Page 66 of Pursuing Mr. Mattingly

“But you have your whole future ahead of you. An ailing wife you married for the guarantee of a short union will only hinder you.” That idea refused to leave her.

“Not this again.” In some agitation, he removed his brown jacket and then tossed it to the side of the quilt. Clad in his shirtsleeves and waistcoat, he was the perfect picture of the country gentleman, and her mouth watered. “Whether you expire next week, next month, next year, or twenty years from now is irrelevant. Don’t you see that?” He rested a forearm on his bent knee. “You are mine in every way that matters, Sophia. I won’t give you up and neither will my devotion to you waver. Whatever fate holds for us, we will meet it together, for I only want you. Need only you.”

Her heart trembled. “Oh, Oliver.” Tears welled in her eyes.

“When you more or less told me you would seek a divorce—which is apparently prohibitively expensive and elusive in England—my heart was battered. I won’t lie; it took me by surprise.” The amusement faded from his expression as apprehension stole it. “It made me think you didn’t value me as a man, a husband, a person. That you had only married me to avoid the scandal that would have followed once I bedded you… or rather it was the other way around that first time.”

Heat filled her cheeks from more than one count. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she admitted in a whispered voice. “I was only looking out for you, and I thought that by setting you free, you wouldn’t eventually come to hate me… for living.” This time, a sob tore from her throat, and she couldn’t stem the falling tears.

“Never.”

“My heart has already been through so much, you see.”

He nodded. “It was only natural for you to build walls.” For long moments he remained silent. “So, where do we go from here?” There was an air of vulnerability about him that tugged at her chest and made her fall ever deeper into love with him. “If you need me to court you all over again, I will do that. If you wish for time away as you gather your thoughts, I will give you that. But whatever it is you need, please know that I refuse to give up on us as a couple, and I will scale those damned walls time and time again until you believe in my earnestness.”

“I can see that about you.”

“And I refuse to leave Hannah. She doesn’t deserve that, and quite frankly, the child needs to see how adults work out their problems.”

“Agreed.” Flutters of need moved through her lower belly. He was certainly a hero, and he was hers, straight out those storybooks she used to read to her daughter.

“However, I must tell you that I adore my position as ambassador. If our living both here in England and at times in America is something you simply cannot square with, then we will have a bit of friction in our union.” His expression was guarded. “I believe traveling will be good for Hannah, but if you refuse to leave English soil, I suppose we’ll be destined to be apart for half the year.” That tiny little catch in his voice sealed her decision. “And that I couldn’t bear. I suspect that is one of the issues that has set Gilbert’s union lopsided.”

She gawked at him. “Possibly.” Then she shoved that thought from her mind. “It will be a fine life indeed, for all of us.”

“And?” His body was taut as if he would run.

How had she found such good fortune as to land him? Stop being a ninny, Sophia. Fight for him! After scrubbing the tears from her cheeks the best she could, Sophia shifted on the quilt. She kneeled before him and took one of his hands in hers. “Oliver Mattingly, I’m desperately in love with you but was too foolish and fearful to know that state has sprung from my heart instead of the situation surrounding it.” Her hand shook in his. “Putting all of that aside, will you stay married to me? Perhaps for the next twenty years or so if we are blessed?”

It was as if the clouds had parted, and the sun shined brightly when her husband grinned, and he was easily the most handsome man she’d ever seen. He scrambled to his knees and held her head between his warm palms. “I do, I will, and I give you my promise to make those years the most wonderful you’ve ever passed.” Love light gleamed from deep down in his eyes. “I love you, Sophia. That has never changed.” He retrieved one of the cut roses and tucked the bloom behind one of her ears. “If we remember to carry hope, there is nothing we won’t overcome.”

“Oh, Oliver.” There was no opportunity to reply with more words, for he brought his mouth crashing down on hers in an intense kiss that would forever be seared upon her brain. Perhaps words weren’t needed, not when she could show her appreciation with other creative ways. When she moved to have better access to him, he toppled onto his back, and she sprawled over his body with yards of skirting around them.

“Not a bad position if you ask me,” he murmured before he wrapped his arms around her and set out to apparently kiss her senseless.

And there was nothing she wished to do than return the sentiment.

Each meeting of lips, every touch and caress, each glide of tongues sent her closer to that sought-after edge before any clothing had been removed. The scent of sage and citrus teased her nose and drove her further onward in the quest to claim him as hers.

With no reservations this time and no fear looming over them.

Need and desire twisted down her spine. She couldn’t have enough of those feelings or of him. What had begun as a plan to spend her last days in happiness and provide a parent for her daughter had grown into a romance of a lifetime with heady days of wonder—years of them—suddenly stretching before her.

I have a future with this man.

Sophia straddled his waist. The waning sunlight sparkled on the thousands of tiny clear beads on her gown as if the fairy folk were rejoicing right along with her. After tugging her skirting free of her legs, she slowly drew the bodice of the gown downward, and while he watched with passion-drugged eyes, she continued onward until her breasts were bared. “Love me.”

His chuckle reverberated within her chest as he took those globes in his hands. “I don’t believe I have ever stopped.” Then, as she leaned over him, he sucked one of the erect nipples into his mouth, and she sighed.

Exquisite sensation washed over her the longer he played with her breasts or teased her sensitive buds. For a distraction, she nuzzled the crook of his neck, nibbled a line of desperate kisses beneath his jawline. The rasp of his evening stubble enhanced the desire already ricocheting through her body, and she shivered, which only brought his member to a more straining state.

“I need you.” Wanted to feel him moving inside her, wished to have his thick length in her palm, taste him on her tongue. In short, she wanted him in every way a woman could have a man. And to enjoy that with abandon this time.

Her husband’s eyes twinkled with affection. “There is nothing stopping you from taking what you will.” He removed his spectacles and tossed them in the direction of his abandoned jacket. “I will give it to you time and again.”

One of the things she adored about him was his willingness not to dominate the coupling every time they came together. Some men wished to remain in control at all times, but with Oliver, if she felt more amorous and initiated intercourse, he always led her guide it. And there were times when she wished to feel cherished and protected during love making, and that was when he took the lead.

That give and take, that exchange and balance of power was key to finding contentment within a relationship.

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