Page 41 of Let Me Be Your Hero
His voice was pitched an octave lower than usual as he said, “You can spend as much time in this bed as you want.”
Then they were kissing, if this feverish clash of tongues and lips could be considered a kiss. Archibald was so desperate for her he used no finesse, none at all, but Izzie didn’t seem to mind if the way she was clinging to his neck was any indication.
His rough hand cupped one of her delicate breasts through the linen of her shirt, and he groaned into her mouth. Much tohis shock, instead of pulling away, she arched into his touch, then reached up and began yanking at the knot of his cravat.
The cravat gave way, as did his waistcoat. Izzie must’ve done it. Archibald had no idea when or how. He was lost, lost in her, unaware of anything but the sweet sensation of Izzie’s lips on his and the pleasure of her body shuddering as he caressed her in places he had never dreamed he would be permitted to touch.
She urged him to sit up, and he thought she was pushing him off. But it was only so she could peel his shirt over his head.
“Archibald,” she breathed, her delicate hands tracing over his chest. “My God.”
Her gaze was transfixed on his thick arms. He knew his working-man’s build made him look like a great boor. “I’m afraid you’re marrying a big, hulking brute.”
“You are better than anything I could have imagined.” Her voice was full of awe as she traced her hands reverently across his shoulders. “And I have averyactive imagination.”
He had to kiss her again after that, and it was a thousand times better because, by some miracle, Izzie seemed to actuallylikehis burly form and proceeded to touch him all over with her soft, sweet hands.
But it was also a thousand times worse, because if he had thought his cock was desperate before, it was nothing next to how he felt now, with her lips hungry on his and her hands all over his famished skin.
Suddenly, she slid her hands lower, digging her nails into his buttocks and pulling him down so he was lying on top of her. He was so startled that he let her do it, and the feeling of Isabella Astley beneath him on a bed, her delicate thighs falling open to cradle his hips, felt so indescribably wonderful that he had to struggle not to spend himself in his trousers.
He started to press himself up again, becauseGod, he must be crushing her, but she clung to his shoulders. “No, Archibald! No, don’t leave! Stay right there. That feels… That feels…”
He was breathing hard, as if he’d just gone three rounds in the boxing ring. “Ilovehaving you beneath me, Izzie. I love it too much. I… I’m losing control. I should probably stop now before—”
“Please, don’t stop!” she gasped, grinding her hips against his and making a desperate whimpering sound. “Please, I want to feel it again. What you did to me this morning. I… I need it!”
He swept her hair back from where it clung to her sweaty brow. “Shh, it’s all right. I’ll give that to you, Izzie. You’ll have it as often as you need it.”
He kissed her neck and was reaching down to fumble with the buttons of her borrowed trousers when the sound of someone clearing their throat came from the doorway.
“Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy, how kind of you to once again assist my daughter in ‘disentangling her hair from the branches of a tree.’”
“Mama!” Izzie shrieked as Archibald buried his face in the pillow, mortified.
“I see that I arrived just in time.” Lady Cheltenham strolled into the room. “It’s a good thing you two already had plans to marry tomorrow.”
Izzie covered her shirt, which was gaping open, with a pillow. “Could you possibly give us a moment of privacy?”
The countess arched a brow. “I think you have had enough moments of privacy, at least, until the vicar has done his work. And really, darling—if you wanted to be left alone, you might have shut the door.”
Archibald groaned. Lady Cheltenham was correct. He hadn’t even closed the door. That’s how far gone he had been, seeing Izzie sprawled out on his bed.
“Oh, don’t be so embarrassed,” the countess said. “You’re getting married tomorrow. Paradoxically, a part of me is pleased by this development. Any mother would be concerned to see her daughter forced into such a hasty wedding. But it seems that you both have considerable enthusiasm about the prospect. That’s not a bad thing. Now come, Izzie. We had best put you back into a dress.”
Archibald reluctantly rolled off her. He sat on the side of the bed, facing the far wall, with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. It was bad enough that his future mother-in-law had walked in on him pawing her daughter without so much as a shirt on. She didn’t need to see the way his cock was tenting his trousers.
He heard Izzie scramble off the bed and slip on her discarded clothing. After a moment, Lady Cheltenham called out that they would see him at supper. Archibald mumbled something in response, then came the click of the door.
He rubbed his brow. He was trying to summon the will to go to the washstand so he could splash himself down with cold water when the door to his dressing room swung open.
His valet, Jack, strode into the room. “How in the name of Satan’s sweaty ball sack didyouconvince the likes ofherto marry you?”
Archibald glowered. “You were watching us? That’s—”
Jack held up a finger. “I ain’t no peeping Tom. As soon as I saw her ladyship come through the door, I scurried into your dressing room so as not to alarm her. So I didn’t see nothing.” He gave Archibald a shrewd look. “Although Ihearda fair bit.”
Archibald ran a hand over his face. “I need a moment.”
