Page 27 of Fortune Favors the Frivolous
But his words were truncated, for suddenly Caroline’s lips were on his and his body was on fire and what had started off as the sweetest sensation imaginable was suddenly the most incendiary. Every nerve ending seemed alight, as if his body had been waiting for this moment without his conscious knowledge.
Their lips met again, and this time there was nothing sisterly about it. Caroline’s mouth was soft, yielding, yet somehow demanding as she pressed closer. Henry’s hand found its way toher hair, tangling in the blonde strands as he deepened the kiss. She tasted of honey from the tea earlier, and something uniquely Caroline that made his head spin.
She made a small sound in the back of her throat—half sigh, half moan—and Henry felt it resonate through his entire body. His other hand slid to her waist, pulling her closer, feeling the heat of her skin through the thin shift she wore.
Caroline’s fingers traced patterns on his chest, each touch leaving trails of fire in their wake. Her fingertips crept beneath his shirt, slipping inside to caress the bare skin beneath, sending shivers of pleasure through him. When they broke apart for air, her eyes were dark, pupils dilated, and her lips were slightly swollen. Henry traced them with his thumb.
“I think,” she whispered against his finger, her breath warm against his skin, “that I’ve wanted to do that for quite some time.”
“Have you?” His voice was rough, unsteady, filled with wonder and desire in equal measure.
Instead of answering, she kissed him again, this time with more urgency as her hands roamed over his bare chest, and Henry groaned. He rolled them slightly, so she was beneath him, supporting his weight on his forearms as he explored her mouth with reverent thoroughness. The world beyond their bed ceased to exist; there was only Caroline, her warmth, her scent, the soft sounds she made as he kissed her.
When they finally parted, they were both breathing heavily. Caroline’s hair was spread across the pillow like a halo, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright with something that looked very much like love.
“I think,” Henry said carefully, his voice husky with emotion, “that we need to have a very serious discussion about our future when we reach London.”
Caroline’s answering smile was radiant, transforming her face. “I think you might be right.”
Chapter Fourteen
Caroline knew she’dslept some more. In fact, she was in the midst of the most exquisite dream when a gentle hand upon her shoulder roused her.
But she wasn’t yet ready to open her eyes. In her dream, she was a lady of the court of King Arthur astride a white horse, and coming towards her was Henry, dressed in shining battle armor and balancing a lance. His smile was the same she remembered, but tinged with shy pride, for he’d just been victorious in battle and was coming to claim his reward. The pale-blue favor that she’d tied around his arm fluttered like a banner in the breeze.
He was just leaning across in the saddle to kiss her when someone else intruded from a different sphere, shaking her. Just as she was about to kiss her brave knight.
She frowned and tried to resist, but the shaking was insistent.
“Caro, it’s time to wake up. I have to go.” Henry’s voice, gentle but urgent, pulled at the edges of her dream.
Doggedly, she kept her eyes closed. Let him kiss her again. She’d liked it too much the last time but had been left somehow unsatisfied, as if there were depths to kissing she had yet to discover. She wasn’t sure why. She just knew she had to be allowed to breach the last distance between them so she could press her lips to his.
She was nearly there. The horse shifted slightly, and her lips touched only air. But he was leaning back towards her. He wanted their kiss as much as she did.
“Caro, please!”
This time his shake was more forceful and, with a gasp, Caroline sat up in bed, her dream knight dissolving into the golden afternoon light.
“What happened?” She glanced down at her thin nightgown, not immediately remembering the events of earlier, her mind still half lost in Arthurian romance.
“Nothing happened, Caroline, I promise! Well, nothing bad or serious, if that’s what you mean—” Henry backed away, his hands raised as if to prove his innocence, though his eyes held a warmth that suggested he wasn’t entirely sorry about their earlier intimacy.
“Oh, Henry! Of course! It’s only you, and now I remember everything.” Relieved, she pulled the covers up to her neck while a delicious warmth spread through her at the memory of his lips on hers, the way he’d held her as if she were something precious. Then she threw her arms wide and exclaimed, “I’ve had the most beautiful sleep after the most wonderful adventure. Of course, the first part of the adventure was truly terrifying, but then you came along and now I’m even glad it all happened because—”
She stopped, aware of the intensity in his gaze as he watched her, the way his breathing seemed to quicken at her enthusiasm.
Suddenly she remembered her friend and, horrified, straightened, her previous dreamy contentment evaporating like morning dew.
“Venetia! Where is Venetia? Is she safe? Oh, Henry, what have we done by staying here—?”
“Stay calm, Caro. Venetia is safe. She’s ensconced at the Rose and Thorn, and we had to stay here for some rest because I’d not slept all night and nor had you.”
His eyes were shadowed with exhaustion, his cravat loosened, and his hair disheveled in a way that made her want to smooth it back from his forehead.
“But Venetia is alone.”
A wary look crossed his face. “She is safe with others, as I told you, Caroline. I made sure of that. And now that you are safe, I can organize suitable transport to discreetly ensure your return home is somehow explained.” He ran a hand over the stubble darkening his jaw and shook his head. “I’ve been pondering it the past hour or more. In fact, I’ve just returned from trying to source a suitable carriage to take both of you girls to London, but right now, there isn’t one.”
