Page 73 of All is Fair in Love
“Thank you. Oh, that was…beyond words. Thank you.”
By the time they exchanged their last kiss and said their final goodbyes, it was well after midnight. The past hour or so had seen them share the sort of sexual pleasures Poppy had almost forgotten existed. When Francis had lain her on the bed and stroked her hard and deep, bringing Poppy to a second shattering climax, she’d let the tears she had been holding at bay run freely down her cheeks.
As Poppy opened the door, Francis turned and drew her into his arms once more. “Any time you want me, I will be right next door.”
Tonight, had been wonderful. Her body still thrummed with the afterglow of her release. The taste of his essence lingered on her lips.
She let him go with a promising smile, but before the door had even closed, fear and regret rushed right in. This was London. Her days of getting back on board her ship and waving at her lover as she departed were over. Those had been fleeting romances, ones without ties. Men she wouldn’t have to see again.
“I will be right next door,” she murmured, repeating Francis’s words.
You must resist the insanity of paying him a visit late at night.
Tonight, had to be a one-time-only thing. A brief interlude between consenting adults. Leading him on was wrong. There couldn’t be any real relationship between them—not while the contract and all those lies hung between them.
But you could be so good together. If he is that skilled with his mouth, imagine what he could do . . .
No.
She had to stop thinking that way. What she had done tonight hadn’t made things easier. All she had done was add another layer of complication to an already difficult situation.
The temptation had been powerful, forbidden fruit always was, and she had yielded to it.
Back in his warehouse, Francis had probably stripped off his clothes and was already laying naked on his bed, planning the next stage of his efforts to seduce her. Being who he was, he would want her next to him in that bed and for them to seal their bond— forever.
I should have said no. It was wrong to give into my desires. To create false hope.
She had no right to claim his heart. To steal a future based on a half-truth.
Tonight, they had shared a moment of beautiful intimacy. But it could only ever be that one time. Because if she did eventually win the contract, Francis would come to hate her for it. He would regret what they’d had tonight.
Their friendship would be over. In its place she would have long lonely nights of wishing ‘what if.’
Poppy Basden had a lifetime’s experience of those.
I have survived them before; I will do it again.
Francis was indeed thinking of how he could seduce Poppy. And how he could take matters with her further. Tonight, had been a revelation. And he wasn’t just referencing the mind shattering sex.
He hadn’t been surprised to discover she was experienced. This was a woman who, in her own words, had lived. While some narrow-minded men might find that a turnoff, Francis didn’t see it as any sort of issue. Poppy’s knowledge of sexual intimacy was a godsend in his book. Their marital bed would be a playground of heated desire.
She was a woman of the world, and if she was prepared to accept him and all his faults, he wanted to build a future with her.
This evening, they had shared precious moments, but even as they’d kissed and held one another, he’d sensed Poppy was holding something back. A part of her that she didn’t feel ready to share with him.
I hope it’s just her wanting time to get over her connection with Jonathan. To have a clear space in her mind. A break between the two men in her life.
She hadn’t loved the blackguard, of that Francis was certain, but he could understand the need for her to maintain appearances. To avoid the sort of gossip that even the dockside workers were not immune from spreading.
He was resting, half undressed, on top of the bedclothes. His boots and shirt had been discarded. His trousers were unbuttoned, the placket laying open. His hand brushed over his hard length.
She was superb. The things she did with her lips and tongue . . . I thought I would weep and beg for mercy before the end.
His fingers wrapped around the head of his cock, and he gave a gentle tug. Closing his eyes, he settled into a rhythm of long, hard strokes.
This bed, where he currently slept alone, was big enough for two. And while the warehouse wasn’t a home, for the next few weeks it could be the place where he created his future. Where Poppy slept in his arms. Where he loved, seduced, and wooed this wonderful girl.
“She is nothing like any other woman I have ever met, and that is what makes her so special. So unique.”
