“What is this place?” Beatrix looked at their less than ideal surroundings sometime later.
“A row of empty shops bought by my uncle when he held the Ipswich title. The lads and I intend to refurbish them before I sell them.” He smiled ruefully. “I may now be the Earl of Ipswich, but they will always be my friends, and I will always want them to be a part of my life,” he explained.
She nodded. “As they should be.”
James frowned his concerned as Beatrix then gave a shiver. “Perhaps it is time I took you home?”
“Your home?”
His eyes widened. “I do not think that would be…appropriate.”
Beatrix burst out laughing. “I have been kidnapped, held hostage by three ruffians in an abandoned store, been proposed to by a fourth, and then kissed within an inch of my life. I believe we dispensed with propriety the moment your friend Billy threw me over his shoulder and carried me away from Shaftesbury House under your instruction!”
James’s lips curved into a smile, a humor that was reflected in the glint of his eyes. “It does seem so, yes.”
Her expression brightened. “We can send a note to Benedict assuring him of my safety once we reach Ipswich House, and then tomorrow, I am sure that you or Benedict will be able to secure a special marriage license from the Prince Regent. That way, we will be able to marry within the next week, and it will not matter if there are consequences to our having anticipated our wedding night by several days?”
A warm glow filled James’s chest at the thought of Beatrix becoming his wife within a matter of days. Nor was he in the least concerned with propriety. Except… “You will not think anticipating our wedding night is the same as me not treating you with the respect you deserve?”
She chuckled. “I will see it as you desiring me as desperately as I desire you.”
“In that case… My carriage awaits outside, my lady.” James swept her up into his arms and carried her over to the door, waiting until she had reached down and opened it before he carried her outside to where his carriage did indeed await.
Once they reached Ipswich House, James proceeded to show Beatrix exactly how much he respected and desired her, as much as he loved her to his very heart and soul.
Beatrix had never dreamed that such ecstasy existed as when, naked in bed with him, James suckled her nipples into the heat of his mouth or, having slid farther down her body, he lay between her parted thighs and his lips and tongue played with the nubbin hidden amongst the curls covering her mound until her body exploded in a cascade of rapturous pleasure.
“Yes,” she encouraged. She parted her legs wider after James moved upward, until the hardness of his cock nudged against but did not enter the opening to her weeping channel. “Please, James,” she urged at his delay.
He gazed intently into her eyes. “I love you so very much, Beatrix.”
“As I love you,” she assured. “Now please, make me yours,” she pressed breathlessly, her arms and legs wrapped about his chest and thighs.
He continued to hold her gaze with his as he rested his weight on one elbow while lifting up to use his other hand to guide and then ease his throbbing cock inside her.
There was a pinch of pain for a second or two before that hardness surged fully inside her. Beatrix joyfully met each pleasurable thrust as James claimed her, and she claimed him, for the rest of their lives.
“It would seem we both bear the scars of our past.” Beatrix traced the myriad scars upon James’s bare chest, arms, and back as the two of them lay naked in his bed a long time later.
James’s scars had mainly occurred, he had told her, from his having been attacked with knives by rival gangs during his early years of living in St. Giles. Latterly, James and his three cohorts had taken over as the leading gang, and those fights became less frequent.
He grimaced. “Living in St. Giles was not always…pleasant.”
“Will you tell me about it one day?” she prompted softly.
“Of course,” he agreed readily. “Those ten years helped shape me into the man I am today.”
“Which is one of fairness and kindness.”
James smiled at her indulgently. “I was not sure you thought that a week ago.”
Beatrix looked pained. “Please tell me you understand why I had to do what I did?”
“I do.” He nodded. “I only wish it had been less painful to me. I really thought you did not love me, Beatrix.”
“What made you realize the truth?”
“You did.” He smiled at her lovingly. “We had been friends before, and the Beatrix I love would never be deliberately cruel or hurtful to anyone. Therefore, there had to be a reason for her appearing to be so toward me.”
Tears stung her eyes. “It was never my intention to hurt you, James. I merely wished for you to see me as being a whole and desirable woman. One who is your equal and not in the least in need of your pity.”
“I confess, something your brother said indicated as much.” He sighed heavily. “I had not realized until then how my proposal might have sounded that way to you.” His arms tightened about her. “Please believe I do not see your scars, love, only your beauty, inside and out.”
“I see your own scars as the physical evidence of the things you have suffered through in order to survive and bring you to this place.”
“In bed with the woman I love,” he stated with satisfaction. “I could wish for nothing else.”
Neither could Beatrix.