Catching Kent (23 page)

Her excitement urged her to explore
him, and of particular interest was the part between his legs that
she’d seen erect while they were in the carriage. She loosened the
belt around his waist and unbuttoned his pants. He let out a low
groan and encouraged her to slip her hands inside his underwear.
Then he was kissing her again, his tongue sparring with hers. Her
fingers traced the full length of his arousal and ran along the
tip, noting the bead of moisture there. He moaned and pulled away
from her.

“
Did I do something wrong?”
she asked. “Did I hurt you?”

“
No,” he quickly assured
her. “What you were doing felt really good. I just want to free
myself from my pants.” He yanked off his clothes and tossed them
aside.

She took a moment to examine his
erection, fascinated by their differences. When he brought her back
into his arms, she reached for it again, this time wrapping her
hand around it, noting the solid thickness of it and the satiny
feel of it at the tip where her thumb brushed another bead of
moisture. “This feels good?” she asked.

“
Yes. Very
good.”

His words encouraged her to keep
going, and she did, thrilled to learn about this part of him that
was so very different than anything she had on her body.

He traced the curve of her back then
squeezed her bottom, something that made her giggle.

“
Are you ticklish?” he
asked and playfully kissed her neck.

“
A little,” she
admitted.

He kissed her then let his hands slip
under the waistline of her bloomers. “Now that you’ve had a chance
to explore me, I want to find out more about you.”

The husky quality in his voice made
her shiver in delight. He lowered his head and brought his mouth to
one of her nipples. She moaned and her hands went to his shoulders,
gently massaging them as he continued teasing her with his tongue.
He chose one nipple then the next, paying equal attention to both
of them. He proceeded to remove the rest of her clothes and left a
trail of kisses down her stomach then her abdomen then
lower.

Bringing his hands to the back of her
thighs, he encouraged her to part her legs and kissed her moist
flesh. She gasped in surprise at the unexpected shot of pleasure
that made the ache worse, making her more anxious for his mouth.
She hoped he’d always want to explore her. His tongue traced the
folds of her flesh, and she moaned louder, hardly aware she was
digging her nails into his skin, something that only seemed to make
his actions more assertive.

He slid a hand up her thigh and found
her entrance, inserting one finger then two. She murmured his name
in appreciation, all thoughts of where they were fleeing from her
mind as she became engulfed in the pleasure of the moment. His
tongue centered on her sensitive nub and he continued stroking her
core with his fingers. Truly, she had no idea just how wonderful
this would be.

She cried out in protest when he
stopped his ministrations, but he rose to his feet and kissed
her.

“
I’m not done yet,” he
assured her before he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the
bed.

Once she was lying on her back, he
knelt between her legs and resumed what he’d been doing before. She
groaned and gripped the blanket beneath her, barely aware that she
kept murmuring his name. She focused once more on her mounting
tension, and when her release finally came, she cried out and
shuddered as wave after wave of pleasure overtook her, strong and
intense at first then slowly ebbing until her body
relaxed.

His fingers slid out of her and he
crawled over her so that his arousal was pressed intimately against
her entrance. Her body still humming with satisfaction, she pulled
him toward her, wanting nothing more than to bring him to
completion, to know he found the same pleasure he’d just given her.
He leaned forward and kissed her and whispered that he loved her
before he entered her.

She had expected there to be a barrier
he’d have to push through, but there wasn’t. Wrapping her legs
around his waist, she encouraged him to go deeper. She worked with
him, establishing a rhythm that seemed to intensify his enjoyment,
if she could judge it by the way his moans grew louder and
thrusting grew more insistent. When he grew taut, she held him
close to her, loving the way he filled her with his seed. It was
such a nice feeling to know he found fulfillment in her. It made
their lovemaking complete.

He relaxed and brought his lips to
hers. Their bodies still entwined, they continued kissing for
several minutes, starting out soft and gentle but slowly becoming
more passionate.

“
I had no idea it could be
this good,” he whispered, his hands tracing the length of her
body.

“
Me neither,” she murmured,
tightening her legs around his waist, ensuring he’d remain inside
her. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she felt him thicken and
lengthen. “You feel good.”

“
So do you.” He kissed her
neck, his lips working their way to her ear where he teased her
with his tongue.

She shivered in pleasure and moaned.
“Do you think it’s possible to do it more than one time in a
day?”

He shifted his hips and she felt his
erection growing harder. “Oh yes, definitely.”

“
Like right now?” She
rocked her hips, hoping he was ready.

He groaned and rolled her with him
until she was on top of him. “Let’s try it this way.” Hands on her
hips, he guided her movements.

She bit her lower lip and focused on
how wonderful he felt inside her. “I love it when you’re in me,”
she murmured.

He groaned in agreement and cupped her
breasts in his hands, his thumb and forefinger teasing her nipples.
They spent considerable time making love this way, neither in any
hurry to climax, but in due time, they did, and she decided this
was her favorite thing to do and there was no one she’d rather do
it with than him.

Chapter Twenty

Rose woke up the next morning, at
first thinking it’d all been a dream. Everything had been so
magical, just like a fairytale. The wedding, the manor, the wedding
night. She sighed in contentment and snuggled deeper into the
sheets. But then she realized these weren’t the same sheets she was
used to sleeping in and opened her eyes. The large bedroom—no, it
was a bedchamber—was before her. She couldn’t help but be in awe at
the fine furnishings which could fill up an entire house. All a
person would need was a cookstove and they’d have a kitchen in here
to complete it. But this was just one room of many in her new home.
She still couldn’t quite grasp it.

She turned her attention to the canopy
that surrounded the bed. She really liked the canopy. It was such a
romantic thing since it made her feel like she and Kent were all
alone in the world. She wondered what it would be like if they were
the only two people alive. She’d read a story like that once, only
it was because there was a grave plague—worse than the bubonic
plague in Europe—and it left two people living. It’d been a sad
book, especially since the man and woman ended up killing each
other when they thought the other was going to harm
them.

Relieved she was with Kent instead of
in that horrible story, she turned over and studied him while he
slept. She hadn’t watched anyone as they slept before, but she was
struck by how peaceful he looked, as if he didn’t have a care in
the world. He was definitely the best looking man she’d ever laid
eyes on. And to think she’d get to wake up and see him every
morning for the rest of her life!

He shifted from his back and settled
on his side, his arm falling at his waist. She frowned and studied
the jagged scar that ran from his elbow to his wrist. How did she
miss something like that? Because she’d been preoccupied with other
things. Heat rose to her cheeks as she recalled how much enjoyment
she’d had with him.

Her gaze returned to his arm. The scar
had healed, telling her the wound had happened years ago. She
wondered what caused it. She leaned forward to get a better look at
it. Whatever happened to him, it must have hurt.

He stirred from his sleep. Smiling,
she snuggled up to him and gave him a kiss. “Good
morning.”

Returning her smile, he drew her into
his arms and settled his cheek on the top of her head. “How are
you?”

“
Good. And you?”

“
Never been
better.”

She hesitated to ask him about his
arm, but she figured if he didn’t want to tell her, he could simply
say he didn’t want to discuss it and she’d let the matter go.
Taking a deep breath, she ventured, “I noticed the scar on your
arm. Can I ask where you got it?”

At first she thought he was going to
say no but after a long sigh, he said, “It’s not a pretty
story.”

“
I didn’t think it would be
since you have a scar,” she softly told him.

“
Yeah, well, it wasn’t my
proudest moment. I don’t like to think about it.” He rubbed her
back in soothing circular motions as he continued. “I thought
someone loved me and that a man had been keeping her prisoner, so I
went to rescue her. I thought we were going to get married and live
happily ever after. But I was wrong. I went to her house, the door
was locked, and this dog kept coming at me. I thought it was going
to attack me and tripped. I fell back and my arm went through the
window in the door. That’s how I got the scar.”

“
That doesn’t sound so
bad.”

“
It does when you realize
she wanted to be with him. She told me she didn’t want to be with
me, but I didn’t listen. I just came after her. She thought I was
going to hurt her, and I just kept coming after her.”

“
But you didn’t hurt
her.”

“
No, but as she was running
from me, she fell into a stall and the horse almost stepped on her.
It was at that time her husband showed up and let a bullet graze my
ear to warn me to stay away from her.”

“
She had married the
man?”

“
Yes, and I knew they were
married when I went out there to get her. That doesn’t make me a
hero.”

Noting the remorseful tone in his
voice, she leaned up on her elbow so she could look at him. “We’ve
all done things we regret.”

“
Maybe but what I did was
really bad.” He swallowed then added, “I frightened her. I know I
did. For months, I couldn’t get the image of her scared expression
out of my mind. It was hard to know that I’d done that to her. I
never felt worse about myself.”

“
You didn’t mean to scare
her.”

“
That doesn’t matter. The
fact is I did. I can only hope she’s happy and has forgotten all
about me.”

She brushed aside the hair from his
eyes and caressed his cheek. “Did you want to send her a letter and
apologize?”

He shook his head. “That’s the worst
thing I could do. The best thing I can do for her is to leave her
alone.”

“
I understand. I’m sure
she’s doing fine.”

“
I hope so.”

“
You can’t do anything
about the past so there’s no use in worrying about it. I know the
man you are, and I love you.”

Smiling, he cupped her face in his
hands and kissed her. “You know what I love most about
you?”

“
What?”

“
You see me as I am—all the
good and the bad—and you believe the best about me
anyway.”

“
I see you as you truly
are: a prince among men.” Returning his smile, she brought her lips
to his to share another kiss.

***

“
I’m telling you, Harriett,
I can afford it just fine,” Rose insisted at the jeweler a week
later. “You’re my sister and dearest friend. I want you to have it
to match the one I’m getting.” She held up the other cameo she was
holding. “Don’t you see? Whenever I wear it, I’ll think of
you.”

Harriett glanced at the gold-trim
duplicate cameo in her hand. “It’s lovely. Really, it is. But…” She
sighed and motioned to the price tag. “It’s expensive.”

“
You saw the carriage I
picked you up in.”

“
Well…yes.”

“
After we get these cameos,
I’ll show you my new home. Then you won’t feel so guilty for
letting me buy one for you.”

“
I don’t know.”

“
Harriett,” she laughed and
hugged her sister, “it’s alright. It’s the only thing I’ll buy you
until Christmas. I promise.”

“
Christmas isn’t that far
away.”

“
Fine. Then this will be my
Christmas gift to you. Will you accept it then?”

Harriett relaxed and smiled. “Alright.
If it’s a Christmas gift, then it’ll work.”

“
I had no idea it’d be so
hard to convince you to take a gift from me.”

“
If it wasn’t so expensive,
I wouldn’t hesitate, but it’s hard to accept something that costs
$100.”

“
If I can’t spend $100 on
you, then who can I spend it on?”