Page 60 of Love Abandoned

There was love and desire in her eyes. A mirror to his heart. And her need echoed his. “Yes,” she said on a sigh as he plunged, her warm flesh embracing him as snug as the arms that were pulling him closer. He lost himself in the feel of her. The rhythm both familiar and foreign after the long drought, he could not get enough of it.

He shifted her, moving her legs nearer his shoulders. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her, make her his once again. His nerves were pinging, and he longed for completion, but he methodically entered her until he could sense her rising pleasure. He reached between them and pressed the precious bud, rolling it gently until Elizabeth was panting. Seconds later, she arched, pushing and withdrawing in frantic increments.

He grabbed her buttocks and pulled her close and began an attack of his own, pummeling mindlessly. Blood rushed to his head, creating a hazy, roaring landscape. Their first time, tender and awkward. The day in the woods at Thornwood Manor when she’d daringly tasted him. The night they were convinced she’d conceived.

Mentally, it was cold water splashed on a dog in heat, but physically he was too far gone. The pressure of completion was upon him. And Elizabeth. She sighed a scream, and he withdrew as quickly as he could and finished by spending on her stomach.

He lay upon her, weary from exquisite release. Her heart beat against his, and her hands ran up and down his back. Eventually, both their hearts and her hands calmed. Elizabeth brushed at the strands of hair draping over his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

“I love you, husband,” she said on a whisper, her voice filled with fatigue.

In the time it took him to formulate a response, she was asleep. He rolled off her and removed his shoes and trousers. He carefully crawled over her and wedged his back against the sofa, pulling her backside snug to his body. He should be berating himself for his actions but found he could not regret enjoying their joining one last time. He only prayed he had pulled out in time.

He lay there through the night, holding her, relishing her warmth, the weight of her on his arm a familiar comfort. When shades of dawn lightened the room, he eased his arm out and shifted, fighting an overwhelming melancholy at their separation. He traced the lines etched across her ivory skin. She’d grown so round with child. He kissed the marks lightly and pressed his ear against her midriff as though he could hear Sebastian’s heartbeat once again. He paused, ensuring he could hear hers.May it never stop.

He gently eased away and stood, stretching as he went into her bedroom and pulled off the top blanket. He returned and stood there for a few minutes, drinking her in. As she gracefully lay on her side, one knee pulled up, a hand tucked under her cheek, he took in every inch of her. God, she was beautiful. He took a deep breath, committed her to memory, and covered her before he turned away.

This could never happen again.

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