The Matter of a Marquess - Jess Michaels Page 0,73
Whether or not the rumors that have circulated about me are correct or not doesn’t matter. Society will view me a certain way now, and probably for the rest of my life. And if you link yourself to me in any official way, whether through courtship or anything else, you will be tainted with the same poison. That could swing the tide of support in the wrong direction.”
He shook his head. “But Aurora—”
“I know you’ll make all these lovely arguments because you are such a good man. But in the end, they don’t matter. You’ve had so much taken away from you because of my father’s lies, because I didn’t have enough faith in you. I refuse to be the reason you lose something else.”
“But the something else I may lose is…you,” he said, and leaned over to take her hands. He smoothed his thumbs over her knuckles and she shivered with a need that had gone unfulfilled for what felt like a lifetime even though it was only a few days.
“If you…want me…” she said carefully, because they had made no promises and she didn’t want to leap to some conclusion. “You will have me, I promise that. I’ll wait for when it’s right for you. We could even meet in secret if we wanted to do that. Anything not to endanger you and your future.”
The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of her home, and she sighed. “Think about it, will you? Perhaps we can talk about it after this situation with Imogen is resolved.”
He stared at her. “Do you think I’m leaving?”
She nodded. “I…you escorted me home. I’m home. I didn’t expect for you to—”
He laughed. “I haven’t touched you in days, Aurora. I have no intention of leaving…unless you don’t want me here.”
She looked into his face, that face she loved so desperately, and smiled. It seemed he would accept her terms, that he would allow them to hold off on decisions about the future until his hopes and dreams were secured at last.
“I want you here,” she whispered. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck. His mouth came down on hers, soft at first, then harder, more insistent as he nearly brought her into his lap. They were both panting when they broke the kiss.
“Come in,” she gasped. “Please.”
Nicholas followed Aurora into her bedroom and looked around. Like the rest of her small home, it was an austere chamber, devoid of almost all decoration. It didn’t fit her vibrant spirit or her bright personality. But it had a bed big enough for two and right now that was all that mattered.
She glanced at him over her shoulder, her pupils dilated with a need that echoed his own. With shaking hands, she locked the door. Her breath was short and harsh, her hands shook as she flattened one palm against the barrier.
He edged up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against him so she was flush from shoulder to hip. Their bodies molded naturally, beautifully, just as they had from the beginning. Made to be together. She made a soft sound of pleasure, one that ricocheted through his body like lightning through his bloodstream.
“I missed you,” he whispered against her ear before he traced the shell with the tip of his tongue. He felt her body react, felt the heat of her rise.
She nodded. “I-I did too.”
He tried not to think about the fact that they’d been parted these past few days out of her attempt to protect him. That she couldn’t see a future that didn’t involve secrecy or distance. He could think of those things later. Right now…
He slid the buttons along her spine open and pushed her dress down. She tugged it away as he leaned in, pushing the loose bun at the base of her nape to the side and kissing there. She tasted like summer.
She shivered, made an incoherent sound of pleasure. Her hips bumped back against his and the sensation shot up his cock.
He pivoted, drawing her with him, and now they faced that bed he’d noticed earlier. He edged her forward, kissing her neck the whole time, and bent her down, placing her hands against the edge of it. She clung to the coverlet with both hands, spreading her legs a little wider, as if she knew his plans exactly.
He pushed her chemise up with one hand, reveling in every inch of soft flesh he revealed. She was a