Page 62 of The Vagabond Viscount
A moment of awkward silence fell between them. Before Flynn’s untimely disappearance, they had shared a number of intimate encounters at parties and balls in London, but those moments had only seen them take things so far. Much further than the strictures of society deemed was sufficient grounds for Flynn to have made an offer for Augusta’s hand. Not enough that she was completely ruined.
Tonight, she intended that they would take that next step together. There would be no going back. No shying away from meeting with her father once they returned home.
But Gideon has custody of me while I am in Rome.
She unclipped her cloak and dropped it onto a nearby chair. The thought of her brother and what he might have to say about tonight’s developments had her making a snap decision.
While lying to Flynn minutes before they were to finally become one wasn’t her greatest moment, Augusta decided it was unfair to hand yet another problem to Gideon. He already had more than his fair share to deal with when it came to the situation with Serafina.
She would wait until after they were safely back in England to tell her brother the truth of what had happened between her and Flynn in Rome.
“Could we pretend for tonight?” she asked.
He wrapped his arms about her waist and drew her close. “What do you mean?”
Augusta let out a sigh. “I mean, let’s pretend we are who we were going to be after you went home and packed your things that day. You can play the role of the Flynn Cadnam who walked out of Hyde Park and then came to see my father and asked for my hand in marriage. While I will be the naïve young miss who, after waiting patiently for you, gladly accepted your proposal of marriage.”
It was a fiction. Neither of them were the same people. Time and grief had irretrievably changed their souls.
But not our hearts.
“Or am I being foolish in thinking we could do that?”
He bent his head and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Tonight, my love, I am going to give you everything your heart desires, and if that includes creating a world of our own, then so be it. I love you, Augusta. If it were in my powers to take back our old future, I would. But I can’t. What I can do, however, is live this night with you and give you the promise that when we wake, it will be as one.”
“I love you too, Flynn. No matter if you had been lost to me forever, I would never have stopped loving you.”
* * *
The small alcove where Flynn had his bed and stored his meager things lay behind a faded pale cream curtain. Augusta’s heart was racing at a fast clip as he led her across the floor and to this private space. Her blood was heated, her skin flush with desire. Lust, and a small dash of nerves, coursed through her body.
I have missed your touch. Your warm kiss. The brush of your fingers. Oh, Flynn.
Flynn took off his greatcoat, then shrugged out of his jacket. Augusta bit on her bottom lip as she took in the state of his clothing. The jacket was torn and frayed, as were Flynn’s trousers. With Gideon’s money, he would soon have new clothes, but it pained her to know that there was a definite disparity between their manner of dress.
His gaze settled on her pale blue gown. It was one of her simplest of gowns, but it still stood in sharp contrast to Flynn’s poor attire. She lifted her skirts and showed him her practical brown leather boots, hoping it would help him feel less uncomfortable.
“This is the plainest gown I own, and I am wearing my sturdy boots, but I still feel overdressed in your company. And I hate feeling that way.”
Her heart skipped a beat as Flynn smiled at her. “And here was me thinking you looked nothing short of magnificent. Augusta, my love, you couldn’t ever make me feel uncomfortable. Right at this moment, all I feel is an overwhelming sense of happiness.” The smile turned wicked, and she caught a glint of mischief in his eye. “And hunger.”
He stepped forward and laid his hands on the front of her dress. “You don’t have to do this tonight. I don’t want you feeling any sort of obligation. We can wait until we are back in England and married. If you want to simply cuddle tonight, I will understand.”
His touch sent a shiver coursing down her spine. “I know. You have never made me do anything that I wasn’t willing to do, and I love you for being that sort of man. Which means I am fully aware of what I am asking for when I say… Viscount Flynn Cadnam, love of my life, would you please strip me naked and take me to your bed? Make me yours. Claim me tonight, and forever.”
ChapterThirty-Five
To her relief, Flynn quickly gave up his honorable protests. His lips were on hers, claiming them with a deep kiss which sent thrills racing down her spine. Clever fingers soon set to work on the laces of her gown.
When the last of her garments hit the floor, leaving Augusta standing clad only in her stockings and boots, Flynn dropped to his knees. She closed her eyes as his warm hands settled on her hips and drew her closer to him.
“Oh god, I have missed this. Missed the way you touch my skin,” she murmured.
His tongue parted the soft folds of her sex. Augusta settled her hand on the top of Flynn’s head, taking hold of his hair. He groaned as she gave his locks a gentle, encouraging tug.
He licked and teased her sensitive bud, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her core. Augusta’s head slumped forward as she sucked in short, desperate breaths. In the quiet of the meeting room, her sobs, and gentle pleas for him to give her more echoed off the walls. If All Saints was meant to be a place of worship, Flynn was doing his best to offer her his own form of benediction.
Flynn may have been missing for more than a year and a half, and she had little idea of what had happened to him during that time, but he certainly hadn’t lost any of his touch when it came to the task of pleasuring her body. He took command with all the skill and intimate knowledge of a man who possessed a crystal-clear memory.
