catch fire any second. “I do like those things, but I never suspected I would . . .”
“Just as I never expected, that night at The Duck and Dog, how much I would fall in love with you,” he said gently. “If I’d come today because of pride, I could have sent a servant out to fetch you like a piece of lost baggage. Instead I wrecked your mother’s maze so you wouldn’t put me off a moment longer. Because I do love you, and I’ve been in misery since I went to Allenton.”
Her heart strained toward him. She swallowed hard, winding the sash of her dress around her shaking fingers. “You already know I love you.”
“Do you still?”
Wordlessly she nodded. There was too much cautious hope in his voice for her to contemplate denying it.
His face eased. “May I apologize now?”
She nodded again.
With slow, deliberate steps he walked up to her. He smoothed back a loose strand of hair before cupping his fingers reverently around her face, tipping up her chin. Kate gave a little sob of relief when his lips finally touched hers. She clung to his wrists, kissing him back with all the love in her heart. He made a low sound deep in his throat, deepening the kiss until the ground seemed to buckle beneath her feet.
“I’m sorry I left you even for a day,” he rasped. His body pressed in on hers. “God, how I’ve missed you, Kate . . .”
His arousal was hard and heavy against her belly. She reached down to glide her palm over the length. “So I see.”
His laugh was wild and short. “It’s been like that since I saw you in the garden. Am I forgiven?”
“Yes.” She wound her arms around his neck, stretching up on her toes to draw his head back down to hers, his lips to hers. His hand slid around her neck, then down her back to the small of her waist, where he anchored her to him with one firm tug.
“I’m going to make love to you,” he breathed. “So you’ll never doubt that I love you.”
Kate blinked, dizzy with lust and kisses and the heady thrill of his love. “We’re outdoors.”
“God won’t be offended,” he said, dragging up her skirt and petticoat with one hand. “We’re married. I’ve been assured it’s not a sin to ravish my own wife, fortunately for my eternal soul.”
“Yes, but—” He untied her garter and pushed her stocking down, sliding his palm up and down her thigh before cupping her bottom. “My mother might come looking for us,” Kate said unsteadily.
“She’s well occupied.” Gerard nipped the tender skin at the side of her neck with his teeth. “Charlie knows his duty.”
“Charlie?” She swayed on her feet, unable to protest as he urged her down, onto his discarded coat.
“Hmm,” he murmured against her throat, his lips whispering over her skin. “My brother. He came to help, and he’s doing a brilliant job.”
One by one he undid the buttons that held her bodice closed so he could spread it wide open. He pressed kisses down her bosom, uttering a few mild oaths as he tried to push her corset out of the way.
She smiled and ran her hands over his shoulders. “It’s tied in back.”
“Curse it.” He abandoned the corset and raked up her skirts. His head dropped, and she felt his hands between her legs, guiding his length into her. He rubbed the head of it against her, and her belly spasmed in anticipation. His gaze lifted to meet hers. “Mine,” he whispered, thrusting hard. “Mine.” He hooked his elbow under her knee and pressed it back to her shoulder. “All mine.” He stroked hard and deep, right to the very center of her. Kate’s eyes rolled back as her body shuddered under his possession. With each stroke he seemed to penetrate deeper. “Take me,” he demanded as he moved. “Love me. All of me.”
“Everything,” she gasped. With a squirm and a stretch, she got her other leg up and to the side, spreading herself wide open for his possession. Gerard bared his teeth in triumph; a bead of sweat ran down his brow. He paused only to lean down to kiss her quickly, then redoubled his efforts. Tears leaked from her eyes. Kate felt as though her blood had caught fire. When she felt the pressure rising in her, she instinctively caught her breath, holding it until the wave crested and broke, and she screamed in ecstasy. Every muscle