Page 102 of The King's Man
His other hand released hers. He slid it around her waist, drawing her towards him. He bent his head, his lips skimming the soft, chestnut hair.
‘Yes,’ he whispered. ‘Yes, I love you.’
Her arms slid up behind his neck and she drew his face down towards her. ‘Well, that is probably a good thing,’ she said, ‘seeing as I have loved you for a very long time.’
‘So,’ he whispered, ‘that makes this marriage even more convenient?’
‘It does,’ she replied.
He kissed her and her head arched back, allowing his lips to slide down her neck, finding the soft place at the base of her throat. She stiffened, pulling away from him.
‘Kit, I have little experience … after all the other women in your life … ’
He laid a finger on her lips.
‘Croyez moi… trust me in this, Thamsine,’
Her eyes held his for a moment. ‘You’re a liar, a cheat and a rogue, Kit Lovell, but I trust you with my life.’
He lowered his mouth to hers again, gently brushing her lips with his. Thamsine tightened her arms behind his neck, locking them together in a hungry embrace.
They fell back onto the enormous old bed, hung with dusty, moth-eaten, red woollen curtains, laughing.
Thamsine raised her hand and touched his face, tracing the line of the silvered scar over his right eye, the length of his nose and the curve of his lips. ‘I will remember this moment for the rest of my life,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t think it is possible to be so completely happy.’
Tears collected on her lashes, and Kit brushed them away. Was she ready for this? Should they wait?
‘Thamsine, we don’t have to … ’
She slid her arms behind his neck. ‘You silly man, I’m crying because I’m happy. Now, kiss me again.’
His smiled. ‘Kiss you? Again? You are a demanding wench. In good time. My turn.’
He propped himself up on one elbow and with a finger traced the outline of her face, the orbs of her eyes, the length of her nose, the circumference of her mouth. She tried to bite at the finger but he removed it. They played that game a few moretimes before he replaced his finger with his lips, tracing the same route, moving down her throat as he had before and lingering in the sensitive hollow of the base of her throat. Thamsine moaned and he propped himself up again and slowly began to unlace the stomacher of her gown.
She, in turn, reached up to the laces on his shirt and undid the cord. He slipped the shirt off and she ran her fingers through the soft hairs on his chest. At her touch, he closed his eyes, the fastenings on her bodice momentarily forgotten, before bending his head and kissing her again.
Beneath his questing hand, she stiffened.
Kit backed off, his hand on her face. ‘Thamsine? Am I going too fast?’
She shook her head. ‘No, it’s wonderful. I love you, Kit Lovell, and I trust you completely.’
He smiled and stroked her hair. ‘Then let us be rid of these damned clothes.’
No two people had ever divested themselves of their clothes so quickly. Thamsine curled up in the circle of his arm, suddenly shy. Kit uncurled her, looking down at her slender body.
‘You’re beautiful, Thamsine.’ There was wonder in his voice.
‘I thought you liked women with more meat on their bones.’
He shook his head. ‘Don’t know what gave you that idea. You’re perfect.’
He silenced any further comments with his lips, allowing his mouth to trace the path of his finger, leaving a trail of gentle kisses down the length of her body and the world beyond the window faded away to become just the two of them.
***
Thamsine awoke as the first light of dawn filtered through the close-built street and the grimy windows. Kit’s head rested onThamsine’s chest, his arms encircling her, his weight pressing on her but not crushing her.
