Page 246 of Storm of Bells
My arms tightened around her. Even throughmultiple layers of undergarments, I could feel every part of herbody press into me, from the light curve of her back to the very,very plump cheeks of her—
My hands instantly few to her petticoats,tearing them away with fresh urgency. Those weren’t important inthe least. Neither was the corset, or any of the remaininginsignificant bits of cloth blocking my way. In the blink of aneye, all that remained of Mrs Lillian Ambrose’s smallclothes was acloud of scraps and rags floating down to the floor and a last,single, satiny layer.
Almost reverently, my hands came to rest onher shoulders.Just one layer of cloth. A single layer of cloth,and right underneath is…
It was as if only a single sheet of glassseparated me from the most precious diamond in the world. The onlydifference was: the largest diamond in the world, despite my bestefforts, was in the possession of the Queen of England. Monarchsseemed strangely irascible when requested to sell their crownjewels at a discount. This treasure right in front of me,however…she was all mine! Now and forever!
And she was…trembling?
‘Shh…’ It happened without my really knowinghow or why. I found myself caressing the back of her neck, tryingto calm her, to reassure her. What in Midas’ name was going onhere? I, Mr Rikkard Ambrose, trying tocomfort a woman? Onlya few years ago, if someone had told me I would be doing this, Iwould have put them into my company’s private asylum and chargedthem double for emergency treatment.
But now…
Now, this seemed natural. Logical.Inevitable. And when she leaned back against me, her tension slowlyevaporating, holding her tightly in my arms also suddenly seemedlike the most brilliant plan I had ever conceived.
My arms wrapped around her, once more pullingher tightly against me. Leaning forward, I pressed a gentle kiss ontop of her head. In that moment, I realized that comparing her to adiamond was utter foolishness. The woman I held in my arms wasinfinitely more precious than any diamond or sapphire or ruby. Thiswas a living, breathing treasure. This was my wife.
My world shifted.
And, a moment later, so did my hands. Withone quick tug, I slipped her chemise off her shoulders. With awhisper of satin, it sank to the floor. My lady wife stood still asa statue, the air caressing her soft, bare skin. It was the firsttime I had felt jealous of a mix of oxygen and nitrogen.
Well, not for long!
‘Lillian.’
I reached for her.
If I’d thought holding her in my arms beforehad been an indescribable experience, it was nothing compared tothis. To hold her close, with nothing in between. My mind,always impregnable and ordered, was thrown into a whirlwind ofchaos.
So soft. So warm…
Taking a deep breath, I tried to clear myhead.
Control! Control yourself! Don’t loseyourself to—
That was when her soft little hand took holdof mine, raised it up and pressed her lips onto my knuckles.
‘Rikkard.’
Her voice rocked me to my very core. It wasonly a name. Over the years, I had heard it more times than I couldcount. But right here, right now, from her lips…
There were no words to explain what it meant.No words. For once, not because I didn’twantto speak. No,it was because I was struck dumb.
Cupping her face from behind, I turned heraround until our eyes met. I stared down at her, starved for what Icould see in her gaze. Starved forher. And to judge by thehungry expression on her face, her feelings on the matter wereexactly the same.
I cocked my head, a silent question.
She nodded.
In a blink, my arms lifted her up into theair and, for the second time that night, deposited her onto thebed. And this time, she would not be getting up again for a long,long time. Instinctively, her hands flew to cover up certain parts,her face flaming in a way that made my blood pound in my ears. Lasttime we had been together, everything had happened in the darknessof the night. But now, in the light of the sunset flooding throughthe window…
Everything was visible.
Everything.
And everything wasmine!
My gaze was piercing her with an icyintensity as they took in every single inch of her. Her softcurves. Her heated skin. Her eyes. Eyes that held her very soul,and dreams I never knew I wanted to share. Before I knew I hadmoved, I was above her on the bed, my eyes raking over her.
