Page 100 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
“I will cherish these moments with you for a lifetime. Whenever I am beneath willow trees, this is what I will remember.”
He felt her arch back, knew she was looking over their heads at their private bower, but in doing so, she brought him deeper inside her. A groan escaped him, and mindlessly, he pulled out, then sheathed himself once again.
And felt her flinch.
“I’ve hurt you,” he said in a low voice.
She chuckled. “Isn’t it that way for every woman the first time?”
He pulled out of her and suddenly felt very alone. “We need to get you out of this water. You could take a chill.”
“I didn’t feel very cold.”
He sighed. “Me neither.”
But he buttoned his trousers and straightened his shirt.
“I’d take off this corset, but then I’d have to carry it,” she said ruefully. “Can you help me dress?”
“You’re asking the blind man?” he said, attempting to be light and amusing, when all he felt was confused.
He took her arm and helped her climb the steep embankment. They were both shivering now that their intimacy had ended.
“Were you able to pull your corset up?” he asked.
“Yes. My back is to you.”
He found her easily enough, and tugged at her laces.
“I’ll never get the dress buttoned if you don’t pull tighter,” she admonished him.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” There was a wealth of meaning in those words, and she must certainly know it.
“Now, Simon, I’ve tied myself into this corset my entire adult life. I will be fine.”
He pulled tighter, dreading a whimper of pain.
But she laughed. “You should see your expression. Tie me off, Simon, and button the dress. We need to get back, before they think we’ve drowned.” After a few minutes, she continued, “I wish you could tell me how I look—or maybe I should be glad I don’t know. My hair is in snarls all the way down my back.”
“You almost drowned. I don’t think anyone will suspect a thing.”
Arm in arm, they began the long walk around the lake. He knew when they left the shelter of the trees because he could feel the warmth of the sun steaming their damp garments.
“I have always loved willow trees,” she said as they walked. She tugged him to the side. “No tripping on rocks.”
“So you foundered our boat so you could be near willow trees?”
She laughed. “Maybe that was it. When I was growing up, we had a special place in our garden, way at the back, a pond surrounded by walls and shrubs and overhung with willow trees. My sisters and I used to hide there and tell secrets and plan our futures.”
He wondered if she regretted the lost innocence of her girlhood. Discovering her reputation had taken some of it away, and he’d just taken the rest. But all he said was, “I can’t imagine you’d want to tell them why you’ll now associate willow trees with me.”
“You never know. We share everything.”
“Ah, then it will be my turn to have a reputation.”
They spent an hour talking about nothing and everything, and to Simon it passed far too quickly.
“Oh, look, I think I see Georgie!” Louisa said. “Wave!”
