Major Wyclyff's Campaign (A Lady's Lessons, Book 2) (36 page)

BOOK: Major Wyclyff's Campaign (A Lady's Lessons, Book 2)

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He grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss into her palm. "I can't predict the future, but I have no intention of returning to a battlefield, my love. There is no reason to expect I will live anything but a long and happy life."

She bit her lip. "I cannot watch you die. Not again."

"They say there is a potion for immortality in India. Perhaps we should go find it." His words were glib, but his expression was not. He drew her into a tender embrace. "We must love while we can, Sophia. There are no guarantees. But I love you, Sophia. And I believe that nothing, not even death, could keep me from your side."

She looked into his eyes, and for the first time ever, she found the courage to believe what he said. "I love you," she whispered. "I will marry you." Then she began to smile. "And I intend to seduce you at the earliest possible convenience."

He grinned, and she could see joy light his dark eyes. Then she was not looking at anything, but feeling a hundred different sensations. She had meant to seduce him, but she found she was the one being seduced. His hands were everywhere, stroking her body through her nightrail. She quickly became impatient with the barriers between them, and she began tugging at his clothing. Thankfully, he helped her, his movements as urgent as her own. Soon they were together, naked upon her bed.

She marveled at the feel of his glorious body. "This is wonderful," she whispered as she wriggled against him. She felt his smile as he kissed her face, lovingly teasing each one of her features before easing down the side of her neck.

The stroke of his tongue on her nipples, her belly, and the inside of her thighs surpassed anything she had ever experienced before. He did not need to exert pressure to spread her legs. She arched willingly into his embrace, aching for whatever he chose to do.

His nibbling bites traveled from the back of her knee, up the inside of her thigh, at last ending in the most intimate kiss she had ever known. Her body bucked and strained with a pleasure she had not thought possible.

She was totally exposed to him now, open as she had never known. Once, she would have fought such an experience with every ounce of her strength. Now, it all seemed natural and perfect. She felt her icy walls melt, and she was overwhelmed with heat and love. She was with Anthony, and she was safe. She was cherished and protected and loved. And, in return, she would give him her all.

His fingers were inside her now, stretching and stroking and doing things that had her writhing beneath him. She whimpered with the feel of it, the wonder.

"Anthony," she cried. "My love!"

She felt him look up, placing tender kisses at the base of her belly. "My love," he echoed, his voice deep and hungry. Then he pulled himself up, lifting her hips as he moved, placing himself at her entrance.

She did not wait for him. Wrapping her legs around him, she pulled him forward crying out in pleasure as he pierced her. Caught off guard, he fell forward, dropping onto her as he buried himself inside. She reveled in his weight.

"Sophia," he rasped.

"You are mine now, Major. I will not release you. Ever."

He grinned, though the expression was strained. As he began to move, she felt him shift and pulse inside her with each incredible stroke. "My love," he gasped. "You are mine."

"Yes. Oh, yes!"

Not slowing his rhythm, he pulled back and looked at her. She gazed back into his eyes and was caught there. With every thrust, she arched to meet him, feeling the brush of his chest against her breasts, the heavy weight of his hips, and the heated push of his body. But she never lost sight of his eyes.

This time, unlike the first, she knew what she wanted. She knew where they were going. And this time, as the coil wound tighter within her, as her breath came in short gasps and his hot breathy moans heated her face, she knew he sought the same thing.

Looking into each other's eyes, their bodies moving as one, together, they soared, and found joy.

* * *

Nearly dawn, Sophia thought as she stretched languidly in her bed. Turning to gaze at Anthony's serene face, she smiled in wondrous memory of their night together. Slowly, as she watched, his eyes opened, his gaze fuzzy with sleep, his body warm and tempting as he drew her closer against him.

She wriggled deeper into his arms, feeling his body come awake wherever they touched. "You have turned me into a wanton," she said happily.

"I have turned you into a woman who feels and laughs and loves."

She grinned. He never seemed to tire of hearing those words, just as she never tired of hearing him say them to her. She loved him, and he loved her. "You realize I cannot change back," she said. "I will never go back to being the Ice Queen again."

He shrugged, sending waves of sensation through her body. "I never liked her anyway."

"But, if I am not the Ice Queen, then I shall always be releasing caged animals and going to rescue mistreated young ladies."

He groaned, but rather than argue, he caught her hand and began kissing her fingers, one after the other, surprising her by the sheer eroticism of such a simple act. But she had to stop him. There were things they still had to discuss. She reluctantly drew her hand away.

"Anthony, you know there are a thousand impediments. I have no dowry."

"I do not want your dowry."

She shook her head, forcing him to listen by shifting slightly away from him. "I gave it all to Geoffrey. He is trying to rebuild the family estate."

"I do not care."

"
He
will."

Anthony sighed, apparently resigned to the discussion. "I will speak with Geoffrey when the time comes."

"But what about—"

He stopped her words with another kiss, and she found herself melting into his arms, her fears forgotten. He was willing to work through anything, everything. When he at last raised his head, she smiled up at him.

"We should be married very soon," she said dreamily. "There was no babe before, but there might be one now."

He paused, his expression uncertain. "Does that upset you?"

She grinned. "Of course not. I would simply adore having your child. And since you have turned me into a wanton..."

"We shall be married today." His words were a crow of delight.

"Geoffrey will insist on giving over my dowry," she said, her smile fading with the thought. "Anthony, he does not have it. The property was sold. The money spent."

"My dear," responded Anthony as he began to caress her intimately. "After what we have been through these last weeks, do you believe a lack of dowry might stop me? Besides," he added with a grin, "it appears I have won my wager with Lord Kyle."

Sophia pulled back far enough to peer into her love's eyes. "Wager?" she asked, suddenly suspicious. "What wager?"

He didn't answer, choosing instead to try and distract her with a deep kiss. It worked. For now. She was far too happy to worry about any male nonsense—with either Lord Kyle or her brother.

She knew her idyll would not last for long. There was still their true wedding to accomplish, not to mention preparations for their journey to India. And her brother would probably make a fuss about trying to provide her with a dowry. But all that paled beside her love for Anthony. Especially as he reached down to stroke the fire that blazed between them. In that heat, she found their love had burned the last of her fears away.

The End