Regency Society. Ann LethbridgeЧитать онлайн книгу.
as well and I should think of my lady before myself. But I have been able to think of nothing but your hand on me for the whole day…’
She shivered in the bed and wrapped the sheet even tighter around herself. ‘I can see to my own needs from now on.’
‘Constance,’ he whispered. ‘What is the matter?’
When she tried to speak, it felt as though her throat were full of tears. ‘You know what is the matter. How could you say that? I trusted you. And how could you hurt me so? To use such an excuse to avoid making love, when you must know as well as the rest of the world that I have been barren for thirty years. Producing a child will not be at issue. If you have a distaste for me, or for the act, or if there is another woman, can you at least tell me the truth? Do you think me a fool?’
‘Constance.’ He pulled her to him, so that she could feel him, still hard, and pressing against her from behind. Then he rested his head against her shoulder, so that he might speak in her ear. ‘I do not think you foolish. But I think that you have been told for so long that there is a deficiency in you that you believe it yourself. Now, answer me honestly. Have you ever lain with a man, other than your husband?’
‘No, of course not. How could you say such a thing?’
‘How old was he when you married?’
‘He was almost two score.’
‘And you were just out of the schoolroom, were you not?’
‘Well, yes.’
‘And did he have mistresses?’
She never liked to think of such things. But there had been the scent of strange perfume, and the occasional trace of rouge on his cravat, although she wore none.
‘Constance?’
‘Yes. There were other women.’
‘But no rumours of bastards?’
‘No.’ The thoughts that she had never dared think, when Robert was alive, mingled with the doubts.
‘Did you ever have to dismiss a chambermaid for getting herself in trouble? And I do not mean for carelessness with the silver.’
‘No.’
‘So your husband had no children when he married you, and in the last fifteen years he lay with several women, without issue. While you were only with him.’ He placed a hand negligently on her hip. ‘I told you before, Constance, I am not prone to gambling. But I’ll wager, if we are careless and lower this sheet, you are liable to find that the problem was not yours, much to your regret.’
Regret? He must be mad. Awareness flooded her. Tony was young and strong and hard. Virile. And he wanted her, as much as she wanted him. If there was a chance, even the slightest chance, that she could ever hold a babe…She yanked the sheet out of his hand and turned to face him, wrapping her legs around his body so that his sex could rest against her.
She kissed him, and rubbed her body against his, urging him to do what she knew he wanted to.
And he muttered, ‘You are not thinking clearly, Constance. God knows, I can hardly think at all. Now give me back the sheet before I do something that we may rue later.’ But he did not push her away.
‘Take me, Tony,’ she murmured. ‘I do not care. Take me, now.’ And she reached between them to guide him into her body.
He took a long breath and stayed her hand. ‘I must be mad to stop you. A moment. Please.’
There was a pause as he tried to remember what it was he wanted to say. ‘You may not care now. But no child of mine shall be a bastard. If I am right and there is a consequence to this act, do you swear to me that you will tell me, and accept the next time I offer for you?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘Now, do it.’
Still he waited, and he was trembling with the effort. ‘There will be no fuss from you about my low birth, or my chosen profession, no nonsense about not knowing my family or my past. You will marry me without question, and follow where I lead.’
‘Yes, Tony,’ she panted. ‘Yes, now just do it, before it is too late.’
And he rolled over her, thrust into her, shuddered and collapsed.
She held him close and smiled into his shoulder, at the feel of him filling her, the thought of his seed inside her, and the idea that she might not be dead inside after all.
He raised himself up on his arms to look down into her eyes. ‘Woman, you are mad to be smiling at me. That was a pathetic effort on my part. I had hoped for so much more from our first true meeting. To leave you satisfied at least. But to so totally lose control of myself…’
‘It was fine,’ she assured him. ‘I am just so glad that we were not too late.’
‘Too late for what, sweet?’
‘You almost did it without being within me. I had hoped that it would happen this evening. And it would be a shame if I had missed it.’
He was staring at her in a most unusual way. And he muttered, ‘You husband was quite a bit older than you. Well, I suppose…’
And then he moved against her, to stroke inside her. ‘I think, my darling, that if you thought that was to be an isolated incident, there is yet more to teach you.’
She gasped as he grew hard again and her body tightened in surprise.
He sucked in his breath. ‘Do that again, love. Yes, just like that. And again. You are heaven, for I never expected to feel something so good in this life. You did not think I would stop at once, if you let me have you. I am insulted.’
More than once. He was right, there were things she needed to learn. He was large and he was hard for her again. Her excitement grew at the thought.
He paused. ‘Let us try something new.’
She wanted to argue that it was already new to her and quite good enough, when he had rolled so that she was lying on top of him.
She froze in confusion, wondering what he wished her to do next. And she shifted up on to her elbows so she could look at him. And the feeling took her. And she shifted, again. And again. And then she drew her legs up under her, and he grabbed her by the waist and let her do as she would, whispering words of encouragement as she rocked herself to climax upon him. Then he steadied her hips and thrust upward, again and again before his back arched, and he called her name, and then he pulled her down to lie on top of him again.
Their bodies were sweat slicked and chill in the darkness, and she shivered.
He threw the sheet over her back and wrapped his arms around her.
‘You were right,’ she whispered. ‘That was even better.’
‘And that was just the beginning,’ he promised. ‘We can try again, if you let me rest for a few minutes.’
‘Minutes?’ she asked in surprise.
‘Or longer, if you wish.’ He paused. ‘I had rather hoped to stay the night, if you would allow it. I will be gone before dawn, of course. No one will see me.’ He paused again, as though he thought, after what had happened, that she still might have the strength to deny him.
She snuggled into him, turned her face into his shoulder and kissed it. ‘Stay as long as you wish.’ Then she remembered her fears of the previous night. ‘As long as it is safe for you to do so. Barton is not still searching for you, is he?’
‘We are both safe from Barton. For a time, at least. He is not stalking me at the moment, and I hope he will have the sense to leave off bothering you, after the beating I gave him.’ His arm wrapped protectively around her to pull her closer. ‘So we should have several days of peace before Barton feels brave enough to try again. And I mean to spend every moment I can in your arms.’