Unwilling to be trampled on, Lily pulled left on the reins and guided the horse to the edge of the narrow road. She’d wait until the rider passed by her. Only, the galloping horse skidded to a stop behind her carriage, forcing her to spin around to see why.
Her heart lurched forward as she sat staring into a set of steel gray eyes. “Mr. Dalton?”
Chapter Fifteen
“Miss Scott,” he said, tipping his head in her direction. A short, loud exhalation later, he leaned forward and slid to the ground, his Hessian boots landing with a thud on the dry road. In stunned silence, Lily watched as he tied his horse to the back of the carriage. No, not his horse, but her father’s horse. But how—
“We need to talk, Miss Scott.”
“Yes, I’ve become very aware of that, sir. Were you in such a hurry to bring about our resolution that you needed to run me down?”
He sent her a half-cocked smile. She huffed out a frustrated sigh and turned away until he climbed onto the gig and gently transferred the reins out of her hands. Now, confronted with his presence, she didn’t think her heart could handle confessing her true feelings. What if he glanced down his straight nose at her and scoffed at such a notion?
“Yes,” he said and changed the subject slightly. “I would like to know if you were headed in the direction of Hadley Manor?” he asked.
“I…yes. I need to speak with your sister about an urgent matter.”
“Which reminds me,” he said, pausing to lift a letter from inside his jacket. “Would you care to explain this?”
Lily’s stomach dropped to her bent knees. She stared at the letter he held in his left hand, knowing it was the one that had slipped out of her sleeve so many nights ago. She wasn’t prepared to tell him the truth. She’d had no time to rehearse her words. “Since I’m not sure how you came to possess the item, again, no, sir. I’d rather not.”
As Henry spurred the gelding forward, Lily sat staring, astonished and mortified, wondering if he knew what she and Jane had done.
“I don’t think I’m used to you staying so quiet. It’s a bit unnerving.”
She scoffed, unsure whether he was insulting her or merely paying her a compliment. “Perhaps you should ask Jane about the letter.”
“I have and now it’s your turn, Miss Scott. I shall ask you a question, and you will give me a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.”
Too weary to assume anything about his and Jane’s conversation, Lily braced her hands on the seat and awaited his inquisition. She prayed she could delay her answers long enough to reach Hadley Manor.
“First question: Are you in love with the man to whom you wrote the letter?”
Lily dropped her shoulders. The truth would not hurt her here. “Yes, Mr. Dalton. Were my words not clear enough?”
He chuckled, causing her to turn toward him once again. He cleared his throat and continued. “Next question: Have you allowed this man to kiss you?”
Lily smashed her lips together, content to let the inquiry go without an answer.
“I asked, madam if you allowed the man you love to kiss you.”
“I heard you, sir, and yes,” Lily said, so angry she believed she had as little control over her tongue as she had over her emotions. “I allowed him to kiss me; however, do not imagine it was because I was weak or a flirt. You are so insensitive; you wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be near someone, to feel so connected and in love with them that every breath you take is part theirs, part your own.” The words flew out before she could stop them, causing Henry to pull back on the leather straps, jerking the carriage to an abrupt stop.
Lily clung to her seat with her heart pounding from both her confession and the anticipation of what he planned to do. By now, she should have been used to them teetering on the edge of scandal. Still, she glanced back, praying no one was traveling this early to start the rumor of her ruin. Of course, the rumor was most likely already circulating, what with her intended intercepting the wedding banns, and poor Mr. Waverley still standing in her father’s parlor, probably assuming she was in the next room and not off, unchaperoned, with his friend.
“And he knows this?” Henry asked, drawing closer. “He knows that every breath you take while in his company is part his?”
She stilled her nerves and lifted her chin higher. “No.”
“Why?”
Immersed in Henry’s company and his inquisition, she hadn’t paid any attention to where they were going. Nothing seemed at all familiar. She twisted in one direction and then the next. “Where…are we?”
“You will answer my question first.”
“What you asked, was not a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Therefore, I do not feel obligated to answer it,” she said, braving his wrath with an insolent response.
“Very well, Miss Scott.”
Lily had yet to congratulate herself on her victory when he stepped down from the carriage, grasped her bare hand, and hauled her to the ground beside him.
“Why are you doing this?”
He didn’t answer, pulling her toward a curtain of trees. She wasn’t afraid of where he was taking her, only afraid he might leave her, alone.
Inside the forest walls, they crunched over fallen limbs, weaved through thick branches, and ducked under twisted logs. The air was cooler and lighter here. Lily inhaled, bringing in the richness of the damp earth and thick foliage.
“Getting me lost will not make me answer any more of your questions, Mr. Dalton.”
His reply was a mere grunt. A moment later, Lily heard the rush of falling water. In a blink, he hauled her through a vertical crack in a mammoth moss-covered rock.
When he halted, and let go of her hand, it took her a moment to realize she stood between a rushing waterfall and a wall of wet stone. The coolness of the alcove brushed across her heated skin.
“Now, I will ask you again, Miss Scott. Why?” His voice lifted over the roar of the rushing water.
Lily opened and closed her mouth several times before choosing to ask her questions. “And why is it so important for you to know who I love? A few weeks ago, you didn’t even remember my name.”
He stalked closer; looking every bit as viral as the panther she compared him to a few weeks ago. Since the room behind the waterfall didn’t afford much movement, she had no choice but to stay in place. By now, the dense mist had soaked clear to their skin. With his hair darkened and matted to his face, she fought the urge to reach up and touch him.
“You are wrong, Miss Scott. I knew your name. I just didn’t want to be reminded of it.”
She blanched, stabbed by his words. Whether she meant to make a full confession or not, she lashed out. “You…you are a hateful man, and I can hardly believe I allowed myself to remain so ardently in love with you for the last seven years of my life!”
****
Henry grasped Lily by her waist and hauled her hard against him. She struggled, her sweet breath sweeping across his wet face, stirring his need for her even deeper. Since last night, he’d thought of little else but having her confess her true feelings. For years, he’d hidden behind his anger while she’d hidden behind her quill.
Now, with her white empire dress clinging to her curvy body, he brought up his hand to cup one side of her face. She was the loveliest creature he’d ever seen, even with her evergreen eyes glistening with unsuppressed anger.
“Have you thought to ask me why?” he said, his gaze narrowing. “Have you wondered, after so many years in each other’s company, I chose to forget you?”
She stilled.
“Good. I have your attention.” He paused to inhale. “There was a time I had planned our future together, every moment, every day. I was going to purchase more land for Hadley, and you were going to…remain my wife.”
She opened her mouth several times, seeming to struggle with what to say. “So, so…what happened?”
“I learned what it meant to be the only son of a prominent English family. I also saw things I was
not mature enough to question. The combination threw us apart, and I believed I could put you out of my heart as quickly as I put you out of my mind.”
“It did not come so quickly for me,” she murmured.
“Believe me; I have suffered. I suffered until I was so overwrought with disappointment; I could not bear to recall your memory. Only, I came to Hadley Manor, and with one look in your direction, I found my breath stolen.”
Her quietness unsettled him. He lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “I had it wrong seven years ago. You didn’t become mine; I became yours. The resolution my sister spoke of in her letter, is that we never find ourselves separated from each other again.”
He felt her shoulders drop, felt the erratic beating of her heart as he held her close. She seemed to remember why she was traveling to Hadley in the first place and pushed away from him. “No. Mr. Waverley has informed my father of his wish of marrying me. He wrote a note, detailing his intentions. He’s there, talking to him as we speak. It’s too late!”
Henry smiled and caressed her soft, wet cheek with his thumb. “I’m afraid there is much to discuss regarding Waverley and my sister. However, for now, I will say that I arrived with him at your home over an hour ago. The note to which you refer was from me, not my friend.”
When her mouth opened in surprise, he bent to kiss her, drinking the sweet dew from her moist lips. He pulled away slightly to whisper his thoughts. “I love you, Lillian Elizabeth Scott. Will you marry me, again?”
She brought her hands up to cup his face, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Yes.” She hiccupped the word. She smiled until her eyebrows narrowed over her misty eyes. “But, what of your dreams? Certainly, my dowry is not enough for us to live well?”
He smiled. “Then I shall become a doctor.”
She harrumphed, seeming to remember his gruff bedside manner when she’d sprained her ankle. “I believe we should think of something else?” she teased.
He bent to lay soft kisses across her forehead. “We shall sell one of your plays. When I showed your compilation to a theatrical friend of mine in London, he offered one hundred and fifty pounds, plus royalties, for Mr. Mortimer and Miss Gravehart.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “How—”
“Why do you think it took me so long to give them back to you?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
“Although the edited version we performed might bring in a higher price,” he taunted her, still remembering the crack of the slap as her palm connected with his face.
Her gaze dipped to his chest. “Between then and now, I…might have added a duel.”
He threw back his head and laughed. When he’d sobered from his mirth, he drew her closer. “Well, of course you did, my love.”
He claimed her lips with unbridled possession, his body tightening and his heart thundering so loudly, it drowned out the crash of the waterfall. She melted into him as his tongue stroked the inside of her delicious mouth.
Then, he paused, pulling away slightly to whisper his thoughts. “I wished I did not have to wait until our wedding day to touch you again.”
Her hands lifted to his water-laden waistcoat, her words whispering back to him. “If I recall correctly, Mr. Norton, we are married.”
Henry needed no other prompting. Spurred by a fervor he could no longer control, he crushed his mouth to hers. She reached between them, her fingers fumbling for his buttons, starting with his waistcoat and then his shirt. As he unfastened an ungodly amount of strings, he maneuvered her to where a bed of moss lay covering the floor at the falls edge. Her lush, naked body slid beneath his, her arms lifting to wrap around his neck to pull him closer. They melted into one another, his tongue continuing to stroke the inside of her delicious mouth. God, how many nights had he dreamed of this moment, of making her truly his? Too many.
His hands roamed over her velvety waist and up to the curve of her left breast. He glided his thumb over a pink nipple until she moaned and her hips arched into his aching and swollen shaft. The tormenting connection shot fire through his veins, leaving him breathless and shaking.
“Lily,” he whispered, skimming his lips across her rounded cheek to the satiny skin below her ear. He loved touching her. More than this, he loved tasting her. Sweet and exotic, he glided his mouth to the peak of one breast.
She was the paradise he’d been chasing, the rapture he’d been hoping to find. Only, she had been right in front of him the entire time. No longer able to keep them apart, he shifted above her and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head with one hand. He felt her tremble, felt her tense. For a moment, he hesitated until she lifted to accept him. He held her tighter, gazing into her brilliant face before burying himself inside her.
Lily gasped and then held her breath, digging her short finger nails into Henry’s bare shoulder. She had not prepared herself for the pain or the shock of their union. “Henry,” she said, her palms pushing against his hard chest.
She shook beneath him. Without breaking their connection, Henry rested his forehead on hers. It took him a moment to steady his voice, his tone sounding low and husky. “Hold on to me,” he whispered, gently cupping her jaw, and covering her mouth with the most tender of kisses.
The need for him to fill her overpowered Lily’s fear and discomfort. Like he instructed, she tightened her grip and held on until his rhythmic movements began to rouse the familiar ache he’d introduced her to a few weeks before. This time, the fervent desire to draw him closer and deeper increased the tension building inside her. She let herself relax and tilted her head back as the enveloping intensity grew with exquisite madness.
Henry had imagined this moment a thousand times through the years. However, he never dreamed how tight and exquisitely perfect she would mold around him. “Lily,” he rasped, trying to keep from losing himself inside her so soon.
He retreated from her only to have her arch upward, a cry of disappointment on her lips. Unable to hold back, he gathered her against him before driving hard inside her. He buried his mouth against her neck, his release coming fast and forceful. She clung to him as they both crescendoed on an overpowering wave of surrender. He spilled himself inside her, each uncontrollable spasm shuddering through him like a lightning bolt.
Lily’s pulse throbbed up and down her weary body. Reluctantly, she floated down from the spiraled heights to which he’d taken her. She wanted to stay like this forever with him and with the mist of the waterfall cooling their glistening bodies.
“It feels like a dream,” she said, forcing herself to open her eyelids. “A dream I never want to wake from.”
He smiled down at her. He was braced on his elbows while his fingers smoothed the damp tendrils from her face.
“Yes.” Henry had wanted her to say this, to not regret one moment between them. At last, the world he thought had collapsed upon itself, fell, wonderfully into place.
To the Reader
I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read my first historical romance: Mine, Forever and Always. I enjoyed writing Lily and Henry’s story so much; they continue to stay with me. I hope you feel the same way.
After publishing Mine, Forever and Always, I’ve had a few people ask me about Jane and Mr. Waverley. They want to know if they have their own story. They do, I’m just not sure where and when it will begin. I’m hoping soon.
If you had to write their story, how would like them to come together? Would it be:
at a masquerade ball
during a kidnapping/rescue
a Cinderella retelling (although I did this in my debut novel, Lord Bachelor ).
The possibilities are endless.
I’d love to hear what you think. Just email me at [email protected] or visit me at http://tammylbailey.com/
Now, I just need to ask if you could help me out by Leaving a Review. These really are priceless to authors. They are like little nuggets of gold to us, each one precious in their own way.
Thanks for allowing me to entertain you for a short while. Happy Reading!
All my best,
Tammy L. Bailey
About The Author
Tammy L. Bailey is a LEO wife, mother, and third-generation veteran.
She’s been writing since she was a little girl, but published her first novel after the birth of her second son. Her debut novel, LORD BACHELOR, earned second place in The Heart of Excellence, Reader’s Choice Award in 2016. This novel was also featured in InD'tale Magazine for receiving a Crowned Heart Review (4.5 stars).
When Tammy’s not writing, she’s spending time with her husband and two boys, ages 13 and 11, near Cleveland, Ohio Without their sacrifice and understanding, she believes she would have never been able to pursue her passion for writing or her accomplishment of becoming a published author.
No matter what she writes and reads, there ALWAYS has to be a happy ending.
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Thanks so much for reading Mine, Forever and Always.
More Books by the Author
LORD BACHELOR
(Publisher: The Wild Rose Press – December 7, 2015)
Amazon Barnes and Noble iBooks Kobo Books TWRP
IN MISTLETOE
(Publisher: The Wild Rose Press – December 2, 2016)
Amazon Barnes and Noble iBooks Kobo Books TWRP
Mine, Forever and Always: Historical Romance Novella Page 8