Chapter 39 #2
“Ah. It is impossible for me to ignore you when you enter a room as well. Are we perhaps afflicted with the same ailment?” His mouth curved into a delicious grin, warming her entire body from within.
Their eyes met.
Stepping closer, he reached to brush his thumb against her bottom lip.
“You are so beautiful, Lottie. How can I be expected to resist you?” His eyes darkened as he watched her mouth. A surge of heat gathered in her core, her body pushing her to be bold. To take what she wanted.
To break the stillness and seek the closeness she for which she ached.
Being in Perry’s arms was truly the best place in the world.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t,” she whispered, taking his hand from her mouth and wrapping it around her waist. She swiped her tongue over her lips in invitation.
Perry sucked in a breath as his hand caressed the curve of her waist.
“Do not toy with me, madam. I am at your mercy completely,” he murmured, his breath hitching as he squeezed her hip gently. He reached a hand to cup her face, and Charlotte leaned into it, each touch lighting a flame beneath her skin.
“Who is playing?” she asked, her words a mere whisper brushing against his lips. “I know only how to long for you, and now that I have you, I am lost.”
His palm brushed against her cheek achingly slowly, his gaze following each movement.
He seemed to want to kiss her so badly, and yet, he hesitated.
“Are you sure?” The words floated above her lips, a tantalizing caress, their meaning a warm blanket wrapping itself around them and keeping the world outside.
“Make me yours, Perry,” she said, lifting herself up on the tips of her toes to bring her lips to his.
Perry’s hand gripped her hip, pressing her against the hardness of his body.
Charlotte wrapped her hands around his neck and licked the seam of his mouth.
He kissed her hungrily, pushing her back to lean into the pianoforte.
His lips trailed a path down her neck and she moaned.
Longing throbbed painfully inside her, waiting to be satisfied.
His hand gripped her skirts, seemingly torn between maintaining his grip and pulling feverishly at the fabric.
Perry made quick work of pulling up her skirts on one side, while the other hand travelled from her face to squeeze her aching breasts, which were threatening to spill out of her dress and offer themselves up to him.
She had spent enough time being satisfied with little.
It was time to offer herself up fully to the fire, and let the flames consume her.
She whimpered as his hand finally found the sensitive skin of her thighs, reaching under to cup and squeeze her soft curves while her center ached for attention. The agony of being touched again slashed through her, and she welcomed it. For the first time in a long time, she was alive.
The hard ridge in Perry’s breeches rubbed against her stomach and she lifted her leg to bring them closer together. Moisture pooled where she longed to feel him most.
“My Lottie, how I have craved you,” he mumbled the hot words against her neck.
His fingers traced along the distance from her backside to the aching spot between her legs. Perry groaned as he encountered the slippery curls and tentatively touched her sensitive bundle of nerves. Charlotte gasped.
Perry froze.
“May I continue?” he asked, his breath hot against her skin.
“Yes. Oh, yes,” she admitted, heated and breathless.
His mouth took hers once more, hands exploring under her skirts as his tongue traced a path along her lips and nipped at her mouth.
The combination was almost unbearable as his finger slid along her aching core.
Charlotte’s head leaned back in ecstasy, the hunger for him ferocious.
She spread her thighs wider, welcoming the invasion.
Shocked by her wantonness, she was certain she would perish if he didn’t take everything she offered.
The thickening ridge in his pants rubbed against her leg. A soft sound escaped her lips as Perry slipped a finger inside her and she pressed herself eagerly against his palm, seeking more friction.
“Do not rush, my darling,” he said, kissing a path down the side of her neck, his heated words sending shivers to the tips of her nipples.
“But I need it,” she whimpered.
His gentle hand slid beneath the fine fabric of her dress to cup her neglected breast, brushing his thumb back and forth over the hardened peak.
The fire only grew as Perry slipped another finger next to his first one, filling her.
It was the touch she craved, yet still she yearned for more.
Her body flooded with heat, melting into his touch.
Perry inhaled sharply as he encountered the evidence of her arousal on his fingers.
“You are so ready for me, my countess,” he mumbled hot against her skin. “I can’t wait be inside you. I have waited a lifetime to feel you again.”
Charlotte’s stomach tightened, the overwhelming sensation bringing her closer to the release she craved. “Perry, please…”
He groaned as he worked his fingers inside her. “You like it when I speak to you this way. You tightened around my fingers, my naughty wife.” His thumb moved against her little bundle of nerves, and she jerked at the sensation.
The back of the pianoforte dug into her back as she leaned against it with a soft cry, clutching him desperately as her climax slammed through her body. He had given her a taste, but Charlotte was ready to surrender completely. To be his wife in all ways. Willingly. Joyously. Wickedly.
She licked her lips and brought her hand to lift her skirts. Charlotte arched into him, rubbing her soaked heat against his throbbing length.
“I want more,” she said, eliciting a growl from Perry as he reached down to undo his breeches.
She pulled his mouth back to hers and, reluctance forgotten, did exactly what she wanted.
Their tongues teased, and she nibbled on his bottom lip, heightening her excitement.
Her hand played in the curls at the nape of his neck and pulled gently on the strands, gripping him as though she would perish if he let go.
The soft hush of a button being undone, then another, was the only sound, heightening her excitement.
Her husband stilled, eyes wide.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, approaching the drawing room at an alarming pace. Perry swore under his breath and pulled down her skirts to protect her modesty, then adjusted himself to hide the evidence of his arousal in his tight breeches.
Charlotte smirked, hiding her smile with the tips of her fingers.
Her body protested the interruption. She still vibrated from the arousal still pumping through her blood.
A distance came between them, and Charlotte rushed to the pianoforte, poised to return to her music. She played a few lines of the song from memory, frustrated that her sheets were scattered around her like leaves. It was positively dreadful.
Perry leaned over the pianoforte to listen, a picture of perfect innocence.
Bentley cleared his throat.
“Apologies, my lord, but Carter is ready for you upstairs,” the butler said, his tone serious. “He will help you with your preparations for tonight’s ball.”
“Yes, of course.” Perry brushed his palms against the front of his waistcoat and clutched his hands in front of him.
“Tell him I will join him at once. We are very eager to prepare for our first foray into the social scene tonight. I cannot wait to introduce my beautiful bride at the Covington Ball.” The butler nodded and quit the room.
Her cheeks grew hot at his words. He spoke of her as though this wasn’t a marriage of convenience. The way he described her as one would a young bride warmed her heart. If he chose to see this as a happy marriage, so would she.
Digging her teeth into her bottom lip, Charlotte squeezed her legs together in anticipation of how she would express her gratitude to her husband tonight. She was eager to resume that which had been interrupted.
As soon as Bentley removed himself from the room, Perry turned to lock eyes with Charlotte, a lingering heat in his gaze.
“We will resume this later, my lady.”
Her lips parted, but she pressed them together to stifle a giggle.
“Indeed. You have left me wanting, husband.”
Perry blushed at the words and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before parting. “I will see to it tonight, wife.”
Her eyes followed him as he left the room, leaving it duller and emptier than it was before.
She tidied up the papers, and returned them to their proper place on the music stand with a smile teasing her lips.
Aamina would be looking for her to rest and have a bath before beginning the preparations carefully dictated by Louisa.
Her sister-in-law had given her all the instructions to ensure she would make quite an impression.
It would not be difficult to act the part of the happy bride if he continued to make her body sing like that.
She was unsure how she would endure the torture of socialization, while anticipating what would happen once the event was over.
She pressed her palm to her overheated cheek.
No rouge would be required for her face.
Her lips were still tingling from his kisses; her body warm with his parting promise of what was to come.
Waiting during the festivities would be agony.
There was no avoiding it. She must don her armor to prepare for battle.
Her official introduction into society would not be without its pitfalls, but she was prepared. With Perry by her side, playing the role of the infatuated husband, the battle would be hard fought, but she would win.