stalled in his chest and his knees went weak. He knew he would be lost if he did not stop her soon.
“I did not expect it to be so thick and stiff, my lord.”
He moaned softly. And she thought she did not know how to pleasure a man.
“You may not appreciate that at first, my lady, but I promise you, you will in due course.”
With no thought of the pillows or coverlet, and before he was past his own endurance, he reached down, picked her up and laid her on top of the bed. He spread the length of his taut body on top of hers, and groaned from the sheer thrill of having her beneath him.
Camden wanted desperately to spread her legs immediately and enter her, but he couldn’t move. If he did, he would surely spill his seed before he had given her what she wanted, what he promised. He had no desire to leave her wanting their first time together.
Pale morning light streamed in through a crack in the dark draperies, bathing the room in a soft glow. He looked down into her beautiful green eyes and smiled.
Mirabella returned the smile and asked, “Are we waiting for something to happen?”
“Right now, I’m trying to keep something from happening.”
“What is that?”
She was too inquisitive. “I need to—rest a moment.”
She questioned him. “Are you tired already? I am not. I very much enjoyed what has happened so far.”
He smile at her. “So have I.”
She fell silent, just searching his face.
“Keep talking, Mirabella. It calms me down.”
She laughed softly and touched his cheek with her fingertips. “I do not want to talk. I want to tou
ch you like this.”
She slid her arm between them and found him again, running her hand the length of him. She squeezed him gently.
Camden gasped with ecstasy.
“I want to kiss you deeply, my lord. Can we not continue our pleasure now?”
“Oh, yes. We can. We have to.”
He gently moved her hand up to his chest, promising himself that next time he wouldn’t be so ready to spill himself.
“You don’t like for me to touch you so?”
He swallowed hard. “I crave it, but now it’s time to move on to other things.”
“That will feel just as good?” she asked, placing her palm against the plane of his cheek.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Most certainly.”
“I would like that.”
He bent his head and kissed that warm soft spot behind her ear. He inhaled the scent of freshly washed hair and feminine skin. With tenderness he slowly kissed his way down her neck, moving as if they had all the time in the world.
He brushed her moist lips with his, easing over them with the lightest contact. She opened her mouth and his tongue thrust in deeply as she had asked. With a loving hand, he raked his fingers down her breast, over her slim womanly hip and shapely inner thigh. He moved his hand back up and caressed the warm skin of her stomach before inching his hand lower until he found her softness. There, he cupped her gently for a moment before finding the center of her desire with his thumb. His movement was soft, circular.
She trembled beneath his touch, and Camden smiled. There was immense satisfaction in the way she responded to him.
“Oh, yes, my lord,” she murmured, dragging her lips away from his. She kissed his chin, his neck and back up to his lips. “That is where it feels most pleasurable.”
“For me too, my darling.”
He didn’t want her excitement to end too soon, so he stopped the stroking of her center and found her entry. He forced a finger inside. She was so tight. He feared she would not accept all of him the first time.
“I’m going to bring you to your peak, and just after that, I will enter you. It will hurt at first. Just lie still and it will be over soon.”
“Oh, Camden, how can something this wonderful hurt?”
“That is a promise, Mirabella. It will.”
He slid his fingers back to her center and relished the sensations touching her gave him. Within moments, she gasped in pleasure and arched toward him. He kissed her harder and drove his finger inside her. She tightened around him, and Camden almost lost control.
When her body started relaxing, he positioned himself at her opening and shoved into her with a quick thrust. She made a soft sound of discomfort but did not cry out. Her arms tightened on his back. He moved forward slowly, pushing in and out with long easy strokes.
“Stay with me, Mirabella, I swear it will not take long this time.”
And it didn’t. It was over almost before it began. She was so tight he knew it hurt her, but she didn’t say a word of protest. He never had doubted she was a virgin, but still, there was a flash of immense satisfaction when he broke through her innocence and made her his.
His forever.
Camden rested his face in the crook of her neck. He breathed deeply, drinking in her warm, womanly scent. He kissed her skin softly. He would love her forever, desire her all his life, but he would never feel any more complete than he did right now. She had allowed him to make love to her in his room, in his father’s house.
She had always told him that she didn’t care what Society thought about her. He finally believed her, for surely no other young woman of quality would allow her fiancé such uninhibited freedom.
He was the one always worried about her reputation. He was the one who had threatened Stephenson and Farthingdale should they dare to talk ill of her again. He was the one who had fretted over her masculine disguise. She didn’t have a problem with the unconventional. He did. And why? Because of Hortense? Because of a young woman who had made him the most talked about man in the ton for years.
Camden had vowed to deny himself love because Hortense had mocked his youthful love for her. She made him such a laughingstock in Town that he had left the country and had planned never to return to Society. He didn’t know if he ever forgave Hortense, but he soon forgot about her. Mirabella was different. She had defied what was proper, acceptable and expected of her—and still he desired her.
The devil. He craved her.
He had returned to London thinking he only wanted a suitable wife to give him pleasure in bed and children to ride on his knee. Now he realized he wanted so much more from Mirabella than just being proper.
Lying with her, he realized he didn’t give a damn if Society should think that Mirabella was unchaste because she had been kissed by other men. And he didn’t give a damn how many gentlemen had kissed her. Not one damn. No one had possessed her but him and now she was totally and completely his forever.
Mirabella was right for him. And that was all that mattered.
Nineteen
Mirabella couldn’t slow her breathing. She didn’t want to. She wanted to go on feeling the exquisite sensations that shuddered through her body and soul, making her want to moan with delight. She had never felt such wonderful fulfillment, such great contentment. What she had just experienced was so stunning she didn’t want it to be over. It was unbelievable satisfaction and joyous completion.
But once this time with Camden was over, she would have to start learning to live without him in her life. Now, it was more important than ever that she dissolve this ruse with Camden. She had to do it now before he realized she had fallen in love with him, before she slipped up and stated what she felt in her heart. She could tell him of her love, but she feared it would fill him with guilt. It was better to keep what was in her heart to herself.
Last night, she realized she couldn’t go on deceiving her father either, making him believe she would be married. Perhaps as Camden had suggested, Sarah had lived a lie, but Mirabella couldn’t. She must tell her father everything and free Camden to go on with his life.
Camden lay quiet and still on top of her. His breathing was returning to normal. She stroked his back, loving the feel of his skin beneath her hands. He was heavy, but she didn’t mind. She welcomed his weight upon her.
Oh, would this one time in his arms, in his bed, give her enough memories to last a lifetime?
Camden stirred.
“No, don’t move,” she whispered.
Let me enjoy this a few moments longer.
“I am afraid that I’m hurting you.”
“The pain was only for a moment. Now it’s gone. Does the pleasure have to end, too?”
“Only for a minute or two. Then I shall be ready to go again.” He raised up on his elbows and looked down into her eyes. “Mirabella, I think I’m in love with you.”
She gasped, not believing he had said to her the words she was too fearful to say to him. “No.”
“Yes. Truly, it has shocked me as much as you, but I must be. I desire you as I never have any other woman. If I’m not with you, my mind is constantly filled with thoughts of you. When I’m away from you, I long to be with you. When I’m with you, I enjoy watching you, talking with you. I love the way you challenge me at every turn.”
“But I betrayed your trust. I kissed those—”
He put a finger to her lips and silenced her. “It doesn’t matter. I now know you didn’t kiss any of them because you desired them.”
“No, only you.”
“Oh, Mirabella, my love, you make my heart soar.” He kissed her lips softly as his hand lovingly caressed her shoulder and breast.
“And you, sir, make me happy,” she said lovingly against his lips.
“That is a great compliment.”
“When will you know for sure?” she asked.
He kissed her eyes, her nose and each cheek before giving her a questioning look. “What’s that?”
“You sa
id you think you love me. When will you know for sure that you love me?”
Camden laughed and hugged her tightly to him. “You constantly test me, Mirabella. I know for sure right now. It is here in my heart.” He took her hand and placed it on his chest. “I love you, Mirabella, and I want to marry you and make you mine.”
She tensed. It was one thing for him to love her, to accept her as a lover, but to offer marriage after she had behaved so scandalously?
“Marry you? Oh, Camden, do not tease me. Do you mean that?”
“Of course I do. These are not words I would use lightly.”
Mirabella trembled with happiness. She felt like her heart would burst with the love she was feeling for him. After years of waiting for him to return and say those words, she was overcome with joy.
“And you truly want me for your bride?”
“Yes, my lovely and passionate lady. I want you for my bride.”
“This is not a trick?”
“I am not a trickster. I don’t want to wait until autumn is upon us, or next spring during the Season. I want to marry you as soon as possible.”
Mirabella trembled with happiness. “Camden, I have known for a long time that I loved you.”
“Then I am a lucky man.”
“I never dreamed you would return my love.”
“I have to admit that it took me by surprise. I vowed to never again fall in love. And what I have discovered is that I never loved Hortense the way I love you.”
Mirabella raised on her elbows and kissed his neck, his shoulder, his nipples before raising her face to look into his eyes. “I was just lying here wondering how I was going to say good-bye to you.”
“No good-byes for us, Mirabella. From now on, we will have only good nights and good mornings.”
He moved inside her, and her lower body quickened in response. She lifted her hips to him. She wanted to show him just how much she loved and desired him. He handled her gently, in and out with long strokes. She matched his motion and met each thrust with eager anticipation.
“And we will not have separate bedrooms, Mirabella.”
She liked the sound of the heightened sigh in his voice. “Never, my lord.”