Chapter 18
Julia abandoned caution and fear, freeing herself of the concern she’d felt when they were in the duke’s book room in the middle of the night. Right now, there would be nothing in her thoughts but Garrett.
It wasn’t yet midday and they had all afternoon before the housekeeper would return. She wanted their coming together to be natural, flowing, and reverent. Julia led Garrett up the stairs to one of the bedchambers, where he locked them inside. But there was no changing nature. Their kisses and touches were just as eager, jubilant, and frantic as they had been the first time they were together. Neither of them could deny the desperate release their bodies demanded and wait until they were undressed. They braced against the door and kissed and touched until she trembled and he shuddered in the aftermath of their frenetic passion that left both of them breathless, happy, but nowhere near satisfied.
Only then did they disrobe. They wanted more. Julia pushed the coverlet aside and they lay down on the bed together.
The air in the room was cool. She shivered until Garrett stretched out his body, facing her, and gathered her close in the warmth of his embrace. He ran his hand down the plane of her hip, and then up to her waist, over her breasts, and back down to follow the same path all over again.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” he said. “Me and you together. Alone. On a soft bed. With hours, not minutes, to be together.”
“I’ve wanted it too, but there was always the worry—”
He kissed her softly, cutting off her words. “There are no worries right now. Just you and me.”
She smiled. “Then kiss me again and again.”
Garrett captured her lips in a deep passionate kiss. Julia moved her hands over him. His body was hard, lean, and magnificent to look at in the bright light of the afternoon sun shining through the windows. His skin was warm, smooth, and taut. She felt power in the breadth of his shoulders as her hands skimmed along their width. Muscles in his back and upper arms were perfectly defined and tight. His hips were slim and the swell of his buttocks firm.
Garrett became familiar with Julia’s form, too. She’d ached for his touch, and that ache was eased when his hands glided down to her breasts, feeling the roundness before sliding down her ribs to her waist where he caressed the indention and pulled her even closer to him. His open palm moved over to her inner thigh and he touched her softly. He seemed to know where to touch her, what she wanted and needed without her saying a word. Each seductive stroke on the center of her womanhood was exhilarating, intoxicating, and deeply moving.
His fingers were gentle and sure as he quickly brought her to the peak of satisfaction once again and then allowed her to bask in the irresistible finish before he rolled her on her back and rose over her. She whispered his name over and over again, and each time he answered with a tender, “Yes.”
Through their kisses they shared short breaths, sensual gasps, and long satisfying sighs. There was nipping, hovering, and deep kisses that bound them together in the sweet ecstasy of joining their bodies as one again. Their coming together was more passionate each time. Quick intakes of breath turned into soft sighs of wanting as his lips closed over her breast. Sensations of pleasure tumbled, swirled and rotated inside her. She savored each movement, each sensation. As if understanding her blissful torment, Garrett lingered and fed her hunger of wanting to be touched and adored, pleasing her all the more.
His embrace was at times gentle and possessive, and at all times persuasive that she was the one he wanted and treasured.
At first their lovemaking had been controlled and leisurely as their lips brushed, their hands clasped. Their bodies melded together smoothly, firmly, perfectly. His touch was magical, ethereal, and heady, sending waves of euphoria searing through her.
But all too soon, once more came the urgency. The abandonment of precious moments and reverence for spinning, mindless flashes of blatant, selfish pleasure. Once again she was filled with extraordinary sensations that ended in delights too gratifying to be put into words. Julia welcomed them all. So did Garrett. The tremor of his muscles, the depths of his breathing, the intensity of his gasps as he whispered her name told her all she needed to know about how he felt.
Even as they rested, Garrett continued to softly kiss her lips, her cheeks, and the hollow of her throat. It was comforting and complemented the perfect contentment that had settled over her.
The afterglow of their coming together bathed Julia in a sweet feeling of contentment as Garret shifted his body and once again lay on his side. He cuddled her into the circle of his arms. She smiled, harboring no regrets for being with him again. Time with him was glorious.
She sensed he felt as she did.
They lay in silence filled with languor and memories of what passed between them. But now came the reality of how she felt and what Garrett meant to her. She’d told Brina she didn’t know if she loved him. Now she knew she did. But would they ever be together again after today? Would she defeat the duke so she could be free? Would Garrett set sail again soon?
“Was Kitson a good husband?” he asked as his hand softly caressed her upper arm and shoulder.
Julia hadn’t expected those to be the first words to pass between them after their love-making. His question didn’t shock or dismay her. She actually understood his reason for asking. Curiosity was one of life’s riches and was generally bestowed on everyone. Though some more than others. Since he had broached the subject, it gave her the opportunity to ask him a question that she had been pondering since they first met.
“Was the sea a good mistress?”
He chuckled, and said, “You made your point, my lady.”
Without knowing why, she added, “I can’t say I was in love with Kitson when I married him, but I feel no dishonor in that. We knew we didn’t love each other, but to us our marriage seemed almost necessary. It gave us both what we wanted. I was free of the older viscount and he had defied his father. As happened, Kitson and I ended up being well suited, with neither of us demanding much from the other. And even though the duke never believed me, I properly mourned his son.”
“Why would he doubt you?”
“Why wouldn’t he? His second wife left him when Kitson was about seven because she could no longer abide his stringent command of her. I think because he didn’t choose me for Kitson, he has always felt I’d one day run away, too. But I would never leave my son.”
“That I know. It should have always been your decision who you married.”
That’s what Julia wanted. To make her own decisions. She kissed Garrett’s lips and then smiled. “Were you and the sea a love match?”
He hugged her tighter. “The sea, no. The adventure, yes. It was a good life. I accomplished what I set out to do, what my father couldn’t do.”
“You can buy the house your father couldn’t.”
“Yes. It symbolizes a past, and a way of life I want to tear down. That a man can be a tradesman and a gentleman.”
It didn’t matter that he’d just given her an exquisite glimpse of heaven on earth once again or that he now held her cherishingly; Julia’s heart constricted. She squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of him leaving London after he gained possession of the house. She remembered he’d told her he came back to see his friend get married and to buy that house. Now that he had breached the barrier of her defenses, she wanted him to remain in London.