An Earl to Enchant (32 page)

Her heart felt so full she could hardly speak. “I don’t know what to say. I’m so overwhelmed, Morgan.”

He smiled. “Must I teach you everything? Say you love me and you can’t wait to be alone with me on the coast.”

Arianna laughed and threw herself into his arms again. “I love you, Morgan, and I can’t wait any longer to be alone with you.”

He kissed her hungrily for a brief moment and then turned her loose and said, “Good. Now go, and I’ll meet you at the front door in a few minutes.”

Less than an hour later, Arianna and Morgan made it to the coast. He helped her slide down from Redmond, and he then handed her the basket. While he hobbled the horse, she spread a thick blanket on the ground. The sky was gray but not threatening rain. When she took off her bonnet and let it fall to the ground, a brisk breeze fluttered a wisp of hair. She looked out over the dark blue water—the water that had brought her to Dorset, to Valleydale, and to Morgan. And now because of Morgan, her father’s work would be recognized.

Morgan’s arms slipped around her waist from behind, drew her back against his chest, and bent down and kissed the back of her neck.

“Mmm, you always smell so good,” he whispered.

She turned her head toward him and kissed his cheek. “Did I tell you how happy you’ve made me?”

He laid his chin on the top of her shoulder. “Yes, but you can tell me again if you want to.”

She turned in his arms to face him and slipped her arms around his neck. “My heart is so full of love for you.”

He grinned, stepped away from her, took off his cloak, and spread it on top of the blanket. “I like the sound of that. Tell me more.”

“I can never repay you for what you have done for my father.”

An overexaggerated wrinkle formed in his brow. “Is that how I made you happy? I thought it was by telling you that I loved you and because I filed the necessary papers to marry you before I even asked if you would consent.”

She smiled when she saw he was teasing her. “That, too, of course.”

He reached up and untied the bow that held her cape on her shoulders and laid it on top of his cloak. “Good, because when I found out yesterday that you had left London, I almost went mad.”

“I didn’t mean to cause you such worry. I think I have loved you since you carried me to the drawing room and plopped me down on your settee like a sack of grain.”

He laughed and pulled her to him. “Did I do that?”

She reached up and untied the bow of his neckcloth and gently unwound it from around his neck. “Without an ounce of remorse afterward.”

Morgan started unbuttoning his waistcoat. “That was a heartless thing to do. I insist on making it up to you for being such an inconsiderate beast.”

She helped him shove his coat and waistcoat off his shoulders. “What do you suggest?”

His blue eyes pierced hers with love. “Lie with me, Arianna, and let me love you.”

A thrill of excitement and expectancy spiraled through her. She turned her back to him and said, “Unfasten me.” He quickly opened the buttons and helped slip the bodice over her head. Arianna slid the straps of her shift down her arms, and Morgan started pulling on the strings of her stays.

“I’m beginning to understand why you like to wear the sari, Arianna,” Morgan grumbled.

“Does that mean you will allow me to wear them once we are married?” she asked while unfastening the waistband of her skirt.

“In our bedroom, yes; anywhere else, hell no. Also—” As he pulled the stays from around her and threw them aside, he stopped speaking.

Arianna turned and faced him, holding her shift up to cover her chest. “Also what?”

Morgan ripped off his collar and pulled his shirt over his head. “You can dance for me anytime you want to.”

She gave him a teasing smile. “Perhaps I should do that for you on our wedding night.”

“Oh, yes,” he said, working the buttons on his breeches. “I think that would be a fitting wedding gift.” He lifted one foot and started tugging on his boot. “And what would you like from me?”

“For a wedding gift?” she asked, stepping out of her skirt.

“Yes,” he said, tossing one boot aside and starting on the other.

Arianna thought for a moment. “You have already given me everything I want.”

“Have I?” He threw the other boot aside. “I think there is something else you want and you are afraid to ask for it.”

“No. There’s nothing.” She smiled and let her shift fall to her feet, leaving her clothed only in her plain drawers. “I have you. What else could I possibly want?”

“Come here, beautiful.” He pulled her into the circle of his arms and wrapped her tightly to him.

His naked chest was warm against her skin, and his embrace immediately covered her against the coolness of the air. “Master Brute will be your wedding gift.”

She gasped. “Morgan! I can’t take your horse.”

“He’s already yours.” Morgan kissed the tip of nose. “You’re cold. Let me warm you.”

Morgan bent his head and slanted his lips over hers in a slow, tender kiss. Her lips parted, and with her tongue, she entered his mouth, tasting him, wanting there to be no part of him she didn’t know. He moaned his agreement and pulled her tighter against him. Her breasts flattened against his chest, and his hardness rubbed against the soft womanly part of her.

He breathed in deeply. “Did I ever tell you that I love the smell of you, the taste of you, and the feel of you in my arms?”

She smiled, kissing his cheek, his chin and his neck. “Mmm. Yes, but tell me again. I’ll never grow tired of hearing it.”

With slow movements, he shoved her drawers down her legs and then did the same with his breeches and kicked them both aside.

She watched his gaze sweep down her face to her breasts, her stomach, and lower, before scanning back up to her face with appreciation shining in his eyes.

“You are beautiful, Arianna. I am a lucky man because you are mine.”

“Thank you. It pleases me that you think so.”

“I do.”

She looked at his fine masculine body with the same loving tenderness he gave her and said, “You are a magnificent man, and I am blessed to have you.”

He laughed shyly for the first time. “I hope you always think that.”

They lowered first to their knees and then stretched their bodies out on the soft pallet he had made from the blanket, her cape, and his cloak. She turned willingly, eagerly, into his arms. Their bodies entwined, and their lips met. He pulled the sides of his cloak around them and kissed her fiercely. His hands stroked along her spine to her waist, over her hip, and down her thigh, sending chills of expectancy pulsing through her.

He lifted, stroked, and molded her breast with his hands. He sought and found her nipple and rubbed it gently between his thumb and finger, causing her to gasp with delight. Soaring hunger filled her. She spread her hands over his wide shoulders, strong back, and down to the flat firmness of his stomach, loving the feel, the firm texture of his bare skin. She didn’t know how long they kissed and touched, becoming familiar with each other, soothing each other, enticing each other.

Morgan reached over and gently touched her bruised cheek with his fingertips before letting his hand slide down her jaw to the base of her throat. Arianna saw Morgan swallow hard.

“You know I could kill Rajaratnum all over again for touching you,” he said in a gravelly voice.

She placed her fingers to his lips. “I took you at your word when you said we never had to think about that man again.”

He nodded and rolled her over on her back and rose up over her. He looked deeply into her eyes and said, “I almost went insane yesterday when I heard you had fled London with your trunks. I was ready to tear England apart or sail to India if I must to find you.”

“It was an impulsive thing to do.”

“A weakness you have?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Don’t do it again. You are mine, and I never want to be without you.”

She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. “Does that mean even when you think of me as Miss Tart rather than Miss Sweet?”

“I especially love it when you are Miss Tart.”

He kissed her sweetly, longingly, before letting his lips leave hers and kiss their way down her chin, along the column of her throat to the valley between her breasts. His tongue traced a hot, moist trail down to her nipple, where he caught it up in his mouth and sucked gently. He caressed each breast before moving his hand down to her waist, over her stomach to the most womanly part of her, where he let his hand linger.

Arianna moaned and sighed at the waves of pleasure tightening her stomach and her core. His hands caressed her waist, her hip, and her inner thigh. Sensation after sensation flowed through her body. His touch was gentle, strong, and sure.

Something deep and wanton stirred inside Arianna. She felt the way she had on the coast when Morgan had taken her breath away with what he had done to her with his hands. She wanted to please him that way but still knew so little about how to do it. Her hands left the broad sprawl of his shoulders to the small of his back and lower to the firmness of his buttocks. She loved the feel of his taut skin, and she kneaded his flesh. She smiled when he moaned his approval. When her hand touched his hardness, he gasped, and she quickly moved her hand.

“No, Arianna, it’s all right. I want your touch.”

And so she did, exploring his member, feeling its weight in her hand for the first time.

Morgan moved on top of her, his body stretching the length of hers. His lower body settled between her legs, and he fitted his hardness against her. A slow spreading of delicious, languorous warmth spread through her, and she lifted her hips toward his. With a gentle push, he entered her and started an easy rocking motion that was pure pleasure. She joined his movement, her arms circling his back and pressing him closer, harder and deeper into her.

Their hips moved slowly at first, and as their passions soared, so did their movements, until Arianna once again felt as if she was going to burst with pleasure. Suddenly she cried out his name, and her body once again gave itself up to ecstasy.

Moments later Morgan whispered, “I love you,” sank deeply into her, and then collapsed on top of her with a satisfied sigh.

For a long time Arianna lay breathless, fully contented, enjoying the comfort of his body on her.

“Morgan, will it always feel this good? Will you always take my breath away and make me feel like I’m soaring?”

He raised his head, and with his arms, took his weight off her. He smiled confidently. “I will.”

“Then may I feel it again right now?”

He laughed and rolled her over on top of him.

Arianna gasped in surprise and looked down at him. “What do I do?”

Morgan rose up, slid his arms around her back, and cupped her to him. “Anything you want to, my love. When you are on top, you are in control.”

Her eyes brightened. “I might like that.”

“I have a feeling you will,” he said and then covered her lips with his.

Arianna thrilled to his touch.

Epilogue

My Dear Grandson Lucas,

I have no doubts that you Lucas, Lucien, and Alex are all better gentlemen and more set for life’s pleasantries and foibles because of the knowledge you’ve gained from my dear friend Lord Chesterfield. Here are more wise words from him that come straight from my heart to yours: “Be wiser and better than your contemporaries, but seem to take the world as it is and men as they are. I have been young, and a great deal too young. Idle dissipation and innumerable indiscretions, which I am now heartily ashamed and repent of, characterized my youth. But if my advice can make you wiser and better than I was at your age, I hope it may be some little atonement. God bless you!”

Your loving Grandmother,

Lady Elder

When it was decked out for a party and all the side doors were thrown wide, no room was as grand as the Great Hall. Morgan looked across the candlelit ballroom and among the crowd until he found Arianna. She was talking to his cousins’ wives Henrietta and Susannah. The three ladies hadn’t had long to get to know each other, but so far, he was glad Arianna seemed to fit in well with the duchess and the marchioness.

Arianna held her father’s award of recognition tightly in her hand, a rolled sheet of parchment tied with a black ribbon. Morgan was glad he’d suggested they have a reception in her father’s memory after the ceremony at the Royal Apothecary Scientific Academy. She was very pleased. And nothing gave him more pleasure than pleasing his wife.

“You are still a jackal of the highest order,” Race said, clapping Morgan on the back.

Morgan turned to Race and to Blake, who stood beside him. “Me? Why?”

“Because you had the gall to marry while we were still out of Town.”

“What was I supposed to do? Wait until you two decided you wanted to grace London with your presence again?”

“You could have sent a messenger, and we would have come right away.”

“I could have,” Morgan said with a slight grin, “but I didn’t want to wait.”

“I suppose we can understand that, can’t we, Race?”

After clearing his throat, Race said, “I can, for sure.”

“I was just watching Arianna, Henrietta, and Susannah,” Morgan said. “They seem well suited as friends, don’t you think?”

His cousins looked at the three women and nodded.

“Isn’t that Lord Snellingly standing with them?” Race asked.

“Yes,” Morgan said, “but I think those three ladies can handle him.”

“I know Henrietta can,” Blake said.

As Morgan looked at their wives, he turned thoughtful and said, “I remember when Henrietta first arrived at your house, Blake, and declared you were her guardian.”

“Yes,” Race added. “And she was haunted by a curse or something. What has happened with that?”

“Nothing,” Blake said. “Thankfully she never even thinks about that any more. The best thing I did was take her to see the woman Gibby told me about. I worried if it was the right thing to do at the time, but now I know it was. After her meeting with Mrs. Fortune, Henrietta’s never had another moment’s thought about being cursed.”

“That’s good to hear,” Morgan said.

“And, Race,” Blake added, “I remember that it was just months ago that Susannah came to your house, hoping to talk you into giving her our Grandmother’s pearls.”

“Oh, I was there,” Morgan said. “I remember that day very well.”

“So do I,” Race said. “I still get angry with myself when I think that for a short time, I thought Susannah had stolen the pearls.”

“Did you ever do anything to Gibby for his part in that?” Morgan asked.

“No, I figured his boxing match with Prattle had beaten him up enough. And now he has the issue of the twins to keep him the center of attention for a while.”

“Did either of you ever find out what happened when he met with Viscount Brentwood?” Morgan asked.

Both his cousins shook their heads. “I suppose one of us should try to find out,” Race offered. “Looks like Brent and his brothers are in London to stay.”

Morgan and Blake nodded, and then Blake said, “And, Morgan, remind me again, what was the reason Arianna came to Valleydale?”

“To see our Grandmother,” Morgan said innocently. “Remember, she wanted help from Lady Elder.”

Race started smiling, and then Blake smiled. Race’s smiled turned to a wide, mischievous grin, and so did Blake’s.

“You bloody blackguards,” Morgan mumbled. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“Morgan, we—”

“Don’t say it, Race,” Morgan warned.

“I have to.”

“Let him say it,” Blake encouraged.

Morgan held up his hands. “All right, all right, you don’t have to beg me. I promise to ask Arianna if she can teach Henrietta and Susannah some of her dancing moves.”

Morgan, Blake, and Race laughed heartily.

Suddenly Arianna, Henrietta, and Susannah surrounded the cousins.

“You gentlemen seem to be having a good time,” Arianna said.

“What is the cause of your merriment?” Susannah asked Race.

For the first time in his life, Morgan thought he saw Race and Blake blush, and that delighted him.

Race slipped his arm around Susannah’s waist and said. “We were just talking about how lucky we are to be very happily married.”

Henrietta smiled at Blake and said, “We don’t believe that, do we ladies?”

“Not for a moment,” Arianna agreed.

Morgan slipped his arm around his wife’s waist and said, “Arianna and I are honored that you joined us in celebrating her father’s accomplishment and his posthumous honor.”

“Yes, thank you all.” Arianna looked up at Morgan and smiled. “Of course, I’m disappointed that while his eucalyptus mixture wasn’t a cure, I’m elated that it is a tonic that helps clear the lungs and brings temporary relief to those suffering with consumption.”

“That’s a step forward to finding a cure,” Morgan added.

“I don’t know if I told all of you,” Arianna said, “but if it hadn’t been for Lord Chesterfield, we never would have found my father’s formula.”

Morgan looked incredulously at his wife while his cousins looked astounded at him. “Arianna,” he said, “what exactly do you mean?”

“Yes, we’d like to hear that,” Blake added.

“When I saw Mr. Rajaratnum draw a pistol from his pocket and point it at Morgan, I hit the man over the head with the copy of Lord Chesterfield’s letters Morgan had given me, causing Mr. Rajaratnum’s aim to miss when he fired at Morgan.”

“You gave her a copy of Chesterfield’s letters?” Race asked.

“Whatever for?” Blake added.

“She had never heard of the man,” Morgan said.

“And Morgan constantly talked about him,” Arianna said with a smile.

“What?” his cousins asked in unison.

“It’s a long story, cousins,” Morgan said, “and best told over a glass of wine some stormy evening.”

“We’ll hold you to that,” Race said and then suddenly added, “Over here.” Race motioned for a waiter to bring the tray of champagne to them. He handed everyone a glass and then said, “To Mr. Albert Sweet for his great accomplishment and contribution to the world.”

Cheers were exchanged all around, and then Arianna said, “Thank you for that on behalf of my father, and now I would like to offer a toast.” As she lifted her glass, she looked up at Morgan, smiled, and said, “To the three rogues by our sides. May their dynasty live long.”

The End