Bridget retrieved the bread and cheese Mrs. White had wrapped up for her and ate it slowly, trying to make it last.
When she was done, she lit a candle and read for a while by the flickering light. The house had grown quiet by then. If she was going to go to Caleb’s room, now was the time to do it.
She didn’t have to go. He would help her regardless. But if she didn’t go, she wouldn’t know what surprise he had for her. And she’d never know if he still wanted to kiss her, and if she still liked it.
Rising, Bridget took a deep breath and unwrapped her fine chemise.
Five
Caleb opened the door at the first knock. He’d been waiting and wasn’t too proud to let Bridget know it. He pulled her inside and quickly shut the door, then stepped back so he wasn’t tempted to take her into his arms. That wasn’t why she’d come.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly. The walls were thin, and the house was quiet now.
“I thought about not coming.”
“I know. If you hadn’t, I would have given you this tomorrow.” He lifted a small package from the table and presented it to her.
She took it gingerly and opened the top. “Oh!” The sound came out on a breath. She looked up at him, her brown eyes shining. “I haven’t had these since I was a child.”
“I thought the same thing when I saw them in the confectioner’s. But they’re too sweet for me now. They’re yours.”
“The whole bag?”
“If you can stomach them, yes.”
She withdrew a little white piece of sugar fashioned into the shape of a pig and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she sucked on the sugar. When Caleb’s breeches began to feel tight, he had to look away.
“They’re just as I remember them,” she said. “I could eat the whole bag, but I’ll save them for James. It will make a lovely treat when I have him back.”
Of course she would save them for James. She never thought of herself. “You eat them, and I’ll buy him his own bag.”
She set the bag on the table, but didn’t release it for a long moment. “I don’t mind saving them. Thank you.”
“There are at least ten left in the bag. Have one more.” He didn’t know what made him do it, but he reached for the bag and extracted one of the sugar pigs. Then, though he knew he was playing with fire, he lifted it to her lips.
She didn’t part them right away. He touched her lips with the confection, rubbed the sugar against her rosy mouth. Her gaze lifted to his, and he saw the hunger there. Her lips parted, and he slipped the little pig between them. Her pink tongue darted out to take the treat inside. This time, as she sucked it, she didn’t close her eyes. Her gaze was hot on his as she stepped closer and slid her arms about his neck. His own arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his chest. The feel of her was so natural, so familiar. It was as though no time whatsoever had passed since the last time they had stood like this.
He lowered his head as she angled hers up, and when their lips met, the tremor of desire was palpable.
This! his body screamed. This is what I seek.
Their mouths fit together as naturally as their bodies, and when his tongue swept inside her mouth, she was as sweet as the confection. He didn’t know how long they stood beside the table, feasting. It might have been minutes or hours. But eventually, she broke the kiss and murmured, “Bed.”
It took him a moment to comprehend. He stared at her swollen lips, perplexed, then dragged her across the room, lifted her, and placed her on the narrow bed. He had little choice but to come down on top of her. The furnishing was not large enough to accommodate two side by side. Her hands were on his coat, pushing it off his shoulders as he kissed her jaw, her neck, behind her ear.
After several moments of struggling with his coat, she shoved him back. “Take that off.”
He sat and she beside him. He stripped off the coat, then loosened his neckcloth. He would have stopped there, but she yanked at his shirt and unfastened the buttons at his neck and sleeves. She stood to pull it off, then looked down at his bare chest. “You have a scar here now.” She touched his right shoulder.
“Pistol ball. It went right through.”
“And here.” She swept her fingers across his left flank.
“Bayonet. I didn’t feint fast enough.”
Her hand brushed over his abdomen, making him inhale shakily. “You’ve more muscle than before.”
“Staying alive when everyone wants to kill you is hard work. I’ve been running, fighting, and climbing for years. Give it a few more years and I’ll be soft and doughy again.”
She smiled, obviously remembering their game. They’d lay in bed for hours, and she’d rest her head on his chest, pretending to mold his belly into dough for bread. Now, he pulled her between his legs. “Kiss me again.”
“You don’t want to investigate whether I’ve changed?”
“That depends on whether you want to show me.”
She stepped back and reached for the pins holding her bodice together. She wore a dress of cream with pale blue stripes every few inches. The bodice was modest and edged with lace that parted as she removed the pins and dropped them on the floor. The bodice soon followed and then her skirts, until she stood in her chemise and front-lacing stays.
Caleb couldn’t sit patiently any longer. He could see the outline of her legs beneath the thin lawn of the shift. The garters of her stockings were purple, like the ribbons of her chemise. He put both hands on her hips and drew her closer. “You’re still as beautiful as ever.”
“Do you think so?”
Her body had changed. He could feel the swell of hips that had been narrow before, and her breasts all but spilled from the stays when they had been but a small handful when he’d known her years ago.
“I do.” He reached up and unlaced the stays, pushing them down over her hips. The hard points of her nipples stood out against the thin fabric of the shift. Caleb’s hand skated up her belly to rest between her breasts. Her heart beat fast under his hand. “I’ve missed you, Bridget. I didn’t know how much.”
“Show me.” She perched herself on his knee and put her arms around him, kissing him slowly and thoroughly. Her lips traced his, then nudged his mouth open. She teased and taunted until he was so hard he had to lean back to alleviate some of the pressure. She tumbled down with him, pushing her hands through his hair and locking her knees about his hips.
He didn’t reach for the fall of his breeches. He’d got her with child once, and he wouldn’t make that mistake again. Instead, he ran his hands up and down her shift, learning the new curves and revisiting the old. Loosening the ribbon of the chemise, he tugged it down and bared her breasts. As he’d imagined, they were larger, the nipples plumper. He took one in his mouth, and she moaned and pressed her sex against him. It was his turn to moan. As he licked and sucked, she ground against him, causing the sweetest torment.
He took her other breast in his mouth and slid his hands to the hem of her shift. His fingertips grazed her calves and her knees, then up her silky thighs to her plump buttocks. Her eyes opened as he cupped her thighs, and she met his gaze as he slid his hand to the junction of her thighs and the dewy curls nestled there.