Page 90 of Unforeseen Affairs
The aching between her legs pulsed, reminding her of her own gnawing desire. She stood, water pouring off of her body, her back still to him.
She found herself being wrapped in a large length of linen, a thin but effective brace against the cold air. And then, before she could turn around and step out of the tub, he lifted her into his arms and pulled her back against his chest.
She gasped in surprise; she did not know if she could look at him just now. Everything between them felt so new, so electrifying in its obviousness and necessity. How could she have never realized?
Could Sir Colin Gearing harbor a deeper affection for her than she had supposed? Could he want to marry her, obligation or not? Could he possibly…loveher?
He placed a kiss at her temple, his breath hot upon her wet cheek.
“Charlotte…”
He would do anything for her, he’d said.
When she finally looked at him, his face was solemn, but his gentle green eyes—the deep green of majestic pines shading the spring buds below them—were full of hope.
Colin carried her out to the bed, placing one more kiss on her lips before depositing her atop it. She felt her wet hair beneath the Turkish towel, and thought how terribly tangled it would be when they finally dressed to go to the theater. But she pushed that from her mind for now—she would not allow Mr. Bass to occupy any of her thoughts in this moment.
Her stomach flipped when she felt Colin’s hands upon her legs, dangling bare over the edge of the bed. Slowly he tugged at her towel, rucking it up until she was once more exposed, cold and wet.
“You’re so lovely,” he murmured, hot and penitent against her inner thigh. “Exquisite. Perfect.”
Charlotte involuntarily jerked upward, and he took his chance, maneuvering deftly to her sex.
She cried out, and her hands scrambled for purchase, that she might hold herself down here, on earth. She dug her fingers into his broad, muscular shoulders. When his lips brushed between her legs, the sensation was at once both nearly unbearable and of the utmost importance.
“Please,” she gasped, bucking upward when his tongue flicked at that most sensitive spot. “I… I don’t…” she gasped, not sure what exactly she meant to say. “That is, I… I…”
“Could Charlotte Sedley be dumbstruck?” he chuckled as he ghosted over her with his lips, the vibrations driving her mad. “Could I have truly done that, I wonder? I must be the only man in the world to have achieved such a feat.”
“Colin,” she cried, confused and certain all at once.
And then his mouth was upon her in earnest—his lips closed around her, his tongue working, teasing. Soon his fingers joined in, gentle and considerate as they slid softly inside her. He set to his task expertly; Charlotte knew he was adept at almost everything that involved his hands—and in this case, his tongue as well—and soon she felt ready to crawl from her skin, to be born again as a creature concerned only with pleasure, with belonging…
Belonging to him. And him to her.
She moaned as she finished, writhing and arching up from the bed. The towel fell away, leaving her skin cold even as her center burned with hot, molten pleasure.
She felt a momentary disappointment when he removed his mouth, but before it could take hold his fingers took over, and he quickly brought her to climax once more. Her body quivereduncontrollably, and this time she called out without a care for who might hear.
“Colin!”
He climbed atop the bed, his eyes fierce. He breathed heavily, and for a moment he looked as if he might speak. But then he collapsed upon her, and gathered her in his arms.
This was far more than mere desire, she now knew. He had made her feel things she could never have imagined before.
And she knew he was the only one who could have.
Chapter Twenty-Five
They’dfallenintosomethingjust shy of a nap, wrapped around one another in a state somewhere between waking and sleep, bone-tired from their early rising and the taxing activities of the day. They finally roused themselves in a mild panic, and they flung open the parcels Colin had procured earlier, tearing away the tissue paper and tugging on their fresh garments in a rush to get to the theater before Thaddeus Taggart Bass took to the stage.
Colin helped Charlotte fasten the back of her new gown. It recalled the pretty blue dress she’d worn the night he first kissed her, though this one was in a more reserved navy velvet. It was soft to the touch when he brushed against her, but staid and solemn-looking to those at a distance. It was trimmed with white lace, which tempered the severity of it along with a lovely tiered silk underskirt, peeking out from below the hem in a light shade of azure that reminded Colin of beaches in Greece where the water was shallow and clear and the sand heavy.
When she turned around she smiled at him, a soft, gentle expression that he knew no one else ever saw. He took her hand.
The hour was late, but they just managed to make it to their private box before the warnings were rung and the lights dimmed.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Colin mused.
