A sudden need to move overcame her. She snatched up her stays and started putting them on, desperate to focus her mind on something besides the man who’d just claimed to want her. Heaven above, she wanted him too. The longing to give herself up to the passion she sensed they could find with each other burned through her, leaving a smoldering path in its wake. Her fingers worked the laces of her front-closing stays, pulling them tight with jerky movements.
He promised her something with his words – the chance to have what she’d never had before, what she knew she would never have again once they went their separate ways. Mind reeling, she grabbed her gown, tossed it over her head, and pushed her arms through the sleeves.
Mr. Dale was up now as well. Still dressed in only his smalls, he moved toward the washbowl, pushing past her.
His arm brushed hers and Wilhelmina turned. Her hand reached out before she could think, staying his progress. This idea of hers – not really an idea at all but more of an instinct – would probably be a mistake. But after giving up all of her own dreams in order to constantly do what was right, where was the harm in letting herself enjoy a brief slice of happiness?
Mr. Dale stilled beneath her splayed fingers. She curled them more firmly around his arm and felt his muscles flex in response. Her gaze swept over his torso, across the hardened planes wrought from physical work and activity. Smooth skin rising and dipping in ridges and valleys lured her gaze lower, to the dark trail of hair right under his naval. She brought her other hand to his abdomen and slid it upward while committing each spot her fingertips touched to memory.
Pulse racing, she raised her gaze to his and instantly sucked in a breath on account of the hunger she found there. He watched her much as she imagined a cat on the prowl might consider its prey. Refusing to let it deter her, she held it. Even though she had little clue about what she was doing, she hoped he’d understand she not only shared his interest, but welcomed it.
“Mrs. Lawson…” The low timbre of his voice teased her senses, drawing her nearer.
“You may call me Mina, if you like.”
A hiss of breath left him and then his mouth was on hers, plundering her with wild abandon as if he were starved. Teeth grazed her skin and he answered her gasp with a growl. An arm came around her, clasping her to him, and Wilhelmina was lost – lost to a pleasure she’d only known once before in her life, when he’d kissed her in the carriage. Before that, she’d pushed all thoughts of ever engaging in lovemaking from her mind. Bad experience was after all a wretched thing to deal with.
But now, here with him, she felt no fear or apprehension. Perhaps because there was mutual consent, and because she knew he would never insist on more than what she was willing to give.
His hands shifted lower. She wound her arms around his neck and arched against him while kissing him back with equal fervor, tasting him as he tasted her. It was decadent, completely indecent, and utterly wonderful all at once.
“Mina.” Her name, roughly whispered against her cheek, held a scandalous promise. “We ought to get going.”
“I know,” she agreed, even as she raked her fingers through his hair and kissed him again.
He turned with her in his arms, stepped back a little, and lowered himself to the edge of the bed while bringing her with him. She had no choice but to bend her legs and place her knees on either side of his legs as he drew her to him. Her gown rode upward, and then her body connected with his, and it was as if stars sparked behind her eyes.
Yet it wasn’t enough.
Compelled by instinct, she moved, and was met by delicious sensation. Her breath hitched in response to the pleasure and as she gazed into his dark eyes, she knew he felt it too. Embracing the moment she leaned back a little, pushed down her bodice, and started undoing the stays she’d just tied a few minutes prior.
“Please.” It was all she could manage to say as they fell from her shoulders.
Mr. Dale dipped his gaze, and then he ran one finger along the edge of her shift’s neckline, toward the ribbon holding it closed in the front. “I’ve dreamt about this since the moment we met.”
Before she could voice a response he’d undone the bow and pulled down her garment, baring her to his gaze. His eyes flared and then his mouth was upon her, worshiping her in a new and glorious way. She gripped his shoulders and sighed with pleasure while gently moving against him. With a keen awareness of what she desired, he lifted up just enough to shove down his smalls. Returning his mouth to hers, he kissed her again while guiding her into the right position and bringing her back down on top of him.
The invasion that followed caused her to tense. She braced herself and took a deep breath while praying Mr. Dale had not noticed how truly inept she was with this sort of thing.
“Are you all right?” he asked, dismissing any such hope.
She forced a smile. “Fine.”
Leaning back a little, he searched her face. “If you’ve changed your mind just—”
“No. I, um…I’m just not used to doing it like this.”
He gave her a funny look. “You’re certain?”
His determination to make sure she was all right and that she was willing stood in such contrast to the only other experience she’d had, it almost made her weep.
“Yes.” She needed this more than she’d known – needed him to replace her ugly memories with one of beauty. So she placed her palm against his cheek and kissed him.
“Try to relax then,” he murmured against her lips.
She did as he instructed and allowed him to give her what she required – the illusion of being wanted and cared for in ways she knew she never would be. Clinging to him, she turned to him for guidance and let him set the pace.
“You’re perfect,” he murmured while pressing his cheek to hers. “Better than I imagined.”
Wanting to be as bold as he, she chose to return the sentiment. “So are you.”
Heat flashed in his eyes right before he brought his mouth back to hers. Passion travelled the length of her spine, prompting a gasp right before the sensation peaked and she shattered.
A swift movement followed and then a satisfied growl filled her ears as he came undone in her arms.
16
He had to be out of his bloody mind, James decided as he and Mrs. Lawson – Mina – set off once more. After thanking the Mitchells for their hospitality over a quick cup of tea and a slice of bread, they’d gone to find James’s coachman.
Propped against one corner of the carriage, diagonally across from Mina, James studied her profile as she gazed out the window. What the hell had he been thinking to claim her in such a rushed manner, like some common whore he could toss aside after? He must have taken leave of his senses. Thank God he’d at least had the presence of mind to withdraw at the very last moment.
He’d wanted to form a closer bond, but this was really taking the idea a step too far. Not that he hadn’t considered bedding her. Of course he had. Multiple times. But given his rising suspicions about her, he’d decided it would be unwise to press for anything more than a temporary friendship.
Too late for that now. They were officially more than travel companions, more than partners with a common goal, and a hell of a lot more than friends. And if she’d meant to keep him in the dark about herself forever, she’d failed spectacularly, because his eyes were now wide open. He saw her for exactly who she was – a woman who’d never taken a lover in her life.