“Min,” he breathed, nuzzling the curve of her neck. “I need you again. Can you take me?”
She nodded her assent. But before she could turn to face him, he’d cupped and lifted her leg, shifting position behind her. His hardness wedged between her thighs.
She tensed, uncertain.
“It’s all right.” He kissed her neck as his fingers slid down her belly, working their way to her cleft. “Let me show you.”
He caressed her intimate flesh with skill and patience. Until she was not only ready, but desperate for him.
“Love me,” she begged. Because she could speak the words right now, without risking too much.
He took his erection in hand, tilted her hips to just the right angle, and eased inside.
She was tender from the night before. But he was gentle, holding her curled in his arms and loving her in slow, deliberate strokes. The sweet warmth between them grew and spread. She relaxed her body, undulating with his thrusts so that they moved as one.
He palmed her breast and pinched her nipple. Then his touch drifted down her body.
Yes. Lower. Touch me there.
He knew what she craved. He caught her pearl with his fingertips and worked her in tight, feverish circles until she shuddered and cried out with the exquisite pleasure. As her climax receded, he withdrew, finishing with a few hard, desperate thrusts between her thighs. As he came, she savored his low growl.
“Good morning.” She felt his smile against her nape.
“Is it?”
His tone changed. “Don’t you think so? Are you wishing we hadn’t—”
“No.” Screwing up her courage, she twisted to face him. “I have no regrets. None. But I want assure you, just in case it needs saying . . . I don’t have any expectations.”
Only hopes. Wistful, foolish hopes.
He blinked. “You don’t have any expectations.”
Surely he must understand what she meant. “What we shared was wonderful. But I don’t want you to worry that I’m expecting something more.”
“Well,” he said dryly. “How very generous of you.”
“Aren’t you relieved?” She didn’t understand the annoyance in his voice.
He rolled onto his back, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Minerva, I can’t decide which of us you’re insulting more. After last night, you should have expectations.”
“Expectations of what?” She swallowed hard.
“Of me.”
“I thought you were the one who argued against having any expectations at all. Isn’t that your grand life philosophy? You said expectations lead to disappointments. That if you expect nothing, you’re always surprised.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “In that case . . .”
He turned to her. His hazel eyes sparked with intensity.
“Surprise.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re marrying me.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Well, Colin thought. He’d certainly managed to surprise her.
Whether the surprise fell into the “pleasant” or “unpleasant” category, he wasn’t sure. The latter, he suspected.
She didn’t move a muscle. But behind her spectacles, her eyelashes worked like twin ebony fans. “Marry? You?”
He tried not to take offense. “I must say, Minerva. That’s not exactly the breathless, overjoyed acceptance a man might wish to hear.”
“That wasn’t exactly the ardent, heartfelt proposal that might warrant one. In fact, I’m not sure it counts as a proposal at all.”
“Fair enough, I suppose.” He lightened his tone. “You have a temporary reprieve. Right now, out of bed with you. We have to make haste if we’re going to reach York tonight.”
“Wait, wait.” As he sat up, she grabbed his arm. “I’m so confused. Is this like one of those silly duels gentlemen arrange for show? You fire off a haphazard proposal at dawn, it sails straight over my head, and somehow honor is satisfied?”
“No, it’s not like that at all. I’m serious. I mean to marry you.”
“But I thought you’d sworn off marriage.”
He shrugged. “I seem to recall you saying something similar.”
“Exactly. Colin, I do appreciate the gesture.” She bit her lip. “I think. But I won’t marry you simply because you’re feeling a sudden twinge of conscience. We both knew from the outset I’d be ruined.”
“In appearance, yes. But this is actuality.”
“In actuality, I don’t feel ruined at all.” She gave him a sheepish half smile. “Only a bit tender in places. Did last night feel like some grave mistake to you?”
He touched her cheek. “God, no. The furthest thing from it.”
He let his gaze wander her sweet, lovely face. After the night they’d shared, something in his soul finally felt put right.
“Then what’s this truly about? What on earth can you be thinking?”
She struggled to sit up. The bedsheets slipped to her hips, revealing her bare torso.
Colin’s breath left his body. Damn if she didn’t look just exactly the way she had that first night. Her spectacles slipped to the end of her nose, her unbound hair tumbling about her shoulders, her bared br**sts tempting him with their touchable perfection.