Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
The world was a different place when Arabella woke up the following morning. She felt it as soon as she opened her eyes, an undeniable sense that something had changed.
The morning sun seemed to glow a little bit warmer as it spread across her face and warmed her.
The bed was more comfortable than she remembered.
There was nothing to bring worry or concern, no need to ponder on the difficulties that might be faced that day, and no confusion felt over what might come. Everything was perfect.
Oh yes, and that Arabella woke up to find herself in her husband’s arms was not such a bad thing either.
“You are awake…” Caspian’s soft voice whispered in her ear.
She smiled as she paused to savor the feeling of his arms around her. They wrapped her completely, holding her close to his chest, and if the world were to end right then and there, Arabella would die a happy woman. She had never felt so at peace.
“How could you tell?” she asked as she wiggled herself deeper into his arms.
“You want the truth?”
“Of course.”
“You stopped snoring.”
“Liar!” she cried out jokingly. “I do not snore.”
“Like a runaway carriage on a gravely road,” he chuckled. She pretended to try to wiggle free, and he held her tight. “All night too. I thought it would never end.”
She scoffed and stopped her struggling. “You could have left, if you wished. I certainly was not keeping you here.”
His answer was a kiss. He placed it on the side of her face, gentle and wet. It sent a pulse across her face and through her body, and she relaxed even more than she already had done; she melted into him.
“I could listen to it for the rest of my life,” he purred.
“Perhaps that can be arranged.”
They laughed together and, for a few seconds, simply enjoyed the moment for what it was.
Their troubles were officially behind them, the days ahead were free to do whatever they wished, and because they would be doing it together, they both seemed to understand that such times were those to be worshipped.
“Are you hungry?” Caspian asked eventually.
As if on cue, Arabella’s stomach rumbled. She had not eaten since breakfast the previous morning, and it was only just then that she realized how famished she was.
Caspian laughed when he heard her stomach. “And there is my answer.”
“Timothy will likely be awake soon, too…” Slowly, Arabella clawed herself free of Caspian’s embrace and stretched her arms. “Best that we start the day.”
She rolled over and turned so that she could look upon her husband. He was dressed in the same clothes he had worn last evening, and Arabella suddenly realized she was too. Her gown was filthy, stiff from wear, and she did not want to even think about how her face must have looked.
“What is that look?” Caspian laughed when he saw her flinch.
She pretended to hide her face. “I ask that you leave at once, Caspian. You ought not see me like this. It might make you regret saving me last evening.”
“Arabella…” Caspian reached out and took her hand, pulling it away from her face. “Would you believe me if I told you that you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen? And that goes twice for this morning.”
She scoffed. “Lies.”
“Think what you will, but I mean every word.”
He was being honest, and Arabella knew that from the look in his eyes. He drank her in like a tonic, worshipping every inch of her, and it made her body tingle because she only just then realized where they were—and the implications of it.
Until last evening, she and Caspian had existed in a fractured state. Although they both knew what they wanted, Caspian was especially reluctant to admit it. And once he did, it was almost immediately denied.
Such denials were of the past, and from the way that Caspian continued to gaze upon her, she knew that was where they would remain.
“And what is that look?” she asked him as if shy.
His smile was both mischievous and coy. “I think you know…” His eyes then flicked down her body.
“Tell me.”
“We spoke about this, did we not? While I do like that you are able to stand up for yourself, there are some instances where you do not tell me what to do.”
“And what instance is that, exactly?” She raised an eyebrow at him.
They lay on their sides as they looked at one another. Caspian reached out with one hand and rested it under her chin. Arabella pretended to pull away, delighting in how he pinched her chin and forced her to look at him.
“Remember this, Arabella. You are mine. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.”
“I know I am,” she breathed as her heart started to race. “As you are mine too.”
She knew what was coming. How could she not?
The way he held her chin. The way he gazed upon her as if she were the only thing in the world that mattered.
How close they lay. How her blood surged hot through her body.
And then there was the very real fact that Caspian licked his lips, flicked his eyes to her lips, and shuffled in close so that their bodies nearly touched.
“I think…” He whispered and licked his lips as his other hand moved to her waist and pulled her forward. “That Timothy can wait for a few more hours.”
“I think so too,” she said in a whisper as she let him pull her leg over her waist. “Besides, I need to change out of these clothes, and that might take a while.”
“I can help you with that.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am not only sure. I am eager…” He laughed gently, she joined in, and then Caspian leaned forward as he guided her lips to his.
It was not their first kiss. Nor was it their second.
But as soon as their lips touched, Arabella knew that it was their most purposeful kiss yet.
Gone were the games. No longer did they have to prove something.
And that push-pull of denial versus desire was a thing of the past. For once, they could simply enjoy the kiss for what it was, and that made it all the better.
The kiss started softly but soon became intense.
Caspian released her chin, and his hand went through her hair as his mouth opened and his tongue dived inside of Arabella’s mouth. Their tongues licked and danced, their teeth nibbled where they could, and soft moans escaped them between each kiss.
Arabella felt the change in her body. It swept from her limbs and through her chest so that she could not control it. Without realizing what she was doing, she slid her leg further over Caspian, his hand went to her buttocks, and he pulled her onto him.
“Whoa!” she gasped as she found herself on top; her legs straddled both sides, and his hands gripped her backside.
“Good morning,” he chuckled.
“A very good morning,” she purred as she pushed her hips forward, leaned down, and started to kiss him again.
That was when the kisses grew in intensity. They became ravaged and hungry. Caspian’s hands pawed at her backside, her waist, anywhere that he could. She grabbed at his hair, ran her hands down his face, and clawed at his shirt.
“Caspian…” she moaned between kisses. “I want… I want…”
“Tell me,” he growled.
“I want you.”
“Then you shall have me.”
Arabella sat herself up. She was not asked to do so, but it felt as if she should. Caspian’s eyes widened as he drank her in, and his hands moved under the skirt of her gown and began to massage her thighs. That had them shaking, and she felt a pulse radiate between them.
Her gown opened at the front; it was intricate lacework. Caspian’s hands began to fumble, and she laughed to see him struggle and the concentration on his face. When he managed to see the corset come undone, she laughed further at the wonder that took his expression.
Her breasts released, he gaped, and his hands moved to her chest.
“Oh, Caspian…” She closed her eyes, threw back her head, and gave herself over to the pleasure of his busy hands. “Yes…”
She began to thrust her hips, not knowing what she was doing, while knowing that it was right. Between her thighs, she felt something hard poke her, and it had her yelping; her eyes opened, and she looked at him, and he grinned.
Next, Caspian moved to the skirt of her dress again.
He shuffled it up, and while it was tight and awkward, Arabella raised her arms, and Caspian was able to sit up and lift the gown over her head.
It came from her body, he tossed it across the room, and for the first time ever, Caspian saw his wife completely naked.
On instinct, Arabella moved to cover her body.
“No.” He took her arms and moved them away so that her breasts were fully exposed, as was her naked waist, as was her entire body. “Let me see. Let me enjoy you.”
Her skin flushed red with embarrassment and shyness. But she allowed him to pull back her hands, and a thrill rippled up her body at how much he worshipped her. She saw the hunger. She saw the want. She saw his thoughts compounding so that she could only imagine what he was thinking.
And while Arabella was a little embarrassed, she was just as excited.
“What do you…” She looked away shyly. “What do you think?”
“I think that I am in love.” Caspian sat up. He cupped her right breast, and he brought it to his mouth.
“Oh…” She gasped as he sucked her nipple. It stiffened in his mouth, and he moved to the next. “God… Yes…”
Her hands ran through his hair and pulled his face close so he could not pull away. Her naked body began to gyrate, her thighs clenched tight, and her husband gorged himself on her as if she was his last meal.
“Caspian…” she moaned as he suckled. “More. I want more…”
He pulled back, lips wet, and looked at her. His eyes sparkled, and while he was clearly ravished, he was just as infatuated. “So do I.”
That was when he fell back. His hands went toward her thighs, and she gaped, expecting him to touch her.
Rather, he began to unlace his breeches.
She giggled and ripped open his shirt to expose his chest. Another gasp as she took in the muscles that carved across his waist, the hair that covered his chest, and the sheer beauty of the man she now called her husband.