Page 81 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
The kiss, after the reverend had declared them man and wife. Her parents, beaming, as they had congratulated them both afterwards. The flower attendants, crawling beneath the tables, playing tiggy until they had been told off by their parents and dragged to their places again.
A kaleidoscope of memories, and sensations. A blur of colour and movement. An ecstatically happy day for everyone involved, not just themselves. Amy had been so happy for her, dressed in new dark green muslin, purchased especially for the occasion. And David had been proud as punch, too, congratulating them profusely, although he had looked a little uncomfortable in his new jacket.
Susannah smiled. David had asked Amy to dance – not once, but three times. She just knew that something was brewing between them; whether it blossomed, or withered on the vine, only time would tell. But both the housekeeper and the apprentice were coming with them when they moved to Lincolnshire. To the new property that they had recently purchased, which was only ten miles away from her childhood home.
They could have waited, of course, and married in Lincolnshire; they didn’t have to marry in Shropshire, while they were in the midst of packing up The Willows. In fact, it probably would have been smarter to do so. They would have been more settled and could have planned a bigger, more spectacular day.
But Jasper had been so impatient to finally make her his wife that she had capitulated to his request to marry here, before their move. It had been a rushed event, but she hadn’t minded that.
It had been perfect in every way, from the tiny church crammed to overflowing with their family and friends, to the hall that had been hired for their wedding feast, bedecked in flowers picked from the gardens at The Willows.
And now, the day was finally over. Susannah breathed a sigh of relief, turning to her new husband, as they rambled along the road in the wedding carriage, back to The Willows.
“Happy?” asked Jasper, leaning over and kissing the tip of her nose tenderly.
“Deliriously,” she whispered, gazing up at him with shining eyes. She held out her hand, where the new gold ring glimmered in the darkening light, admiring her wedding band. “I still cannot quite believe that I am now Mrs Susannah Stone. That the Widow Drake is no more …”
“Believe it,” replied Jasper, his eyes fierce, as he gazed at her. “You are finally my wife, Susannah. And so it shall remain until death do us part.”
“Until death do us part,” she echoed, smiling slightly.
For a moment, a memory of her first wedding day assailed her, when she had become Mrs Susannah Drake. She had been deliriously happy then, too. She had gazed up at her new husband, believing that they would be happy forever …
She tried to shake off the memory and the bad feeling that it gave her. This was totally different, in so many ways. For a start, she was four and twenty, this time, not the innocent seventeen she had been the first time around. She was older and wiser.
She knew what she wanted, what she would accept, and what she needed. Her seventeen-year-old self had been blinded by infatuation but had not known how to read people well. She had been too young, too trusting, and too accepting.
She took a deep breath. And the main difference, between her first marriage and her new one, was the man that she had married. Jasper was no Gilbert, and never would be. He was honest, forthright, and trustworthy. What you saw was what you got with him; he did not have a duplicitous bone in his body. He would not change the way that Gilbert had.
He was a totally different man, to her first husband.
They were almost to The Willows. Susannah shivered in anticipation. Their wedding night was approaching. The first time that they would make love, as man and wife.
They had both been anticipating this. So much so, that they had agreed not to make love again until they were man and wife. It had been hard, and there had been many passionate embraces where they could easily have succumbed to the flaming desire that flared between them, but they had managed to resist.
The carriage drew up outside the front door. Jasper reached out, taking her hand, staring at her with eyes darkened by desire.
When they were at the threshold, he scooped her up, carrying her over as tradition dictated. She gazed up at him, at the large, handsome, kind man who was now her husband, melting with joy and desire.
She had simply never been happier in her life.
***
In the dark hallway, with the light of a single candle flickering brightly around them, he pushed her against the wall, claiming her lips until they were both breathless.
“Hello, Mrs Stone,” he whispered into her ear before nipping it playfully.
“Ouch.” She laughed, pushing him away coquettishly. “That is no way to treat a lady, Mr Stone. No biting or nipping …”
“But that’s half the fun,” he protested, staring at her, a wolfish grin on his face. “I want to bite you all over …”
He grabbed her again, hitching her skirt up, caressing her legs. He buried his head in her neck, breathing deeply before he started to nip her again.
She pulled away, laughing harder. “No. You are not going to have me against a wall. We decided to wait for our wedding night … and we will do it exactly where we are supposed to.” She took a deep breath. “In our marital bed …”
He laughed, gazing at her, his blue eyes warm. “You are right, as always, my dearest. We should wait, so that we can finally make love in our new marital bed. After all, we have never made love in an actualbedbefore, have we?’
She shook her head. “No, we haven’t managed that yet!” She started drifting down the hallway, beckoning him to follow her. “We have made love in a barn, and in the woods, but never in an actual bed …”
