Page 66 of A Lady's Heart Deceived
The door clattered closed, and Piers threw the interior bolt to hold it shut fast. He took one look at Maggie’s wet and bedraggled state and winced. “My mother is going to kill me for letting you get a soaking.”
Inside the barn was surprisingly warm. Maggie deftly worked the buttons of her coat free and shrugged out of it. She shook off the beads of water that sat on the surface. Piers did the same with his overcoat.
Standing around in wet clothes was never a good idea. The rain drumming loudly against the wooden shingles of the barn roof let her know that they wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Piers gently tugged the blanket free from the rucksack and handed it to her. “Here, put this around you. It will keep you from getting a chill. Your gown is wet.” He nodded toward a pile of clean hay. “Let’s go and sit over there while we wait for the storm to pass.”
They found a cozy corner in which to shelter. Piers wrapped his arms around her, holding Maggie close. “Are you alright?” he asked.
She snuggled in. “Yes. Just a bit cold. I’ll be warm soon. Just hold me.”
Piers brushed a tendril of damp, wayward hair behind her ear. Maggie shivered. Whether from the cold or Piers’s touch, she wasn’t sure.
The candle inside the lantern was now burning low, and it gave a warning sputter. If it went out, they would be left totally in the dark.
Outside, the rain continued to thrash down at an unrelenting pace. She ought to be worried about getting a chill, but Maggie’s mind was focused on that kiss.
They were stuck in the barn. Alone. Together. This was an opportunity she shouldn’t waste. Gathering up her courage, she decided it was time to act.
Carpe diem, and all that.
Maggie pulled out of Piers’s arms. She gently pushed his legs apart and knelt between them. The blanket fell from her shoulders. As their gazes met, she gave him a shy smile. This was a risk—one she felt compelled to take. Not just for herself, but for the both of them.
“I love you, Piers.”
There—she had said it. For the second time in her life, Maggie had put her heart on the line. In making such a bold move, she could only pray that she hadn’t read Piers wrong.
He slowly nodded. “I love you too, Maggie.”
Relief washed over her. She wasn’t alone in wanting them to be more than just friends. For them to claim a future together.
I want him to be mine forever.
His hands settled on her waist as she bent and placed a tender, tentative kiss on his lips. Maggie wanted nothing more than to deepen the kiss, to return them to the place where they had been before the rain, but she held back. This moment called for measured steps.
As they continued their easy, languid kiss, she reached and grabbed a hold of her skirt, tugging it up. Slowly, deliberately, she raised the hem. The gown bunched around her hips. Cool air kissed the skin of her thighs as the bottom of her dress rose higher.
And higher.
She shivered, a heady mix of being both chilled and aroused. Maggie broke the kiss.
Piers’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed deep. “Maggie.”
“Touch me.”
His gaze dropped to her exposed flesh, to her sex, and he groaned.
She could sense his hesitancy in his every breath. Things between them teetered on the edge; this was a moment which could go either way. The only thing of which she was certain was that after tonight, their relationship would have changed. No matter the outcome, there would be no going back.
Piers’s hands slid down her waist, then rested on her hips.
Please.
He lifted his head and offered her his mouth; Maggie greedily took it. Their tongues danced together in a heated exchange, but when she sought to deepen the kiss, Piers broke away.
“Slow down. There is no need to hurry,” he said.
“What do you want me to do?” Maggie feared she was pushing too hard. That in her haste to confirm their love, she might force Piers into taking a step back.
