Chapter Twenty-One
Louisa rushed up the staircase. She’d left the evening entertainment as soon as she could without attracting notice. According to Mrs. Wollard, Gavin’s meeting with her father had been short, but he hadn’t come downstairs afterward to join the other guests. Had Papa denied his permission? Was Gavin having second thoughts about marrying her? Surely they could work out a schedule for living at Walsley some of the time, even if it meant they spent a few months apart each year, though the thought of being away from him at all gave her pause.
After a perfunctory knock, she flung the door open. Gavin stood in front of the window, his back to her. “Why didn’t you come to my bedchamber? What happened?”
Without turning around, he said, “I’ve been given one year to prove to him that I’m worthy of you. I leave in the morning.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re already worthy of me. Perhaps more so than I am of you.”
Finally, he turned to face her. “How is that possible?”
“Because it took me forever to realize that I love you, whereas you knew right away. You’re obviously much wiser than I am.” She swiped angrily at the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
He made it over to her in less than a second and scooped her up into his arms. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. We won’t be apart forever.”
“A year is an eternity.”
He wiped her tears away. “Perhaps we can convince him of my devotion after only a few months apart instead of an entire year.”
“I’ll figure out a way to persuade him. There’s no way I can stand to be away from you for that long.” She pressed her palm to his cheek. “I don’t want to be separated from you at all.”
Before she knew what was happening, he was kissing her. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and met him stroke for stroke. Her fingers found his cravat and untied it.
He grabbed her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We can’t do this.”
“Yes, we can. I’m not waiting an entire year to be with you, Gavin.”
He bit his bottom lip. “Are you certain?”
She nodded, and he scooped her up and took her to his bed. He grabbed his cravat and began to pull it from his shirt, but she stopped him. “I want to undress you.”
His eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he dropped his hands to his sides and waited.
Without thinking overly much about what she was doing, she knelt on the bed and pulled off his cravat, tossing it carelessly over her shoulder. He laughed, and she decided this might be even more enjoyable than she had anticipated. Shoving his coat to the floor, she quickly undid the buttons at the top his shirt and pulled it off over his head. He was even more spectacular than she had remembered. As if they could think on their own, her fingers sought the contours of his chest. Remembering how he had made her feel, she wondered where his sensitive places were. She stretched up to press a kiss to his neck, then the hollow above his collarbone. From there, she made her way down his chest, kissing and licking until she reached the top of his breeches.
She paused to glance up at him, and his eyes were closed as if he was enjoying her explorations. Now was not the time to be circumspect. She unfastened the first button on his breeches, then the next. He groaned, but didn’t try to stop her, so she continued unbuttoning until there was nothing left to open. Her eyes widened at the size of his…she gulped. She mostly understood how things worked, but…
“Louisa?”
“Yes.”
“Is everything all right?”
“It’s just that I wasn’t expecting…”
He bit back a grin. “Well, I should hope not. It’s much better for me if you come into this with no expectations.”
She giggled, and he picked her up and set her on the bed.
“Why don’t we remove some of these clothes?” He started to unfasten the back of her gown.
“Only some?”
He stopped and grinned at her. “My apologies for misleading you, my lady. I do intend to remove all of them.”
Her gown and stays were gone in an instant, followed quickly by all of her underclothes.
Gavin stared at her legs for a moment. “What do you think? I did say I would take everything off, but I’m enjoying the wanton look of you with only your stockings on.”
“I guess it’s up to you, but you shouldn’t agonize over it for too long. After all, they are sheer, so they don’t leave much to the imagination.”
“True, but that’s part of their allure.”
“While you’re deciding, come over here so I can divest you of the rest of your garments.”
He stopped directly in front of her and stood still. She took a deep breath and reached for his breeches, but he grabbed her hands. “Are you sure you want to do this? There’s no going back once it’s done.”
She nodded and stood, so focused on him that she wasn’t even embarrassed to be mostly naked. Gathering her courage, she slid his breeches slowly over his hips and down to his ankles.
He obliged her by stepping out of them.
She allowed her eyes to drop. “Oh my.”
He put a finger under her chin and pushed up until their eyes met. “You’re not going to back out on me now, are you?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. It’s just…I was trying to figure out how this will work. It…you…it doesn’t seem like—”
“Shhh. Trust me. It’ll work.” He placed her back on the bed, then climbed up beside her so they faced each other. He kissed her softly, nibbling on her lower lip until she relaxed. Her curiosity got the better of her and she kissed her way across his jaw and down his neck, then moved back up to his mouth, their tongues meeting and tangling together as they explored one another.
He slid his hand down her side and over her hip then ran it over the exquisitely sensitive skin on her thigh. Her pulse throbbed between her legs and she pushed his hand against the apex of her thighs, hoping he would relieve her ache.
He pushed her onto her back and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You’re so hot and wet for me.”
“That’s because I know what you’re capable of doing to me.” Her stomach quivered in anticipation as he used his finger to push and rub against her until she could barely hold herself together. He slipped a finger inside her, then once she relaxed, he added a second. “I’m trying to make you ready for me.”
“What should I do to make you ready for me?” she asked.
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to do a thing. I’ve been waiting for you forever.”
Wanting to excite him the same why he did her, she slid her hand down and touched him. He sucked in a pained breath and she pulled her hand away. “What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing at all, but I’ve been waiting for you for so long. I’m not sure I can hold out for very long.”
“Then get on with it.”
“You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Then you’d better hurry.”
He laughed deep in his throat. “This isn’t something you want to rush. It should be warm, wet, and slow enough to drive you mad with longing.”
A thrill shot through her. “You’re already doing all of those things.”
He kissed her again, one hand tangled in her hair, and the other sending sensation after sensation through her with his fingers playing over her core.
She met him kiss for kiss. Excitement skittered through her as he positioned himself on top of her.
“I’m sorry, but this next part is going to hurt.”
“Then do it quickly. You can make it up to me later.”
He captured her mouth at the same instant he drove himself home inside her. For a moment, there was an odd mix of pleasure and pain, but soon enough, she felt only the pleasure. He filled her completely, like a missing piece of her had been restored.
She pushed back, meeting him thrust for thrust, reaching for that elusive release she’d experienced before. Remembering how he had touched her the first time, she reached up and rubbed her nipple. A moan escaped her lips as she got closer to release, and he groaned. Suddenly, everything shattered around her and she anchored herself to his warmth.
Gavin laid his head on her chest and tangled his fingers in her hair. “No wonder I fell so hard for you.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Most definitely. I don’t suppose you’d want to return the favor and offer me one.”
She grinned and kissed his forehead. “Not especially. I think you’re confident enough already. If I praise you too often, you’ll be impossible to live with.”
He sighed. “We really shouldn’t have done that.”
Her heart froze. “Why not?”
“Because you might be with child, and it will look like we did it on purpose to force your father to allow us to marry. He’ll despise me.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were saying that you didn’t like it.”
“Trust me. There will never be any danger of me ever not wanting to do that with you. Anytime, anywhere, whenever you want. Always.” He lifted himself up and met her eyes. “Have I mentioned that I love you?”
She shook her head.
“Well, I do. And I’ll wait as long as it takes for your father to accept me.”
“I love you, too, you know.”
“Well, I didn’t know for sure until just now.”
“And I’m not going to wait forever for my father to accept you. I’m going to convince him to do it now. Besides, you can’t leave until we find the jewelry.”
“We might never find it.”
“Well, that would mean that you can never leave. It is possible that I care more about you than the jewelry.”
“It’s possible, but you’re not certain?”
She shrugged. “Well, I haven’t actually seen the jewelry yet, have I?”
He grabbed her and she squealed and pretended to try to get away, when in truth, she was exactly where she wanted to be. She couldn’t image spending even one day without him, let alone an entire year. After a lifetime of deferring to her father’s wishes, she was going to stand up for herself and get what she wanted. If she couldn’t convince Papa to give his permission, they would elope.