Page 52 of Always the Chaperone

“Another man?” Charlotte asked. “You are the only one for me.”

He moaned at her words and pulled himself out of her almost completely, leaving just the tip of himself inside her. “Now tell me you’ll marry me, Charlotte. Tell me yes. That’s all I need from you.”

No matter how experienced he was, how much of the world he knew, she was the one in control. “No.”

His blue eyes darkened. “Well, then. You will have to be punished until you give me the answer I need.”

William entered her again, and this time, Charlotte arched her back.Punishment?If he thought this was punishment, she would hate to see pleasure.

She gasped as he began a ruthless rhythm, slow at first but deeper than she thought possible. His hand pleasured her breasts as his tongue pleasured her mouth, and all she could do was cry out until he whispered into her ear.

“Say yes.”

“No,” she breathed.

“Please,” he said, his voice breaking as he begged. “Please, Charlotte, say yes.”

Something wild was starting to overwhelm her, and it was like when he made her explode with his fingers but deeper, across her whole body. She never wanted to be without him again.

He thrust into her faster and faster, and suddenly, Charlotte could do nothing, think nothing, just feel because her body was shattering in pleasure.

“Yes!”

Chapter Fourteen

William clasped thewonderful woman to him and sighed.

By God, he could never have hoped for this.

As they lay together naked, nestled under a blanket, it was difficult to take it in. Beautiful, intelligent, witty, wonderful company, and a woman he could talk to for hours and never tire of. And here she was, in his arms, after she had welcomed him to her bed.

Charlotte breathed contentedly, her eyes closed, and William tightened his grip.

“To think most men have to propose months before enjoying such pleasure,” he said softly.

She laughed, and his manhood twitched. But William quelled those particular thoughts. This was new to her, and it would not do to wear her out this early. Not now that he had offered her marriage, and she had finally accepted.

“To tell the truth,” she whispered. “I do not consider my yes an acceptance of your proposal. It was hardly fair, you must admit. No lady can be held accountable for what she says while teased…that way.”

William’s heart sank.Ah.In that case, his hopes for her and their life together weren’t exactly fixed. She had not said yes to his proposal, but then, she had not said no. To be sure, she had moaned no several times, and the thought of it made him slightly hard again, but she had not pushed him away.

“I must ask then,” he said, his hand stroking her back, “what circumstances will I need for you to say yes and mean it?”

She did not speak for several minutes but placed her hand on his chest and considered her fingers. Eventually, she said, “I do not know. I always wanted to marry when I was young.”

“You are young.”

Charlotte snorted. “Five and thirty? You are kind to lie to me. No, when I was a young debutante entering into society, all I could think of was marriage. As I grew older and became more ignored, that dream faded. When I was first asked to act as a chaperone, that was when I knew the dream had died. No one marries the chaperone, not even you.”

“But I want to,” he said seriously.

She stretched and curled back into his arms. “I have said goodbye to that dream. It seems strange, attempting to resurrect it after so long.”

“Did it truly die? It wasn’t…sleeping? Waiting for the right gentleman?”

Her entire life was shaped around helping others to court and wed. When did Charlotte get her turn?

“Perhaps it just needs encouragement,” Charlotte said.