Chapter Twenty-Seven
As they stepped out from the shade of the house and into the welcome sunshine of the June afternoon, Henley could only focus on one thing: Anna.
Her hand, so perfectly formed for his, tucked around his arm, holding him tight as she nearly raced him to the waiting carriage.
His mother must have already called for it earlier, bless her.
She had indeed given them a gift, and he’d have to thank her later. Much, much later.
He turned to Anna as he paused before the carriage door, her golden hair reflecting the sunshine and her eyes alight with joy he knew was echoed in his own expression.
For once, he didn’t want to rush, rather he wanted the next moments to stretch on forever.
Each touch, each breath he would savor, commit to memory, and hold dear.
He held out his hand. “Lady Allendale?” He loved the sound of his title attached to her name, a smoldering fire burning in his chest as she took his hand and stepped into the carriage.
Her expression communicated what words would be insufficient to express. The door closed behind them with a soft click, final and freeing. Immediately, the coach rolled forward.
“I’ve never seen anything more lovely.” Henley grasped his wife’s hand, toyed with her glove then tugged on each fingertip till he could remove the soft leather from her fingers.
The sound of Anna’s breath catching was his undoing.
He met her simmering gaze, then lifted her other hand, kissing each finger, watching her eyes darken with need as he tugged on each finger, slowly, then removed the second glove.
Let it begin now, the sweet anticipation, the slow unwrapping of the final gift they had to unwrap—each other.
“I never considered how far away my once-bachelor lodgings were from my family’s house, and I’ve decided it is both entirely too close and too far, all at once.” He tugged her closer with her bare hand and nipped at her ear.
“You…” Anna swallowed, her pulse racing against his lips, and he bit back a grin at her passionate reaction, enjoying the slow seduction of his wife. “You know that makes no sense.”
“I find I don’t care,” he whispered, rubbing his lips along her pulse, then under her jawline, kissing a trail that led to her lips.
He teased the corner of her mouth with a gentle nip of his teeth as he pulled her onto his lap.
Anna’s hands grasped his face, tilted his chin, and she captured his lips with abandon, her hands weaving through his air as she arched into him.
A groan escaped his lips as he breathed in her scent, every part of his world centering on her, her breathing, her heartbeat, her taste.
The carriage came to a halt, and Anna released his lips, her fingers caressing his bottom lip, before smiling unrepentantly.
He’d never seen anything more glorious.
“This is … familiar,” Anna teased.
Henley took a lock of hair that had fallen loose and rubbed it between his fingers, marveling at the soft texture.
A vision of her hair all unbound surrounding him flashed through his mind and heated his body with a fever he’d never experienced before.
Taking a deep breath, he forced a calm. It wasn’t if he’d see her in such a state, it was simply a when, and for that reward, he could practice the slow torture of patience, the buildup that would burn them both in the most delicious way.
“Henley?” Anna asked, brushing her hand along his cheek, her lips swollen from his kiss, her cheeks rosy from the flush of desire.
“Shall we?” he asked, his voice hoarse with suppressed need.
“Unless you wish to continue in the carriage?” Anna lowered a hand from his face and traced down his chest, slowly, seductively.
“I believe I can think of a much better place to continue … exploring.” He nipped her lip and then shifted her over so he could exit the carriage.
As he helped Anna step into the light, he watched as she took in the brownstone house before her.
His bachelor lodgings were in a perfectly respectable area of Mayfair, but it was not on the scale of the Duke of Kinfield’s residence, that was for certain.
A thread of uncertainty wound around his heart as she studied the steps to the door.
“Home,” Anna breathed. Then turned to him. “Because you’re here.”
The uncertainty melted away, and Henley lifted Anna into his arms and took the stairs two at a time. “I believe the first room I shall give you a tour of … is mine.”
“No.” Anna arched a brow. “Ours.”
“I’ll make the necessary introductions later, but for now, I believe we shall tour the stairs as I take you to our room.” Henley grinned and, with a sweeping motion, lifted her into his arms and then through the newly opened door, past the bemused butler, and up the stairs.
Henley paused at the top of the steps, watching as his butler closed the door and took his leave.
Turning to Anna, Henley kissed her once again, simply because he could. “Ours. And so, without delay, allow me to show you,” he whispered the words and strode to the suite door that held his room.
As the door swung open, light filtered through the sheer curtains, illuminating the dark paneled wood walls, the four-poster bed.
A delighted smile gave her a celestial glow, like something out of a dream.
Her eyes swept the room, taking in the simple comforts of his lodgings—the mahogany writing desk, the shelves of worn books, the well-polished floor—but when she looked back at him, he saw no judgment, only affection. Only belonging.
Henley lowered her slowly to the thick rug before the hearth, letting her feet touch the floor with deliberate reverence. His hands lingered at her waist, then roamed, mapping the curve of her back as if reacquainting himself with something long lost and finally returned.
“At last, and now that the moment has arrived, I find I’m wanting time to slow down, after wanting…” He paused and kissed along her shoulder. “Needing for time to hurry up.”
“Henley.” Anna’s voice whispered his name, nearly undoing him, but he wanted to take this slow, deliberate, soak up every moment, every touch, because he could.
She was his.
And he was utterly hers.
Anna twisted her fingers in his cravat, using it to tug him closer, then reached up to kiss his lips, a tentativeness in her touch.
Rather than speak, Henley leaned into her kiss, pulling her body flush against his as he allowed himself the intense pleasure of spanning her hips with his hands, of lowering them farther till he cupped her round bottom.
Before he could lose his self-control, he released her form and reached for her hands, all while searing his love for her with his lips, teasing her with his tongue as he devoured her sweet flavor.
He guided her hands to his chest, and traced them lower, tugging on his shirt till she followed his lead.
Her touch was fire, and as soon as his shirt was pulled free, he leaned back, studying his wife, searching her eyes for any hesitation.
Satisfied there was none, only want and need, he turned her slowly so that she was facing away from him, and with a hot kiss to her neck, he began to tease her buttons loose along the back of her gown.
The first one released easily enough, but the second was far tighter, and Henley glanced to his hands, a slight irritation growing as the offending button persisted.
Anna’s chuckle had him pausing. “Amused, are you?”
“Never thought the great Lord Allendale, prized fighter, would struggle needlessly with a simple button.” Anna glanced over her shoulder, the movement and expression deliriously seductive.
“You forgot humble, because I’m quite willing to ask for help,” he whispered against her neck.
Anna chuckled and stepped forward. Giving him that same alluring smile. He beamed then, unguarded and full of awe.
“Allow me.” Anna reached behind her back, her breasts pressing against her dress and teasing him as she watched him while slowly twisting. “There.”
“That was far too easy.” He narrowed his eyes, teasing her back.
“Or simply practiced often, my lady’s maids assist me but sometimes I’m rather impatient.” She hitched a shoulder, causing the now-loosened dress to shift.
Henley could feel his eyes darken as he noticed the subtle movement. “In that case,” he said, stepping forward and gently turning her so he could stand behind her, “permit your husband the unspeakable pleasure of removing your gown.”
Anna nodded, another loose curl tumbling down from her pins as Henley made quick work of the dress, then turned to her hair. “May I?” he asked, his voice low with desperation.
His body was already begging for release, but he fought the need to claim her quickly, rather it would be a thorough claiming indeed.
Anna nodded once, and Henley delicately removed the pins, the sound of them hitting the floor a light music to the crescendo of their moments. Her hair cascaded down around her shoulders.
Anna turned toward him once the final pin was removed, her gown slipping slightly from her shoulders. She lifted her hands to his cravat, loosening it with maddening grace.
“You’re being very calm about all this,” he said, arching a brow.
“I’m unraveling you,” she whispered, tugging the cravat free, “one piece at a time.”
“Oh, love,” Henley growled low in his throat. “Then you should know—when I come undone, I take you with me.” Henley teased her chemise over her shoulders and gazed at the perfection of his wife’s form. Anna boldly pressed into him, forcing a groan from his lips.
“This is remarkably unfair,” she whispered against his bare chest. “For I am far more … unraveled than you, my husband.”
Henley chuckled against her hair. “Allow me to remedy that directly.”
“No … slowly.” Anna traced a finger down his arm and then laced her fingers within his before stepping back, her hair covering her breasts slightly, just enough to allow him to see yet still be teased by what was hidden.
“Whatever you wish.” He shed each barrier between them with slow, deliberate reverence, each piece a final relic of the man he was before she made him whole.
“I changed my mind.” Anna stepped forward, her gaze taking in the sight of him, now nearly naked. “Maybe next time we’ll go slower.” She sealed the words on his lips as Henley growled.
“Thank God.”
He removed the last of her clothing, and lifted her into his arms, carrying her to their bed, a delicious giggle echoing from her lips as he joined her on the soft mattress and kissed furiously from her lips to her neck, then lower, savoring the gasp of awe when he tasted her breast. As she arched against him, he slid his hands down, wanting to make sure this lovemaking was as good for her as it would be for him.
Teasing her most intimate area, he waited like a man burning alive as she gasped and bucked against his hand, his mouth continuing to tease her with a wicked desperation for her to feel the need that surged through him.
“Hen—ley.” She all but whimpered his name, telling him it was enough.
When she came apart, he wanted to be inside her, feeling every wave of her pleasure. When she called his name with a breathless plea, he entered her with a reverence that stole his breath. He gasped, his body trembling with relief, joy, and a need so fierce it felt like worship.
“I—I need…” Anna’s eyes were unfocused, and she reached out, pulling him closer, sliding him deeper, as she wrapped her legs around his, holding him close.
Then Henley began to move. He swallowed her gasps of pleasure with his kiss, branding his love on her body as he teased her with the last shreds of his self-control.
When she clung to him, her nails biting into his back with a delicious pain, he found his own release, shuddering with the power of it.
He closed his eyes, the gratification of his own release and her climax joining in creating a pleasure he never knew existed.
It was more than lovemaking, it was a soul sharing. And he’d never be the same.
He looked at his wife, the love, wonder, and adoration in her expression mirroring his own.
And with a grin, she reached up and touched his face. “Worth the wait.”
Henley chuckled against her chest, kissing her breast teasingly. “Indeed, it was … and thankfully, we do not have to wait ever again.”
Later, with Anna curled against his chest, her breath warm on his skin and her heartbeat echoing his own, Henley let his eyes drift shut.
The world could wait. Tonight belonged to them—every whispered vow, every stolen breath.
She was his, as he was hers. Not just in name, not just in law. But in soul. And now, he knew peace.