Page 31 of Seven Swans a Swimming

Joy soared through Arabella’s heart as she turned back to him. “I…I do not understand you, Nathaniel, but I think I am starting to. I am…I am honored by your attention.”

“And by my affection,” said Nathaniel seriously. “I hope you know that. I would not be…well, like this, here, if I did not admire and care for you.”

Arabella smiled but did not reply with words. Her mouth, her kisses could easily share with him just how much she adored him in turn.

For she did. Despite all her fears about this visit, despite her frustrations with her father that he was sending her to Oxcaster Lacey over the Christmas season of all times, after all her confusion with Nathaniel, not understanding him, seeing him as aloof and irritating…

She knew him better now. She adored him. She loved him.

Impetuously, Arabella deepened the kiss, twisting her head to allow his tongue to meet her own. Frisson flickered through her body as they met, Nathaniel’s desire for her instantly transforming into pleasure.

Arabella moaned. This was all she wanted. He was all that mattered.

It appeared he thought just the same. His hands had moved from her waist to her buttocks, and though before this very moment Arabella would have been terrified, astonished at the very thought that someone would wish to touch her there, with Nathaniel, it felt totally natural.

As though his hands belonged there. Almost as though every moment when he was not touching her was a moment wasted.

“Oh, Arabella,” whispered Nathaniel as he pulled back from the kiss, his hair tousled, his eyes fierce with desire.

Arabella leaned forward, wanted to kiss him again, but this time he leaned back. She halted, a little ashamed of her blatant lust. The last thing she wished to do was lose his favor, not at this moment, when they finally understood each other.

“But—but I want you,” she whispered, unable to help herself.

Nathaniel groaned and dipped his head, resting his forehead against hers. “You don’t know what you do to me, Arabella.”

In truth, she did. Arabella was no fool, she knew the…well, the mechanics of lovemaking. And she was not so lost in Nathaniel’s kisses that she could not feel the hardness of his manhood against her hip.

He wanted her. Wanted her badly, just as she wanted him, though there was no outward sign.

And that meant, Arabella thought wildly, that unless she said something, he would not know. He could not know just how much his desire for her was matched by her own.

Oh, if only she could find the words, if only she could reveal to him the thoughts rushing through her mind—the desire she had for him. Images, hopes, and tumbled desires mingled in Arabella’s mind so fervently that she was not sure she had the ability to do anything about it.

But she must try. She had to explain to him, had to reveal her thoughts.

Arabella swallowed. “You do it to me, too. I-I want you, Nathaniel. I want you to make love to me.”

For a moment, the words hung in the air, echoing in Arabella’s mind. She could hardly believe she had spoken so immodestly and out loud.

But if there was anyone in the world who could be told that innermost thought, it was Nathaniel. Arabella felt safe in his arms, but also in danger—in danger of losing herself entirely to the lust rushing through her veins.

Nathaniel was staring at her as though he had not heard her correctly. “You…you want me to make love to you?”

Hardly able to breathe, Arabella slipped one of her hands over his heart down his chest, lower, and lower, until Nathaniel gasped and shuddered. Her fingers had scraped over the bulge of his manhood in his breeches. Then he groaned as she stroked the fabric gently again, feeling the pulse of his desire.

“I want you,” Arabella whispered, not looking away from him. “All of you. Everything you are, Nathaniel, I w-want it. I want you. Do you…do you understand?”

She hoped he did, hoped he would not reject her. It had taken all her self-control to continue with this, and Arabella knew if Nathaniel turned her away, she could not bear it. The ache within her that only Nathaniel created was starting to hurt, and she needed him, needed him to help her ease it.

Nathaniel breathed heavily, as though only just able to control himself. “My parents are out. Gone for the night. And we are engaged to be married, you know.”

It took a moment for Arabella to realize what Nathaniel was trying to say, and even then, she needed to hear him say it properly. Say it aloud.

“What do you mean?”

Nathaniel kissed her hard on the mouth. “I mean I want to make love to you. Let me, Arabella. I want…I want to explore it with you.”

Unconsciously, Arabella’s hand tightened around Nathaniel’s manhood, and he groaned and stepped away from her, breaking the connection.

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