Page 43 of In Pursuit of a Christmas Bride
“That feels…”
She nodded, almost as wordless. Henry thrust against, warmth spreading through her limbs, hungry for her. Whatever this was, Tilly wished only for him. Henry groaned with another thrust. She pulled back as his shoulder muscles tensed.
“Touch yourself,” he whispered. “Make yourself soar for me.”
She closed her eyes and slid her hand between them as he slowly stroked her. And just as suddenly, the feeling from earlier shook her body. Her muscles tensed until warmth spread through her body and her limbs shook. She opened her eyes, frustrated that Henry had stopped.
“I think that may be my favorite part,” he growled. She grinned up at him, drawing his head to her chest as he continued, “To hear you, to taste you…”
With a shuddering breath, Henry withdrew, spending his seed onto the sheets beside her. Tilly reached for him, and he rolled over, grabbing Tilly and hauling her close. He peered down with a smile.
She smiled back.
And that was enough for the moment. It was all she ever needed, and she had found that with Henry. The masked stranger.
“Do you really have to leave tonight?”
“We might still have time…”
“No,” she laughed, playfully swatting him away. “Well, yes… but I only meant must we leave one another again?”
“It would be safer if you didn’t return to London for a while. And I fear Cliffstone Manor needs some major structural work completed before I can bring you to the Isle of Wight. Though I wish… I wish for you to be with me.”
She stopped tracing circles on his chest with her fingertips.
“Henry, you may have fallen in love with me, but I have a large family who are very much a part of my life. You will welcome them all, not just Ethan?”
“I wasn’t expecting any of this, sweet. But I love you, and I am looking forward to meeting your family. Whatever they need, I will do my best to look after them.”
She couldn’t imagine a better Christmas. Still, she didn’t wish to be parted from Henry, though she was eager to return to Ethan and the others.
“My parents are still in Ireland. My father’s health is poor. I live with my twin sisters Fiona and Brigid, Maeve, and younger brother Daniel. My older brother, Patrick, is married, as well as my sister Imogen.”
“Well, then we will find schools for them and provide your sisters with a Season in London when they are of age.”
“That is all I had hoped for, but what now? If I am not to stay in London, where I am to go? What am I to do with Ethan and my brothers and sisters?”
“Could you stay with your older sister, Imogene?”
“She has three children. I wouldn’t want to impose on her.”
“Or perhaps, well I know of a place in Wales, about an hour from where I grew up, that would be quiet and safe. And then when I can, I will send for you.”
“You promise?”
“Tilly, I must help my brother, but I promise I will do everything within my power to see you with me at Cliffstone by spring. And until then, I will write every day.”
“And I’ll miss you.”
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I will miss you more.”
CHAPTER 10
Henry yankedthe collar upward on his coat and bent into the frigid wind wiping around the corner toward him. He left his wife for this.
Alone in her bed, tucked safely away at Haddington, miles away from London. She would return to London in a week’s time to pack up her brother, sisters, and Ethan before journeying to Wales.
No matter, she was too far away from Henry. Now, and once settled in Wales, still too far away until he could oversee the necessary repairs to Cliffstone.
