Page 79 of Penned By Mr Darcy
“Elizabeth… you are my sanctuary. The past is behind us. Let it rest there.”
She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing herself to him. He met her embrace, and he realised that it was the first time that they had been like this. There was no frenzy; a loving, comforting embrace that stilled his mind and made him feel…Loved. Safe.
“You are so warm,” she whispered. “I dreamed that you would be.”
“You truly dreamed of me?”
“I have dreamt of you these past weeks. I wake to find you gone, and I curse my cruel imagination. But before our engagement…I had one dream that was so vivid that it haunted me. All of my hidden desires, all of my turmoiled longing that I tried to wish away, presented before me with such clarity as to seem real.”
“And now? Is there turmoil now?”
“No. Only eager anticipation,” she teased. “I am sorry if you think me wanton – I suppose I do not truly know what it is I am asking for. I know only that the answer lies with you. It is only you that you can sate this ache within me.”
It took all of his composure not to gather her in his arms and take her there and then. He had been impulsive before; harsh, demanding. Now, on this most sacred of nights, he would be gentle. God knew how he would manage it, but he would be gentle.
“Your mother told you of the wedding night?”
“Yes. And of the expectations to lie still and close my eyes until it is over. But I dare to think…that kiss we shared. That did not seem like the type of thing I would have to endure.”
“I do not want our marriage bed to be a place of endurance, Elizabeth.”
“Nor I.”
“I have little experience.”
“I have none,” she countered. “I will look to you for guidance.”
“I would start by kissing you.”
“Please.”
He leant down, capturing her chin with two fingers and tilting her face to meet his. He had kissed a woman only once before, finding the whole thing rather unpleasant. There was nothing unpleasant about kissing Elizabeth. She was warm and sweet, the delicate swipe of her tongue against his lips a surprise that had him moaning against her. She had the power to see his undoing; hell, he was already undone. He was lost.
No. He was found.
He was not sure when it happened, but they tumbled towards the bed. Eager hands roamed even more eager bodies, and he explored Elizabeth’s curves with all the precision of a man mapping the world. Beneath her nightgown, he felt the promise of her soft skin, the warmth coming from her welcome against his shaking palms. His hands seemed to fit perfectly into all the little inlets of her body; her waist, the juncture of shoulder and neck, the slope of her thighs.
“May I touch you?” she whispered against his lips. “I have longed to.”
“You have?”
“I have admired you; you seem to be made of stone.”
“I…”
“Your body, I mean,” she said with a little breathless giggle. “I have admired you in your riding clothes. Forgive me. The trousers that you wear for such activity are so tight, and my eyes could not help but be drawn to your thighs.”
“My thighs?” he frowned.
“They are remarkably firm. And your shoulders, so broad.”
“Elizabeth, are you teasing me?”
“There will be times I tease you, husband, for I cannot change who I am. But about this matter, I am completely serious.”
“I do not know what to say.”
“Typically, one says ‘thank you’ when they are complimented,” she teased, for there was no doubting it. “May I see you, Fitzwilliam? All of you?”
