Chapter Sixteen
Piers woke up with the morning sunlight coming in through the window. Though he had drawn the curtains the previous evening, he hadn’t been careful enough to make sure they covered the entire window of the small room. He’d been much too excited.
The previous day, he and Stacey had arrived at Gretna Green, and the first thing they’d done was get married. After that, they had dinner and then they had retired to this room. And from there, he’d had the best night of his life.
The book he’d gotten at White’s on how to pleasure a lady mentioned how enjoyable lovemaking could be for a lady, but it hadn’t mentioned it could be that way for a gentleman. Yes, he had known he would enjoy it; he just didn’t know he’d enjoy it as much as he had. In fact, he couldn’t recall anything else he’d enjoyed more. Even discovering new books that fascinated him didn’t compare to being intimate with Stacey.
And it hadn’t just been the physical act of lovemaking that had been so pleasing. He felt much closer to Stacey than he had before. He’d thought himself in love with her when he’d asked her to marry him, but now he knew, without a doubt, that he loved her more than anything. Nothing could ever come close to being as wonderful as she was.
He rolled over in the bed and saw that the spot next to him was empty. He frowned. He hadn’t dreamt up last night…had he? They had made it to Gretna Green and gotten married. He had a good imagination, but it wasn’t that good.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” Stacey said.
He retrieved the spectacles from the small table by the bed and put them on. He got up on his elbow, the blanket falling to his waist as he did so. He found Stacey at the small vanity. She was wearing his robe, and at the moment, she was brushing her long blonde hair.
She placed the brush down and turned so that she was facing him. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your robe.”
“No, I don’t mind. Everything I have is yours. You can use anything. Well, I don’t think you’d get much use out of my spectacles,” he teased. “Your eyesight isn’t blurry like mine is.”
“How blurry is your eyesight when you aren’t wearing them?”
“I can read the words on a book cover, but I can’t read the words on the pages.” He waved her to the bed. “What are you still doing over there? You should come back here and keep me warm.”
She got up from the chair and walked over to the bed. He was sure she hadn’t intended for him to get aroused by looking at her, but taking note of the way her curves filled his robe had that exact effect on him.
She sat on the bed, and he caught a hint of her breasts in the slit of the robe. “There’s a book shop just down the street. Would you like to go there before we leave for London?”
He was having trouble concentrating on what she was saying. He managed just fine as long as she was fully covered, but she was showing him enough of her body that it made it difficult for him not to think of those beautiful breasts.
He encouraged her to lie down, and he put his arms around her. There. That was better. Even if he was still hard, he could at least manage a conversation.
“Gretna Green is a nice place,” he said, careful to keep his gaze on her face to avoid getting distracted. “Would you mind if we spent the entire day here? It would give us time to look at books, and we can go through any of the other shops you’re interested in. There’s also a nice walking path I saw on our way to this inn. Judging by how bright it is outside, it’s going to be a pleasant day. I think it’d be nice if we took a stroll after doing some shopping. Or we can take the stroll first. I’ll let you decide.”
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “That sounds lovely. All right. Let’s stay here for another day.”
He returned her smile then kissed her. With the conversation out of the way, he could give into more pressing urges. He removed his spectacles and put them back on the small table before he turned his attention back to her. He brought his mouth back to her, and allowed his hand to slip in the opening of the robe so he could cup one of her breasts in his hand.
He let out a soft groan and deepened the kiss. She felt just as good as she had last night. Thank goodness it hadn’t been a dream. It’d all been very real, and the best part was that he’d have the rest of his life to make love to her.
His tongue brushed her bottom lip, and she parted her lips to accept him into her mouth. Their tongues brushed, further fueling his arousal. He used his legs to kick the blanket off of him so that he could feel her pressing more intimately up against him.
Now, this was better. Much better.
While he continued to interlace his tongue with hers, he explored her breast in earnest. Recalling the way she liked it when he paid attention to her nipple, he lightly traced it with his thumb. Sure enough, she shivered in pleasure and ran her leg against his. He liked the fact that she didn’t hold back. She let him know what she liked, and it helped him know he was pleasing her.
She’d done that ever since he’d met her. At first, he wondered if she’d been humoring him by saying she was interested in what he was saying, but as time went on, he realized she was being sincere. So he knew she was truly enjoying herself right now. He couldn’t think of anyone who made a better companion for him. She was a perfect fit for him, emotionally and physically.
His mouth left hers, and he left a trail of kisses down her neck. When he reached the robe, he moved it aside so that he could proceed further down her body. He had to admit that she looked a lot better in his robe than he did, and he received pleasure out of having to move it out of the way. It was like unwrapping a gift. And Stacey was a very wonderful present.
He cupped her breast in his hand and brought her nipple into his mouth. As she had last night, she moaned and squeezed his shoulders. He teased her nipple, keeping his ministrations gentle so she’d receive maximum pleasure from it.
Letting go of her breast, he lowered his hand down to her waist. He undid the ribbon of the robe, which made the robe fall completely open. Stacey spread her legs, a move that told him she was as eager for the flesh on flesh contact as he was.
He touched the folds of her flesh. She was already wet. Entering her would be easy. Much easier than it had been the first time they’d been together. He’d been mindful of the book’s warning to take things slow as he got her ready to receive him. She didn’t seem to need the same care this morning, but even so, he didn’t rush the process of increasing her arousal.
He centered his thumb on her sensitive nub and employed the same circular motions she had enjoyed last night. Since it seemed to heighten her pleasure, he slid two fingers inside her and stroked her core.
He let her guide things from there. The previous evening, she had rocked her hips against him faster as she got closer to her peak, and he was hoping this would happen again. And thankfully, it did. He was learning how to ensure she received pleasure from this act, and one thing he wanted was for her to always look forward to being in bed with him.
Obviously, Ethan and Christopher thought it important to please their wives in bed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t promote that book as much as they did. He was grateful he’d picked up a copy when he had. Granted, at the time, he never thought he’d use anything in it, but he was glad he was using the methods in it right now. If he didn’t have the book to guide him, he’d probably be fumbling his way through this right now, and who knew if Stacey would be satisfied with his efforts?
But she was definitely happy with what he was doing, and she showed it through her actions. She tightened her hold on his arms and moved faster against him. She whispered his name. Then, after some time, she grew still and cried out. Her flesh wrapped tightly around his fingers, and he knew she had reached her peak.
Once she relaxed, he lifted his head from her breast and kissed her on the mouth. As much as he’d been enjoying his exploration of her and bringing her to fulfillment, he ached with the need to be inside her.
He slipped his fingers out of her, and, feeling a bit playful, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his back, taking her with him. She let out a startled chuckle. He chuckled along with her, but his laughter soon gave way to moans as soon as she took him into her.
Thankfully, his eyesight was good enough to make out the way she looked when she was on top of him. The sight of her perky white breasts bouncing while she rocked her hips was nearly his undoing. He didn’t want to reach his own peak too soon. He wanted to enjoy being inside her.
He closed his eyes and focused on feeling her. His hands on her hips, he guided her movements, intentionally slowing her down when he got too close to release just so he could build up the momentum all over again. He managed to do this three times before he was unable to resist the urge to climax. He grew taut and released his seed.
After a few seconds, he relaxed and opened his eyes. Stacey’s blonde hair had fallen over her shoulders so that they partly covered her breasts. With a smile, he squeezed her hips. “You’re such a beautiful lady. I’m glad I don’t need my spectacles to fully appreciate how you look naked.”
Seeming intrigued, she leaned forward and kissed him. “You can see me clearly?”
“Not as clear as I could if I was wearing the spectacles, but I can see well enough.”
“Well, in that case…” She leaned over to the table and got his spectacles. Then she sat back up. “I don’t mind if you see me as clearly as possible. It’s only fair since I can see you clearly.”
She gave him the spectacles, so he put them on. And sure enough, he saw her a lot better.
“I take back my earlier comment,” he said. “You’re more than beautiful. You are exquisite.”
She giggled and gave him another kiss, this one longer than the one before. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he loved her, but something stopped him from doing so. Maybe it was too soon. It seemed to be a lot easier to make love to her than it was to express what was in his heart. He’d taken a risk by asking her marry him, and he’d felt that was asking a lot of someone who hadn’t known him all that long.
So he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. At least for now. Someday, he’d tell her. He’d wait until the time was right, and when it was, hopefully, she’d tell him that she loved him, too. At the moment, however, they were happy, and that was enough.
***
Later that day after they went shopping, Piers took Stacey for a walk on a path that circled a pond. Other people were there, and most of them were children. She didn’t blame the children for wanting to take advantage of the day. As Piers had said, it was a nice one. It was warm, but the breeze cooled things off. They were surrounded by trees and flowers. When the breeze blew just right, she could smell their sweet fragrance. Really, she couldn’t think of a more perfect day. If only things could always be like this… If only she didn’t have to return to London…
But she did have to. She couldn’t let her mother stay with her father for the rest of her life. Stacey needed to get her mother away from him. Then, maybe then, her mother would want to come back to the land of the living.
For today, however, she chose to concentrate on being with Piers.
“It’s nice to be able to go somewhere with you without worrying about a chaperone,” Piers said, bringing her attention back to him.
“I came all the way to Gretna Green with you, and there was no chaperone,” she reminded him.
“I amend what I just said. It’s nice to be able to go with you somewhere—without a chaperone—and know that no scandal will come from it.” He studied her expression. “Do you realize there will be a scandal as result of our rushing off to this place to get married?”
“Yes, I know, but other couples have done the same without doing any lasting harm to their reputations.”
He considered her words and nodded. “You’re right. This kind of thing happens quite a bit. Lady Hawkins was recently widowed when she ran off to marry Lord Reddington. For a few weeks, everyone at White’s was talking about it. The fact that they had tried to keep their marriage a secret was far more scandalous than the fact that they had run off together…or that she had been widowed for only a few days when they married. If Lord Hawkins hadn’t been gone for a year prior to his death, people would have wondered if the child she had nine months later was really Lord Reddington’s.”
“I remember hearing about that. Lady Eloise insisted that no one in Ladies of Grace do anything like Lady Hawkins did. According to Lady Eloise, Lady Hawkins had been one of Lady Cadwalader’s friends until she did that.”
“Is that true?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never paid much attention to what happened to Lady Hawkins or Lady Cadwalader. I just figured that I better not do anything to upset Lady Eloise because my father was adamant that I belong to Ladies of Grace. Personally, I think he wanted me in the group because it made him look good to have his daughter in it. I don’t think it had anything to do with me being more attractive to prospective suitors.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re free to join, or not join, any group you want. I want you to do things that make you happy.”
She smiled at him and slipped her arm around his. “I know, and it makes me grateful to be with you. I never did have any real freedom with my father.”
He squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. “Which is a shame. My mother had great liberties. I took it for granted other ladies did, too. I never realized how sheltered I’d been until I met you. But then, I spent most of my time in a book. It’s only been recently that I’ve taken a good look around me.”
She chuckled. “I’m glad you did. However, I won’t mind it if you go back to reading a lot as long as you spare some time for me.”
“I’ll always have time for you.” After a moment, he added, “Do you want to know something?”
Curious about the secretive tone he was using, she asked, “What?”
“I prefer your company to anyone else’s.”
His words struck her as incredibly sweet, and though she knew it hadn’t been his intention, she had to wipe a couple of tears from her eyes. “I feel the same way about you, Piers.”
Her father hadn’t wanted to spend time with her mother. The marriage had been something arranged, and one thing her mother had told her when she was a child was, “Stacey, marry for love. Even if you have to disobey your father, pick the gentleman you’ll spend the rest of your life with.”
Her mother had made it a habit of keeping her thoughts to herself, which was why Stacey was so surprised by her mother’s insistence on this particular topic. It was why she recalled those words as she entered her first Season. And it had shaped her views about marriage much more than she’d realized until now.
One of the reasons she could give herself so freely to Piers was because her father didn’t like him. Piers was so unlike her father that it drew Stacey to him. Their marriage hadn’t been something her father had arranged for her. It’d been one she’d chosen to do.
Her poor mother had never been happy with her father. Not once had she enjoyed the marriage. Stacey didn’t know the details of their relationship, but she remembered her father hadn’t spent any time with her mother.
Obviously, he’d been with her long enough to conceive their children. Now that Stacey was familiar with what happened between a lady and gentleman in bed, she didn’t even want to think of what that aspect of her parents’ marriage had been like for her mother.
Stacey couldn’t imagine ever being with a gentleman the way she’d been with Piers. There was something about making love that made a lady vulnerable. With Piers, she was safe. She could be vulnerable with him. She could never be so with anyone else.
“Piers, how did your parents meet?” she asked, wondering if they had had an arranged marriage that had actually worked out.
“My father had been betrothed to a young lady through an arrangement my grandfather made at the time my father was born,” Piers began. “He met my mother a month before he was due to get married. He said he tried not to think of my mother because he felt bound by my grandfather’s word to keep to the arrangement, but in the end, he couldn’t deny his feelings. He ended up running off with my mother and marrying her instead.”
“And he and your mother were happy.”
“Yes. They were very happy. I know it was naïve on my part, but I assumed everyone in London was happily married, just like my parents were. Now I realize it’s a decision each couple has to make.” He squeezed her hand again. “We’ll have the kind of marriage my parents did.”
“More than anything, that’s what I want.”
“We will. I promise you that.”
Returning his smile, she turned her attention back to the path in front of them, and they continued the rest of their walk in a comfortable silence.