Page 50 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
He chuckled.“Goodis such a pale, timid word to describe the most wondrous thing to ever happen to me.”He kissed her tenderly.“It wasincredible.Thank you, Kate.”
She looked tremendously pleased.“You’re welcome.”
He stroked her brow.“It wasn’t too painful for you?”
She laughed.“It wasn’t painful at all!In fact…” She dropped her voice low.“I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
He snorted.“You’re going to get your wish.In about two minutes.”
Her befuddled expression really was adorable.“Two minutes?What do you mean…Oh.”
He took it that she could feel his cock hardening inside her once again.
Her voice had taken on a breathy quality.“I hope you don’t… mind.”
It was all he could do not to laugh.“Mind?”
She was starting to squirm beneath him, searching for some friction.At this rate, she wasn’t even going to have to wait two minutes.
“It’s just that… it feels very good.For me,” she clarified.
He tried to bury his smile in the blankets.He must not have succeeded because Kate stopped squirming.“Are you laughing at me?”
He lifted his head.“I’m not.I am smiling because I am the happiest man who has ever walked the face of this earth.”
She looked as if she wanted to believe him but didn’t entirely trust his words.“Truly?”she asked in a small voice.
Let’s see,you’re the woman of my dreams, you’ve agreed to marry me, and instead of complaining of pain and terror your first time making love, you’re waxing rhapsodically about how much you love my cock.Men would commit unspeakable sins to gain such happiness.
But he didn’t think she was ready to hear all of that, so he said, “You’re perfect.Completely perfect for me.And I love you so much.”
She immediately looked away, swallowing thickly.“I love you, too,” she said, her voice tight.“And I feel exactly the same way.About you.Being perfect.For me.”
The words were thrilling to hear, even if he longed for Kate to look him in the eye as she said them.No matter.She was reserved by nature.It was one of the many things he loved about her.
She would grow used to exchanging words of love, because Nathaniel intended to tell her how much he adored her at every opportunity.
He cleared his throat.“You mentioned wanting to make love again.I have good news for you.”He flexed his hips, and Kate’s eyes went wide.
He leaned in and felt her shallow breath against his lips.When he spoke, his voice was husky.“Let’s see if we can’t do even better the second time around.”
There was no more conversation for some time.
Chapter24
After weeks of rising punctually at dawn, Kate and Nathaniel didn’t start up the mountain the following morning until the unheard-of hour of eleven.
From her vantage point behind him on the path, Kate observed an unmistakable spring in Nathaniel’s step.She, on the other hand, was moving like someone who had spent sixteen hours in the saddle.Not that she was complaining.Even if her legs might not function properly for a week, it had unquestionably been worth it.
They took a slight detour to return to the spot where Nathaniel had dropped his notebook.Last night, Kate had chastised Nat, as he had invited her to call him, when he mentioned that he had left his notebook—the notebook that contained all his research notes, the very one she had wedged herself into that crack to retrieve!—on the side of the mountain.Although it had made her flush as it occurred to her that, when faced with the choice between rescuing her and rescuing his research notes, he had chosen her!Her father wouldneverhave done that…
She shook herself.Nat had probably done it out of a sense of obligation.Nothing more.He was honorable to a fault, and as the organizer of this expedition, he would feel responsibility toward his assistant, regardless of who it was.Had he found himself in the same situation with Iain, he would doubtlessly have done the same for him.She would be wise to see this for what it was—a mark of his outstanding character—and avoid misconstruing it as a sign that he valued her more highly than his career as a naturalist.Kate knew very well that men did not feel that way about the women in their family, and that was especially true when it came to her.
Happily, when they arrived at the base of the cliffs, they discovered that the rainfall had been lighter than anticipated, and in the shelter of the crevice where Nat had stowed them, neither his notebook nor her sketchpad had suffered any damage.
They continued their climb and settled in to observe the eagles for a few hours.The day was particularly fine, and they were both in an excellent mood.
As the sun started to slant low, they packed up their things and began their descent.“Kate,” Nat mused.“That’s short for Katherine, I imagine.”
