| |
“I hope your father has not taken a turn for the worse again,” Abigail stated as they walked along the open fields.
“No. I believe he is reserving his energy for when everyone arrives.”
Lucas sensed his father had made himself scarce to force Abigail and him to spend time with one another. He was forever playing matchmaker. It had taken Lucas awhile, but he now understood his father’s agenda. Duncan and Selina’s marriage showed how the power of love defied all odds when one held faith.
His cousin and ex-betrothed never once allowed doubt to enter into their union. Selina had fought against the union because of the pressure her father placed her under to fulfill a promise made in the past. Also, Selina had been unsure of Duncan’s true intentions. But once they confessed their love, nothing had stood in their way. Unlike Lucas, who allowed other people’s opinions to hold him hostage in pursuing Abigail.
“’Tis probably for the best, considering we leave for London soon.”
Lucas bit his tongue. London was a sore subject between them, and he didn’t want to ruin the afternoon with his comments. “I agree.”
Abigail waited for Lucas to state his opinion again about her plans once they reached London, but he stayed silent. She wondered if he had accepted her becoming a governess or if he saved his argument for when everyone arrived, so someone else would take his side. However, it would be a pointless attempt because Abigail had already convinced everyone else and they offered their unwavering support. Even though they all offered her other alternatives to keep her close, they understood her need to strike out on her own.
Neither one of them had mentioned the kiss they shared the previous evening. A kiss forever fixated in her memories. Who knew a kiss opened the door to another’s soul? It was more than a simple kiss two souls shared. It was a testament to the powerful connection that bonded them as one. Oh, the fantasies she had repressed the past year flared to life again. Her dreams of them getting married and raising a family at Colebourne Manor flourished. She pictured little boys with light brown hair and hazel eyes, smiling their father’s charming smile as they made excuses for their mischief. And little girls with strawberry blond hair who Lucas doted on and catered to their every whim.
She needed to shake herself from the fantasies and understand her place in his life. If she allowed herself to indulge in their truce, then once it was over, the heartache she would endure would make the state of her sanity unbearable. However, she couldn’t convince her heart otherwise. What was the harm in creating more memories to indulge in before she started the next chapter in her life?
“What a perfect idea to enjoy a picnic today,” Abigail gushed, twirling around in a circle at the splendid scenery.
The trees were in full bloom, offering shade from the bright sun. Wildflowers were taking their first peek from the winter chill. The birds chattered away, singing a melody in the background.
Lucas offered her a sheepish expression. “I owed you a picnic from the one I ruined last year.”
Abigail beamed at him, not allowing those memories to ruin their day. “That you did, Lord Gray. But I have forgiven you.”
Lucas stilled at how she addressed him, but her eyes were twinkling, and he realized she only teased him. He helped her spread the blanket out and offered her a hand to settle on the ground.
Abigail tugged the basket toward her. “What delights have you packed for our picnic?”
She pulled out the exact meal she had prepared last year. She had drawn Lucas’s name for the picnic during the house party. While he had been engaged to Selina Pemberton at that time, it had never stopped Abigail from wishing differently. So when luck flipped to her side by drawing his name, she had prepared all his favorite foods. However, before they even ate, they had argued over her desire to gain employment. She had stomped off into the woods, only for Lucas to follow with his objections.
Then she had angered him more when she laughed over how Selina and Duncan’s boat tipped over and drenched Selina. Duncan had mocked the lady, and Selina fired insults back at him. The pond water soaked Selina’s dress, and the moss clung to the fabric, making the sight of the haughty lady entertaining amusement for the afternoon. At the time, she had only held a dislike for the lady, but now they shared a close friendship.
Lucas winked at her. “A few of my favorites.”
“Well, at least we enjoy the same foods.” She fixed them each a plate and rested her back against the tree.
“Did you notice we share many things in common?”
Abigail nibbled on a piece of cheese. “I suppose that is why we are excellent friends.”
Lucas arched an eyebrow. “Are we not more than friends?”
He risked ruining her relaxed attitude by asking this question. But her silence about them kept him wondering if there was more to explore in their relationship.
Abigail arched her own eyebrow. “Are we?” She turned his question back to him. “That is a question best answered by you.”
Lucas nodded at her meaning. He wished he had never asked because it caused her to lose her lighthearted mood and brilliant smile. Now she sat quietly, picking at her food and frowning.
“There is only one fault with our meal I apologize for, but Cook insisted on packing them.” He opened a container full of cherry biscuits.
Abigail covered her mouth, but the laughter spilled out anyway. And once again, he restored the mood to an enjoyable atmosphere. Lucas popped the treat into his mouth and moaned at the delicious sensation of the biscuit melting on his tongue. Abigail shook her head at his silliness and grabbed one for herself. They spent the rest of the meal enjoying each other’s company.
After they cleared away their luncheon, Lucas laid back on the blanket and closed his eyes. His belly was full, and the warm weather lulled him into taking a nap. He slept little during the night because every time he closed his eyes, he remembered their kiss and ached to share more with Abigail. Lucas fought against his tiredness, but exhaustion won over.
Abigail’s gaze lingered on Lucas as he fell asleep. She hadn’t meant to turn his question back on him, but her curiosity had won out. Was it so wrong of her to force Lucas to speak on where they stood? Abigail didn’t think so. The kiss they shared spoke volumes. Now she only needed Lucas to speak the very words she longed for.
She reached over and brushed the hair from his eyes. “Lucas,” she whispered. When he never stirred, she spoke the words she had longed to speak for what seemed an eternity. “I love you.”
Even though he never heard her, her heart floated higher for confessing her true feelings. Her fingers slid along his cheek and across his lips. How she longed for him to draw her into his arms again and kiss her. She would forgive him for anything if he granted her a kiss each day. She was foolish for indulging in her fantasies, but their time together slipped away to where all she held was memories. Was she foolish to create memories out of her fantasies?
Abigail stretched out a considerable distance from Lucas. While she wished to lay her head on his shoulder and press her body against him, it was highly improper, especially in the light of day. For if anyone came upon them, Abigail’s reputation would be ruined. A lady or not, the same standard consisted for every girl. Even now, them enjoying a picnic without a chaperone violated proper decorum.
But Colebourne allowed relaxed rules amongst his wards as long as they stayed within the guidelines of appropriate behavior. Abigail grew weary of maintaining the stricture she set forth for herself to never bring shame to her name. And all to showcase herself as a presentable bride for a certain marquess who refused to buck society. As much as Abigail wanted to resent Lucas, her heart refused to.
Abigail laid her head on her bent arm and stretched her hand out. Lucas lay with his palm open. She rested her fingers on his hand, allowing herself a brief touch. Her eyes slowly closed. She decided a small nap wouldn’t hurt.
Lucas awoke with a start. An amazing dream starring Abigail gripped his senses. He dreamed of her plastered against him, professing her love while their lips and bodies entwined, making passionate love to one another. When a knee jammed into his side and an arm flung across his neck, his body stiffened, ready to attack.
However, when his attacker moaned in a breathless whisper, “Oh, Lucas,” only one part of his body remained stiff.
His eyes drifted open to find Abigail sprawled across him. Her soft curves molded against him, inflaming his desires. Lucas bit back a moan when she started caressing his chest in her sleep. Her fingers trailed a path down and across his stomach and back up again before her hand curled around his neck. Abigail wiggled closer and sighed before settling back into her slumber.
The fingers on his nape set him on fire. The heat traveled through him, some areas more intensely hot than others. Abigail’s breasts pressed against his side. He glanced down and noticed the dress had shifted during her nap. He only had to reach up and undo a single button, and her breasts would spill forth for his pleasure. Without Lucas realizing his intention, his hand rose and hovered over the temptation. The devil in him taunted him to slide the button through the hole, while his proper conscience pleaded the case of Abigail’s virtue. Lucas slammed his eyes shut, clenching his hand into a fist before lowering it to his side.
When she shifted again, he opened his eyes to see if she awoke, but she hadn’t. Instead, her dress tugged lower, exposing a nipple. Lucas moaned at the tempting berry teasing him to sample a taste. His need to act like a gentleman was slipping out of his control. He licked his lips, imagining how the sweet temptation would explode on his tongue.
His cock hardened to an unbearable ache. He needed to shift away without waking her before he acted on his desires. But the wondrous sensation of Abigail wrapped around him kept him still. He was capable of handling this like a gentleman. He started reciting multiplication tables in his head to distract himself. When that didn’t work, he attempted to fool himself. Abigail was like a cousin to him, really. But that failed miserably.
As embarrassing as it would be for Abigail, he must wake her before he fulfilled every fantasy he held of them together.
First, he would start by bending his head and devouring her sweet nipples. Because after he sampled one, he would need to undo the rest of the buttons and sample the other. For a taste comparison, of course. Then he would ravish her lips as his hand slid up her dress and teased her legs to widen so he could caress her wetness. He would draw forth her pleasure until she screamed his name out across the open fields. His lips would capture her screams and draw them into his soul. Once she lay sated, then he would strip the gown from her body and build her desire again, leaving no part of her untouched. His lips would leave their own path of fire, setting her aflame.
Lucas brushed his hand across her chest. His fingers sank into her softness. Abigail moaned in her sleep, jerking him back to reality. What had he been about to do? He gulped. He had almost overstepped the bounds of suitable behavior. Ah, hell! Who did he fool? Their very intimate embrace had surpassed proper decorum.
He started with division tables, hoping the difficulty would cool his libido. Only this time, he argued with himself. He refused to subject Abigail to the same behavior his cousins had indulged in with their spouses before they spoke their vows. But he now understood why they had acted as they had. The only reason that kept him from fulfilling his desires was that he was unsure of his decision to make Abigail his bride. It wouldn’t be fair of him to seduce her, no matter how tempting of a package she might be.
Abigail floated awake from the most amazing dream ever. She dreamed of Lucas wrapping her in his embrace and rousing her with the softest of caresses. She didn’t want to awaken, so she kept her eyes closed, praying it was more than a dream. However, the longer she pretended to stay asleep, the more depressing reality became.
She felt a warm blush wash over her when she peeked one eye open to see she had sprawled across Lucas. His hand lay on his chest in a fist, and when she raised her gaze, she saw his eyes held tightly shut. His lips moved, but no sound came forth. Then he shook his head and started over again. However, this time, he mumbled out a group of numbers.
How was she to explain herself? After she fell asleep, she had managed to cover the distance separating them. And topping off her mortification, her hand clung to his neck. Her fingers itched to run through his hair and sink into his silky strands. Perhaps even encourage him to dip his head for a kiss. She would eagerly return his kiss with her own passion.
She kept staring at her hand, wishing it was her lips instead. She longed to kiss a trail down his neck and across his chest. Her eyes followed the path of her imagination, and she gulped at the sight of his chest. It was broad and well-formed and in need of her lips upon it. Abigail stilled at where her thoughts took her.
Lucas noticed the change in Abigail. She had awakened. He opened his eyes and lowered them to encounter her heavy-laden gaze. It was filled with desire, matching his own need. When her hand sank into his hair, every argument he held not to claim her lips flew away with the soft breeze surrounding them.
“Ah, hell,” he muttered. He didn’t hesitate to take her lips under his and devour them.
The mortification Abigail felt fled when his lips ravished hers in a soul-searching kiss. Each stroke of his tongue across hers led Abigail to abandon her morals. She only wished for his kiss to never end. Her body ached for his caress. As if he could read her thoughts, his arm circled her to bring her closer, and his other hand boldly caressed the top of her shoulder, down her arm, across her stomach, and up to her chest.
The cool air brushed across her breasts, and she realized she had exposed herself to Lucas. His thumb brushed across her nipple, tightening it into a hard bud. She pressed her breast into his palm, needing more of his wonderful touch. When his lips kissed a trail down her neck, Abigail silently begged for him to replace his fingers with his mouth.
Lucas paused. “I should not, but I cannot help myself.”
He lowered his head and drew a bud between his lips. The sweet flavor of berries exploded in his mouth. His tongue circled the treat, drawing out purrs of delight from Abigail. Those sounds only intensified his need to suck on them for hours on end. He tore at the buttons holding her dress together and spread the material apart. He withdrew his arm around her and tugged on the strings to her chemise. Thankfully, she didn’t wear a corset.
When he reached his treasure, he moaned from the sheer torture of her exquisite offerings. His hands molded to her breasts and lifted them to his lips. Moving from one sweet berry to the next, his tongue flicked across them, and he filled his appetite with her sugary sweetness. Abigail’s hand drifted to his head, holding him to her chest while he pleasured the both of them.
“Lucas.” Abigail’s moan filled the air.
He must stop, but he had lost the hold on his resistance. Abigail writhing in his arms only pushed him to abandon every gentlemanly act he had remaining. He swept her dress above her knees and caressed her silky limbs. Lucas trailed his finger along the crease of her thighs, and she opened them willingly. He needed no other encouragement.
Abigail pressed into his hand. An ache consumed her, one only Lucas could help ease. His fingers glided into her wetness, searing her with his heat. She arched into him after he slid a finger inside her core. With each stroke in and out, Abigail unraveled further out of control. When he slid another finger inside and pressed his thumb to her wetness, Abigail whimpered her need.
“Lucas, please.”
He answered her plea by drawing her nipple between his lips again and sucking on the bud as his fingers plunged in and out of her. “Fly, my little bird.”
Abigail lost herself at his command. She felt herself hurtling off a cliff, only to float at the sound of Lucas’s voice, encouraging her to be free.
Lucas pressed against Abigail’s hip, seeking relief from the building pressure of his cock. While he stopped himself from taking her, he sought the comfort of her curves to ease the ache consuming him. He drew her into his embrace and pressed her head against his chest. With each ragged breath he drew in, he tried to quiet his body’s demand. Abigail had softened under him but still clutched onto his shirt. Soft kisses landed on his chest once Abigail regained her senses.
Abigail couldn’t help herself. She wanted to pleasure Lucas in return. His smooth chest was hard beneath her lips, and she wondered if the rest of him felt the same. Her fingers toyed with his button. She wanted to free them but worried he would think her behavior too scandalous. When he clenched her hands, she discovered her answer.
“Abigail, you must stop,” Lucas clenched out between his teeth, fighting his desire. He wished for nothing more than to allow her to continue, but he had overstepped his bounds enough for today.
Shame washed over Abigail at her brazen attempt to undress Lucas. Obviously, he didn’t want her touch. She tried to roll away, but he held her firm.
“You misunderstand.”