Page 8 of A Lady's Passion Knows No Distance
Caroline snaked a hand over his shoulders and behind his head, holding him still so she could push herself up onto her tiptoes and kiss him with every passionate fibre of her body.
William gave himself over to her and her needy kisses, his hands gliding over her back and down towards her arse. He paused his hands at her waist, not wanting to encourage her or to make her think that he only wanted to kiss her so he could feel her lithe body in his hands.
Her kisses were full of desire, their tongues dancing together and yearning for something more than just kisses. But no matter how dearly he wanted to sink his manhood into her hot core, William couldn’t do something like that to Caroline. Even though he knew she would be willing, he wouldn’t be intimate with her until they were lawfully married.
“Oh, William. I don’t know how much more I can bear of this,” Caroline said as she broke their kiss but kept her arms around his shoulders. “I want to tell my parents and demand they let us marry.”
“We both know that your father will not allow it. But I must be honest with you, Caroline. I did speak to my father about such things. He was so overjoyed when I told him that I had fallen in love, I could not bear not telling him. And since then, he’s been very worried about me.”
“He loves you very much,” Caroline said with a smile.
“So, you are not mad at me, then, for telling my father?” William asked, truly worried about what her response might be.
“No. I am not. But you may be cross with me. In my anger, when my mother told me that I had to wear the presents that Lord Canton gave me, I confessed that I had fallen in love with another man. She became so excited and overjoyed that I was certainly surprised. She asked who it was, and I told her that I wouldn’t say until I knew of his affections for me.”
William looked down at Caroline, knowing how entangled their hearts were becoming. She was being pressured to marry, and before too long, the truth would eventually come out. And if Lord Goldman didn’t allow his daughter to marry for love, what would he do then? William felt like his time with Caroline was truly running out. What could they do about the situation?
“I am not cross with you, Caroline. I just fear what is going to happen. It seems that you should either marry Lord Canton, or finally tell your parents the truth. Either way, I’m afraid that our future has already been decided for us,” William said, his arms becoming slack around her.
“Don’t you give up on me now,” Caroline said, her voice becoming very stern and dark. “You are my only hope in this world, and I can’t lose that.”
William stared down at her, feeling guilty for perhaps hurting her with his words. He began to kiss her again, wanting her to feel his undying love for her. He parted her rosy red lips with his tongue as tightened his grip on her, his arms folded around her back as he pressed their bodies together.
She moaned softly against his lips as her hands came up around his neck and began to play with his curls. William loved when Caroline played with his hair and massaged his scalp, her nails digging into him just a bit. His member twitched to attention, wanting more than just a kiss.
“William…” Caroline moaned as she broke their embrace to trail kisses down his cheek and neck, creating a spark of fire within his loins that quickly began to build. “Take me, William. Once you take my flower, then my parents will have to allow us to marry.”
“Oh, my dear Caroline,” William said, taking a deep breath and taking her by the shoulders so he could peer down into her eyes. “Though I would love nothing more than to lay with you right now on this grass, in this place where we have been meeting for so long, I cannot. I will not disrespect your body in that way and would only do so if we were married.”
“And if my parents force me to marry someone else? Would you do it then and allow me to experience what true love making is like before I spend the rest of my life tied to the bed of a man whom I don’t love?” Caroline’s eyes were so pleading, brimming with tears, that he couldn’t dare deny her anything she did truly request of him.
“I would make love to you, Caroline, if that did officially happen. If I were to read in the papers that you have been engaged, I would make sure to come straight to your side and allow you to feel my true love for you.” As William spoke, he poured every ounce of his love and passion into his words. He may not be able to bring himself to bed an unmarried woman, but he would always find a way to show Caroline that he loved her.
“Oh, William. Kiss me. Kiss me, for I dread this evening. I don’t want this dinner party to happen and I never want to be pursued by another man.”
As William kissed her this time, it was gentle and soft at first. He focused solely on the feeling of her lips pressed against his, as though he may never feel such heavenly things once more. His hands ran up and down her back and sides as he put to memory the feeling of her in his hands and arms.
The sensation of her delicate body pressed to his, the softness of her skin, and the pressure of her large breasts against his chest. All of it he wanted to commit to memory, knowing there would be no other creature on the face of the earth that would ever affect him so greatly.
Caroline would be the only woman he ever truly loved.
After a time, he finally let her go. William stared down into Caroline’s dark brown eyes, seeing the fear and worry that she held inside. He wanted to take all her anxiety away and replace it with comfort and joy. There was so much he wanted to give her yet could not think of a reasonable way to go about it.
“You must return to the manor. It won’t be long before we’re both expected,” William said softly, stroking Caroline’s cheek with the back of his hand. It was a small sign of endearment, but something he hoped that Caroline would always remember. That though his kisses could be passionate, that he could also be soft and gentle with her.
“I love you, William,” Caroline said, a tear slipping from her eyes. She tried to blink back the rest, but it only caused her to shed more. William helped dry her eyes with his fingers, not wanting her to return back to her home and appear as though she’d been crying. He never wanted to see her cry.
“I love you, too, Caroline. But now, you must go,” William said, taking her hand and leading her back over to her horse. He helped her saddle and made sure all the straps were secure before he stepped back from the horse. “I will see you tonight, Caroline. Know that you are never alone.”
“Thank you, William. I will treasure those words in my heart.” She blew him a kiss then, before taking the reins and leading her mare away from the pond. For a few minutes, William simply watched her go, feeling as though his heart was breaking.
It pained him to tell her to leave him, that he couldn’t think of a reasonable way to secure her at his side. But with the son of an earl to compete with, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever have a real chance with Caroline. And that thought he’d keep to himself and would never burden Caroline with.
~*~
Caroline stood in front of the looking glass in her bedchamber, taking deep breaths as her lady’s maid helped her dress. She was full of dread for this evening, wishing she was instead in William’s arms, enjoying his kisses and strong embrace. But she kept his words fresh in her mind, that she was not alone, and if she was forced to marry Lord Canton, that he would at least give her the feeling of love before she was officially married.
“There you are, Miss,” Miss Ranch said as she stepped back from where she’d been fixing Caroline’s hem. “You are all set for this evening’s festivities.”
