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His pleasure was infectious. She laughed. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you devil.”
With a growl of satisfaction, he lunged for her, and then he was kissing her and pressing her back onto the sheets and having his “wicked way with her” once more. This time was even better than before, because she knew what to expect, how to act.
It was glorious, simply glorious. He might not speak words of love or claim to adore her, but she could feel his adoration in every touch, feel his love in every kiss. That was enough for now.
When they were done and lay tangled in the sheets and each other’s arms, he whispered against her ear, “Much as I enjoy this, sweeting, we dare not linger much longer. Unless you want your family to find us here together.”
“I suppose that wouldn’t do,” she said with faint regret. “It’ll be bad enough when you speak to Griff about marrying me.”
He groaned and rolled away from her. “Don’t remind me. Your brother-in-law doesn’t like me at all, I’m afraid.”
She chuckled. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Impudent minx.” He threw a pillow at her before leaving the bed to search for his drawers. “No doubt you’ve enjoyed watching him bait me and grouse at me and make vague threats to do me in.”
“A little. You deserved it, after all.”
He raised an eyebrow as he dragged on his drawers and fastened them. “You’ve become quite the bloodthirsty wench since I first met you.”
“You have only yourself to blame for that,” she teased.
Pulling on his trousers, he cast her a rueful smile. “How well I know.”
“But soon it will all be over—this nastiness between you and Griff. Once we marry, he can hardly treat you badly. The tricky part will be convincing him and my father to allow the marriage after what you did to me.”
“By bedding you? Some things are better left secret, sweeting, don’t you think?”
She blushed. As if she could ever tell her father or Griff such a thing! “I meant the kidnapping. Once you explain why you did it, he may make a fuss, but—”
“I’m sure he’ll make more than a ‘fuss.’” He donned his shirt and tucked the tails in his trousers. “That’s precisely why I’m not telling him any of that. Not yet, anyway.”
She stared at him, her heart giving a little lurch. “Wh-what do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Until we’re married and Morgan is safely back in England, I’m not telling your brother-in-law a blasted thing.” Suddenly, he glanced up and saw her expression. A small frown creased his brow. “Surely you didn’t expect me to.”
Feeling suddenly exposed and vulnerable before him, she sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. “I most certainly did!”
“Why?” He buttoned up the vee of his shirt, then his cuffs. “It will only make more trouble. What would be the point?”
“The point is that we’re going to marry. The point is that you’ll be part of my family. So before we rush into anything so serious, I think you owe them an explanation about how we really met and why you did what you did!”
His lips thinned. “And they’ll hear one. As soon as Morgan returns and I’m sure he’s safe.”
She drew herself up and prepared for battle. “Then I’m afraid we have a problem.”
Chapter 17
Be thine own palace, or the world’s thy jail.
John Donne’s “To Sir Henry Wotton,” worked
badly on a hanging by Rosalind Laverick at thirteen
Sebastian’s blood curdled at those words. “What kind of problem?”
“I can’t possibly marry you without their knowing the truth. We’ll have to wait to marry until your brother returns.”
“The devil we will!” He stared at her, completely taken aback. “He might not return for weeks, even months! Morgan wrote that he wasn’t sure how long it would be. For God’s sake, I don’t even know where he is or how he plans to get back!”
