Chapter 26
H e had waited for this moment for what felt like his entire lifetime. Each and every day they’d spent at Wallingford Castle, he’d thought of being with Liana. Had she truly agreed to become his wife, knowing the repercussions of such a decision?
His hand stayed on the key. Turning it, and pushing open the door to her bedchamber, tonight would change his life forever. There was no turning back from what they were about to do, no chance that they would be anything but husband and wife after this eve. Darien imagined riding back to Crimson Hollow, telling his father they were to wed. He thought of her mother’s reaction, her insistence on keeping their family’s abilities secret.
Somehow, they would make it work. Together.
He pushed open the door.
Liana stood in front of the hearth wearing nothing but a shift. Without a word, Darien joined her. Pushing her hair to the side, he kissed her neck gently.
“Good eve, my future bride.”
She tilted her head, giving Darien better access. “Are we truly to be wed?”
“Aye.” He spun her toward him. “If you would prefer we wait to consummate our marriage?—”
She interrupted him by standing on her toes and kissing him.
Darien took full advantage. He kissed her back, the days of missing her, being without her, flooding back into his mind. He never wished to be without her again. Cupping her cheeks, he continued to worship her mouth, her neck, the mark between her breasts. When the fabric of her chemise prevented him from progressing any lower, Darien pulled back long enough to grasp it with both hands and pull it, with one swift motion, over her head.
She attempted to cover herself, but Darien would have none of it.
Pulling her hands away from her breasts, he took in her naked form, realizing she might be less shy if he were in the same state as she. With each item of clothing he discarded, Liana’s eyes widened.
“Have you seen a man this way before?” he asked, trying not to be distracted by her beauty. Darien could not undress quickly enough.
“Nay,” she said as he finished. “I’ve not. And that...” She shook her head. “’Tis not possible. I know how this should happen but?—”
Darien distracted her by kissing Liana again, except this time, his hands were unencumbered. Able to explore, he touched her everywhere all at once. Her waist, her hips. Her breasts. As he trailed a line of kisses downward, replacing his fingers with his lips, Darien willed himself to go slowly, wondering if he should prepare her first.
Deciding against it, he took her nipple into his mouth and splayed his hand on her thigh. Instinctively, she moved her legs closer together. Distracting her with his mouth, Darien slowly covered her with his hand, stopping long enough to murmur, “Trust me, Liana.”
With that, he slipped a finger into her, Liana already wet and ready for him. With the sweetest sound he’d ever heard, Liana grabbed his hair with both hands, clearly unsure what was happening.
“Darien. What . . . I . . .”
He smiled against her breast, alternatively taking her nipple into his mouth as he slipped a second finger inside. When she began to clench against his fingers, Darien stood up and captured her mouth once more, mimicking the movement of his fingers with his tongue.
She clung to him, moaning, but he did not relent. Determined for her to find pleasure, he was satisfied only when she began to tremble, his fingers not stopping until she cried out his name. Pulling his lips from hers, he held his hand and watched her face, Liana’s expression everything he imagined it might be.
“I did not know,” she said.
Without giving her a moment longer to worry about what came next, he lifted her and brought Liana to the bed.
“I am pleased to show you,” he said, placing her atop it. “It gives me the greatest pleasure to watch you find yours.”
Joining her, positioning himself above her, knowing she was more than ready for him, he warned her. “this will hurt, but only for a moment.”
As he guided himself inside her, Darien hated the hesitation on her face. He stopped. “Do you want this, Liana?”
“Aye. Aye,” she said quickly. “’Tis simply that...”
“The pain will subside quickly,” he reassured her. Ignoring the fact that he was inside this woman that he loved, and Darien was about to bind himself to her forever, he waited for her to be accustomed to him.
“I trust you,” she said, looking as fragile as he’d ever seen her. Hurting Liana, even if just slightly, pained him.
“Hold onto me,” he said.
She did.
Groaning at the sight of her, her fingers wrapped around his biceps...he would wait no longer. Thrusting into her, he swallowed her cry with a kiss meant to soothe. Darien did not dare move, waiting until her kiss was filled with the same ardor as before he’d taken her virginity. Waited until the pain ebbed. When Liana’s lips told him that time had come, he began to move. Slowly, deliberately. He would ensure this first time would be filled with memories of more pleasure than pain.
When finally he lifted his lips and peered down at her, Darien nearly spilled his seed at the sight of Liana beneath him. She had relaxed her grip on his shoulder. Liana even began to move her hips as well.
“Does it still pain you?”
She shook her head. “Nay, though it does feel...quite different from anything I’ve experienced before.”
Darien chuckled. “I would imagine that is so.”
When he began to circle his hips, Liana moaned. “I like that, very much.”
“Then I shall be certain to continue.”
Before long, they had found a rhythm, one that he’d have kept if Liana had not begun to beg for something, even if she did not know what that something was.
He did.
Determined for her to find her release again, it was only when she stilled and cried out his name that he buried himself in her and let go completely.
Looking into the eyes of the woman that would be his wife, the next Countess of Ellsworth, he told her what he thought the first time they met.
“When you opened the door of your cottage, I thought you were perfect. But there was another feeling, one I could not describe, even to myself at the time. As if...as if I knew you, even though I did not.”
He pulled from her but did not move.
Liana’s hands cupped his face, as he’d done to her many times.
“You did not know me, but your soul knew mine. We were meant for each other, Darien, from the start.”
He believed her.
“We’ve much to discuss. And hurdles to face.”
“Aye,” she agreed. “We do.”
“If England’s succession crisis can be solved, certainly our own predicament can be as well. And we will do so, together.”
She pulled his face to hers, Liana’s answer a kiss. Of love. Of longing. And of destiny.