Cocky Earl - Annabelle Anders Page 0,86
fairly certain their absence had put an end to any doubt that they would marry. It was not the way he’d planned it, but now more than ever, marrying her was exactly what he wanted.
She tilted her head to one side and offered him a sad smile. “How can I ever know your reason? If you did it to fulfill your debt to my father or because you wanted me?”
Did he have an answer for that?
“The wager was the reason I sought you out. And for that reason alone, I cannot regret it.” Honesty. “I don’t know that I would have courted you for marriage so quickly, or so enthusiastically. But it allowed me to end the so-called agreement my family had made with Felicity’s.”
Her throat moved and she nodded, looking away from him. “So, it was the wager…”
Obviously, he wasn’t saying this very well. “No. Yes. No. But it forced me to know you sooner. And as I came to know the woman you are, the more I wanted to know you.” He stared down at where she’d twisted the quilt into a wrinkled knot. “I can’t stop thinking about you when I’m awake, I’ve dreamt about you when I’m asleep. It’s right. Whatever this is between you and I.”
Climbing off the bed, he lowered himself to one knee and grasped her hands in both of his. “Charley Jackson, will you make me the happiest of men and consent to be my wife?”
Injecting all the feelings that he couldn’t express with words, he stared into her eyes and willed her to understand.
Chapter 24
NO TURNING BACK
Charley rolled the question around in her mind, much the same as if she were savoring a perfect whiskey—the taste, the body, the fragrance. Convinced of his sincerity, she swallowed, and warmth rising inside of her.
Everything she’d held in, all the pent-up emotions she’d fought during the past week, released as though the storm had forced them out of her.
When he’d kissed her, touched her most intimate places, she’d trusted him implicitly.
Julian squeezed her hand, waiting for her answer. Her heart screamed at her to tell him what he wanted to hear, but her head reminded her of all that she would be giving up if she became his wife.
Her country. Her father. Her dreams.
But what were her dreams? Were they the same ones she’d had when she’d stepped onto the ship nearly two months ago?
“It is right.” She couldn’t help but agree with him. No one had ever made her feel the way that Jules did. Cherished. Desired. Protected.
Like she mattered.
And even more importantly, overwhelmingly compelled to ensure that he felt the same.
“Yes, Jules.” Her heart celebrated by sending bubbles of happiness dancing in her chest. “I want to marry you.”
“You will?”
She nodded.
He was back on the bed, kissing her as she fell back onto the pillow. Energy swept through her, causing her to feel weightless and yet utterly grounded at the same time. This was what happiness felt like. She wanted everything. She wanted all of him. He’d settled between her legs, protected her from feeling squashed but not so much that she didn’t feel the evidence of his need pressing against her belly.
She’d stopped him before. He would be hers. She would be his.
Feeling bold, she slid her hand between them and fumbled with the closure of his falls.
Jules drew back and smiled down at her. “Are you trying to tell me something?” His hand joined hers and he easily slipped the button free. He guided her hand to the second one and together they loosened it as well.
His eyes hooded, and no longer making light of the matter, he showed her where to touch him over the material of his breeches. He slid her hand up and down the long hard ridge. “This is what you do to me. The mere thought of you fills me with need.”
The look in his eyes was a mixture of vulnerability and pain.
“You’ve done this before.”
He dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “But it’s never felt like this.”
The combination of a man so confident, so proud and sure of his place in the world and—and this man—the one before her, who appeared tentative but determined—broke her.
“There’s no turning back,” she whispered.
“No turning back.”
With all barriers crushed, her inhibitions fled. His mouth devoured hers at the same time she clawed her hands around his waist and tugged until he was free. She came to life everywhere he touched her. She wanted him to consume her.
The slow and