Chapter Twenty
Rowena got very little sleep and had to drag herself from bed the next morning.
She made the decision not to attend the house party today.
While she was happy for her friends and their recent betrothals, she was tired of being around other people.
She longed for solitude. It was easier to think that than admit the truth.
She could no longer be around Lord Marley.
Did he have feelings for her?
That was difficult to discern. He seemed to be two different men—the charming rogue who dazzled Polite Society versus the sensitive gentleman who opened up to her during that night in the gardens.
The first would not be capable of being a suitor to her simply because she was not someone he could possibly be attracted to.
As for the second version of Lord Marley, she doubted that man existed anymore.
While he had been struggling financially and only in possession of a courtesy title the night of the Purlington ball, he now had come into his earldom and had no worries about money.
The ton would expect him to wed someone equal to him in looks and rank, not some bluestocking who scarcely was worth their attention.
Perhaps he did like her company a bit. She certainly enjoyed his.
Then again, she could think of no instances where a gentleman and lady became friends.
That is all she could ever be with Lord Marley.
Rowena liked him. She definitely enjoyed kissing him.
But after this house party, they would never see one another again since she had no plans to return to town.
He would go home to Marleyfield and make his annual pilgrimage to London for the Season.
With his looks, title, and wealth, it was only a matter of time before he wed and had children.
She remained in her night rail and added her dressing gown atop it, waiting for Ollie’s carriage to approach. When it did, her cousin left the vehicle and came to knock upon Rowena’s door since she was not waiting for him outside.
Opening the door, he frowned. “Are you unwell, Cousin?”
“I awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible megrim,” she lied. “I could not go back to sleep because the pain was so great.”
“Should I summon the doctor? I can have him here within half an hour.”
“No, Ollie. I simply need to spend the day in bed. I could use the rest. Hopefully, I might even be able to nap and catch up on my sleep. Please give my apologies to Lord and Lady Pebble and the other guests.”
He brushed his lips against her brow. “You will be missed. I will tell the others of your megrim. I will call upon you this evening when I return to Stanfield.”
“No, I might be sleeping by then and would not wish to be disturbed. I shall try to return to the house party tomorrow.”
“Send word to me if you have need of anything,” he told her, returning to his carriage.
Rowena wanted to ask how she was to send word since she had no servants with her. Betsy was not due to come and clean until sometime tomorrow. It did not matter. She would not need Ollie for anything.
Returning to the window, she watched his carriage pull away.
Gloom enveloped her. She forced herself to go out to the well and draw some water to put on a kettle for tea.
Fortunately, she had caught on quickly as to how to create a fire.
Since there was a chill in the air this morning, she built one now in the hearth.
Once her tea had steeped, she sat by the fire, a book in her lap.
She found she could not concentrate, though, and drifted off.
Something disturbed her sleep. The sound was in the distance. Constant. Insistent. It pulled her from sleep.
Suddenly, she was yanked to her feet.
“Are you all right? I knocked on your door, but you did not respond. Samuel said you had a megrim. You look terrible.”
Lord Marley’s eyes roamed her face. Rowena blinked rapidly several times, pulling herself from her dreams and returning to reality.
“I was asleep. I did not sleep much last night.”
“Because of the megrim.”
“Yes. Because of the megrim.”
She became aware of his hands clasping her elbows. Of the heat radiating from his body. Of the masculine scent emanating from him. Something stirred within her.
“Thank goodness you are not seriously ill,” he said, enveloping his arms about her.
Rowena’s cheek pressed against his chest. Her ear was directly over his pounding heart.
Her own arms wrapped around his waist. One hand began to smooth her hair, the gesture hypnotic, lulling her into closing her eyes again.
She thought she could stay this way forever.
She was awake enough now. It was as if her body sprang to life, being against his.
Need poured through her. For his kiss. His touch.
Knowing this might be the last opportunity she would have to be alone with him, she decided to ask something of him. Since she was destined to be forever on the shelf, Rowena wanted a part of him for herself. For her memories. Something she could live off for all the years to come.
She tilted her head, looking up at him. Those magnificent, amethyst eyes gazed back down at her.
“Show me what it is like. Between a man and a woman.”
He startled. Frowned. “Where is this coming from?”
“I want to know, Con.” Deliberately, she used his given name as he had asked her to do. “I feel my body going taut as a string on my violin. Something tells me that you will know how to play my body, the same way I play that instrument.”
She felt his body stiffen. “What are you asking of me, Rowena?”
Showing a courage she never knew she had, she said, “I want you to take me to bed.”
A slow smile spread across his handsome face. She lifted a hand, cupping his cheek, her thumb slowly stroking it.
“You know what you are asking me? You know what this means.”
Rowena knew she would no longer be a virgin. She would possess carnal knowledge.
“I do.”
His lips touched hers, the kiss achingly tender. It was a kiss she would never forget.
He released her, striding toward the open door and closing it. Then he returned, his arms going about her again. His kiss was gentle at first, but soon the passion flared between them, and his kisses became more demanding. She reveled in them.
In him.
One hand now clasped her nape, holding her steady, his arm braced against her back. The kisses were long. Drugging. Heated. And they conveyed just how much he wanted her.
Rowena knew if a dozen ladies of the ton had been lined up beside her, Con would have chosen each of them before ever considering her as a romantic partner. But he was here with her now, only her, and she had his full attention.
She intended to make the most of this experience.
It was her turn to respond to the challenge Con issued, and she began kissing him back, their tongues now warring with one another.
Her hands moved up and down his rock-solid back.
For a few stolen moments, he was hers. No one else’s.
The thought drove her wild, and she kissed him with abandon.
Her hands dropped to his buttocks, kneading them, enjoying the groans which came from him.
He mimicked her actions, his own, large hands grasping her derriere and squeezing.
Hot desire shot through her.
“I want more,” she urged. “Your mouth on my breasts. Like before.”
“With pleasure.”
The gleam in his eyes caused her to tremble.
He unknotted the belt of her dressing gown and pushed it from her shoulders.
Then he reached down and captured the edge of her night rail.
In one, swift motion, he removed it, tossing it aside.
She now stood bare in front of him, his eyes roaming her body.
“To think you hid this from everyone,” he said softly, his gaze admiring.
He cupped her breasts, the pads of his thumbs brushing back and forth across her nipples, causing them to stand out. His gaze never left hers, though, and she saw his eyes continue to darken in need.
Before she knew it, he had swept her from her feet and carried her to the only bedchamber in the cottage. She had yet to make the bed, thinking she would return and try to sleep. He placed her upon the mattress.
“Watch,” he commanded, and she did as he slowly removed his coat.
His waistcoat was next. He unbuttoned it and shrugged from it before untying his cravat.
Pulling it from his neck, he tossed it in her direction.
The silk landed on her belly, and she grasped it in one hand, dragging it up between the valley of her breasts.
She caught his scent on it, and the place between her legs tightened in response.
He watched her, and she continued to playfully move the cravat up and down. He licked his lips, lifting his shirt over his head and dropping it on the ground.
“You little minx,” he said, his voice a growl.
Moving like lightning, he sprang quickly to her, snatching the cravat from her.
He grabbed her wrists and wrapped the cravat around them several times, binding them together.
Her core now pounded hard, throbbing in need.
He pulled her wrists above her head, tying the cravat’s ends to one of the bedposts.
She was not uncomfortable, only restrained.
A wicked smile crossed his sensual lips. “You are exactly where I want you, Rowena.”
Just the husky tone caused her to tremble. It held danger—and desire.
He moved between her legs, his hands gliding up and down her thighs.
“So smooth. Like silk.”
Then he lifted her legs so that the backs of her knees rested on his shoulders, with her calves and feet hanging down his back. His head bent, going between her legs. Instinctively, she knew where he headed and whimpered.
He lifted his head. “I have yet to touch you, love.”
She made another sound, and he raked a finger along the seam of her sex. He held it up.
“Look. Your juices already flow for me. You want me. Don’t you, Rowena?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I did not hear you.”
“Yes!” she cried.
That was all it took. His head dropped again, and he licked his tongue along the entire seam of her sex.
She gasped, need filling her. The next few minutes were shocking—yet oh, so fulfilling.
He pushed his tongue inside her, lapping at her, feasting on her.
His lips, his teeth, his tongue all worked together to drive her to the brink of madness.
And then the little death rocked her hard. Rowena cried his name, again and again, bucking against him as wave after wave of pleasure filled her. When it ended, she lay limp, so weak she could not even open her eyes.
He untied the cravat from the bedpost. Circled it until her wrists were freed. Then he kissed the palm of each hand tenderly. She opened her eyes to find him gazing at her with a look she had never seen on his face.
And was too frightened to ask what it meant.
“Are you certain you wish for us to couple?” he asked softly. “To see what it is like when we come together?”
“It couldn’t possibly be better than that,” she managed to say. “But I am ready to find out.”
“Then we will make love now.” He hesitated. “You may feel a touch of pain. That cannot be helped. It is fleeting and only happens the one time, when you first couple with a man.”
“I am prepared,” she told him, wondering what lay ahead, not certain she was ready, but putting on a brave face for him.
He quickly removed the rest of his clothes, and she was in awe of his body.
The long, muscular legs and muscled chest, with a light matting of dark hair upon it.
The broad shoulders, so firm as she held them.
He spent a long time touching her. Kissing various parts of her body.
Her eyelids. Her shoulders. The backs of her knees.
His fingers danced along her body, making it hum with need.
Then he climbed atop her, keeping his weight off her as he braced himself on hands and knees.
“Wrap your legs about my waist,” he told her.
She did as he asked, anticipation flooding her, mingled with a little fear of the unknown. But she was with Con and knew he would take good care of her.
He stroked her with his fingers for a few minutes and then placed his swollen cock against her. Before she knew it, he had thrust deeply inside her.
His hands cupped her cheeks. “You are so beautiful, Rowena. So very, very beautiful.”
As he kissed her, his hands left her face.
He also pulled almost entirely from her but then thrust into her once more, filling her.
Soon, a rhythm had been established between them, and they danced a dance to music only the two of them could hear.
She knew when her orgasm was about to strike, and she called out to him as it did.
For his part, he thrust once more and gyrated against her.
She could feel his hot seed spilling within her.
Hoping there was no babe created—yet accepting if it had occurred, she would be fine with that.
This time, he collapsed atop her, his mouth nuzzling her neck, a feeling of closeness unlike anything she had ever experienced. This feeling that lingered was almost as nice as the actual love play itself. He pulled out from her and rolled to his side.
Smoothing her hair, he said, “I hope that satisfied your curiosity.”
“I could not have dreamed it was like that,” she admitted. “It was wonderful, though.”
He pressed a soft kiss against her lips. “You are wonderful, love. Everything about you is special.”
Con nudged her so that she rolled away from him onto her side, then he pulled her back against his chest. His arm came about her. He dropped a kiss upon her shoulder.
“Sleep. You need it.”
“Will you leave?”
“I will be here when you awaken,” he promised.
Reluctantly, Rowena closed her eyes, telling herself she would not miss out on anything. That he would stay with her.
What she did feel was that she was fully a woman now. Before too much time passed, she would write about this experience if she could find the words. For now, she simply wished to lie in Con’s arms and savor the moment. Without knowing it, she dropped off to sleep.