Page 10 of The Forbidden Love of an Officer
Her stomach growled, and she pressed her hand over it, blushing again.
A humorous sound came from his throat. ‘Are you hungry?’
‘Yes.’ She nodded, her smile quivering. She had felt a closeness between her and Paul, which had begun in the summer and gathered through their letters, but now awkwardness hung between them because she knew very little of him in the flesh, only his written words.
‘We will stop at the next inn. But we cannot stop for long. We need to make sure we keep ahead if your father follows.’
A knot tied in her stomach as Paul leaned forward to open a slim hatch and shout up to the man on the box. ‘We wish to stop at the next coaching inn!’
If her father followed, she would be in trouble. He would never forgive her for this. But she was not sure he would follow; there were her sisters. He had never shown any sign he cared for her. Perhaps he would decide to wait until Penny came of age, and let Penny take Ellen’s place.
Guilt rushed in. What if Penny had to endure the fate Ellen had run from, and marry the Duke of Argyle? It would be Ellen’s fault. But she could not regret this – because she was not running from – she was runningto. She could never choose to give Paul up.
Paul sat back in the seat, and his fingers lifted and tucked a lock of her hair that had fallen from the pins behind her ear.
She smiled, sitting back, and tried to re-pin her hair without a mirror.
His fingers touched beneath her chin. ‘You need not pin it, you look beautiful if a little tussled by a bumpy carriage ride.’ She laughed, but she still re-pinned it, and touched it to feel if it was in place.
The carriage jolted over a deep rut as it turned off the road, sending her off balance and toppling her backwards. In an instant he had caught her upper arm in a firm grip, holding her steady. She smiled, warmth and emotion running through her blood. He would take care of her now. Moisture clouded her vision.
‘Are you well?’ His expression said he thought she was injured in some way.
She smiled, swallowing back the emotion in her throat. ‘Yes.’ She leaned forward and hugged him, aware her breasts brushed against his chest through their layers of clothing. This was only the second time she had held him, held any man. He kissed her temple a moment before she pulled away and her heartbeat thumped.
The carriage slowed, and through the window Ellen saw a row of thatched cottages, then they were turning into a courtyard.
‘Come, let us get you some refreshment.’ Before the carriage had even stopped, Paul opened the door, and when it did he knocked down the step and lifted a hand to help her out.
When they returned to the carriage less than half an hour later, refreshed and more awake, Ellen let Paul hand her in as he’d handed her out. She did not feel guilty about making him stop because the drivers had changed the horses while they had eaten.
The carriage lurched as they pulled off into a canter.
The ground was still frozen which meant the lanes were passable, but the frozen ruts cast by previous carriages in the mud-strewn tracks made the journey bumpy.
The day was freezing, but new hot bricks had been placed inside at the inn, and Paul drew the blankets around them.
‘Come here, let me hold you, then you will not be so thrown about by the rough track.’
She smiled, sliding to sit against him. Her thigh pressed against his and his arm lifted so she might slot beneath it. He was warm and solid. Dependable.
She rested her head against his shoulder but his palm touched her cheek and his head turned and he kissed her, gently at first as she tilted her neck to better receive it. But then he kissed her more ardently as he parted his lips and brushed the seam of hers with the tip of his tongue, in a silent command that implied,open your mouth. She did, and then…Heavens. His tongue slipped into her mouth searching and exploring.Paul.
Her hands instinctively clung at his shoulders as her tongue circled about his. She could not breathe. He had lit a flame which melted her heart as though it were wax, and it dripped into her blood.
He kissed her for a long while, his hands either side of her waist, a gentle, secure pressure.
Then a hand came up to the back of her head, steadying her as for a moment his tongue pressed deeper into her mouth before he broke the kiss.
Her stomach somersaulted as she looked into his eyes; their blue was the same colour as the winter sky outside the carriage. His lips tilted in a half-smile, a dimple denting his cheek.
Heat flared under her skin as she blushed. She had not known kissing could be like that. What would come next? Images spun through her head as she imagined their wedding night.
3
They had spent a day and another night in the carriage. Paul ached from too many hours of confinement, so they had stopped again to break their fast and for him to stretch a little. Now they had eaten, he had left Ellen to refresh herself and walked about the yard of the Bull’s Head in Leamington Spa. He did not dare take a proper walk and venture out onto the high street in case Ellen followed. An officer and a dark-haired beauty might be remembered. So he kept to the confined space at the inn, walking a circular route a dozen times.
Anxiety raced through his blood. His senses were as heightened as they would be before a battle. But he had no idea where the enemy was. The Duke of Pembroke could still be in Kent, or he could be a few hours behind them, riding at a gallop, eating up the ground, pursuing them as they lingered here. Paul hated stopping and yet they had to eat, and… Well, they could not simply stay constantly in the carriage.
