Page 29 of The Earl's Heiress
“Your family will be pleased.”
“We will have our wedding in London. All of high society will be in town, and we can decide who should be invited.”
“My mother will be thrilled to make the arrangements, subject to your approval, of course.”
“Wonderful,” Arabella said before she suddenly stopped.
Temple turned to her. “What is it?”
“Now that we have decided to marry soon, we should have more stolen moments.”
The minx. He wanted to stay close to her and steal memorable moments. He had taken her before the wedding night, which he had promised himself he wouldn’t do. He should show restraint, but staying away from her now would be impossible. He brushed his lips lightly against hers.
“We must be discrete.”
“That goes without saying,” she said with a mischievous smile.
They were moving closer to the house and away from the trees' cover, so they walked at a respectable distance when they resumed their journey. As they approached the house, Temple saw his and Arabella’s mother walking from the garden. When they looked up and saw them approach, a questioning gaze flickered in their eyes.
Arabella closed in, and in her true style, she bucked convention. “The earl and I have decided to get married in London, Mama.”
“How wonderful,” her mother exclaimed as she unabashedly hugged Arabella.
“That is delightful news, my dear. I will check the menu and see what the cook is preparing for us tonight. I will make some changes since we are celebrating something so special.” The countess said.
“Indeed. If you will excuse me, I will find Mr. Anderson.”
An hour after seeing Arabella’s father, Temple was lounging in a hot bath. Sitting in the water reminded him of her naked beneath him and the feel when he thrust inside for the first time. It had taken all of his strength and self-control, but he forced himself to slow down, to stop until she adjusted to his girth.Then he melted into her heat. There was no other woman that had made him feel so good, so perfect. He felt such pleasure that he spilled himself into her with a violent and virile eruption that left him gasping.
He groaned as his cock grew hard. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the tub. He must stop thinking about the pure bliss of being inside her. Temple took steadying breaths and closed his eyes. It was the cold water that awakened him; then, he felt the tingle in his fingers and toes. He held up his fingers, and they were wrinkled, so he carefully stood up and stepped out of the tub. Earlier, he had dismissed his valet, so he dried himself and dressed in the clothes that had been carefully laid out for him.
He realized he hadn’t eaten when his stomach growled. He checked his reflection in the mirror before he descended the stairs into the drawing room. There seemed to be an air of festivity that he was certain to have imagined. No announcement would be made until they were in the dining room. He searched the room for her, and when their gaze met, it was electrified. They couldn’t deny the attraction between them. She glanced away but couldn’t seem to stop herself from looking back just as quickly.
Dinner was announced, and they entered the dining room. The countess had seated Arabella beside him, which suited him. He wanted her close. The first course was served against the usual dinner conversation.
“I hope you had a good rest after your walk, Miss Arabella.”
“I’m afraid the walk invigorated me rather than making me tire.”
Temple took a sip of wine. “I see.”
“I quite like the walks here at Stanford Hall. I should go on them more often.” She said with a twinkle in her eyes.
The conversation was innocuous enough to anyone who overheard it, but to Temple, her meaning was clear. The minx knew she was being provocative, bold and playful. Neither of them wanted to find themselves in trouble, so he resolved to concentrate on his meal and steer the conversation in another direction. He wondered why he made the spur-of-the-moment decision to walk to the river by the river at the same time when she was there and why he hadn’t walked away when he saw her. What had he been thinking? Arabella wouldn’t be the one to contemplate the consequences of her actions.
“What about you, my lord? You rested?”
“I did. I was rather tired, and I suspect this will be a long evening.”
Arabella gave him a knowing smile and quickly looked down at her plate. She placed a morsel of salmon in her mouth and delicately licked her lips. He continued eating not wanting to call too much attention to himself. Shortly thereafter, he felt her stocking feet slide against the leg of his breaches. She had removed her shoes. Tension flowed through him as he swiftly looked around, but of course, no one noticed because it was all under the table. Her toes continued to stroke his feet like his kitten rubbing against his leg.
“I had a kitten when I was a boy.” He heard himself announce.
“Did you? What did you call him?”
“Actually, it was her, and I called her Kitty.”
“That wasn’t very original.”
