An Honorable Wish (A Lady's Wish 2) (17 page)

“Yes, let’s. We need no reminders of unpleasantness. These next few days are all about you, Juliet.” Anne smiled wistfully. “I wish Mama could see what a lovely bride you’ll make.”

“Perhaps she’s looking down from heaven watching. I hope she’d be pleased.”

“She would be, dear. She would be.”

Juliet let Anne wrap her arms around her and hug her tight, feeling strangely sad and happy all at once.

T
ony paused in front of Juliet’s bedroom, his hand on the door. He was hesitant. Afraid to turn the handle. Enter the room. Change their relationship forever.

His hands trembled. The way she had looked at him as she sat beside him, stroking his hand while they listened to music after dinner. He could barely walk from wanting Juliet so badly.

Tony drew in a breath. Once he stepped inside her room, there would be no getting out of marriage. She would be his.

She’d made up her mind. She’d said yes, he reminded himself. She never needed to know just how he had come to buy their house.

For the first time in his life, Tony felt out of his depth. If he ruined this moment for Juliet, it would be with them both for a long time. But he needed Juliet. He needed her warmth in his bed. He needed her skin against his. He needed her. It wasn’t just passion. She was home. She was his future, and he was ready to take that first step toward it. No words said by the vicar were going to make a difference in how he felt about her.

He opened the door and stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind him. The click of the lock sealed their fate.

The fire burned low in the hearth, giving little light to the room. Juliet sat up in bed and looked at him, straining to find him in the darkness. “Tony?”

Tony cleared his throat. “I—uh—need you. I can’t wait any longer. Please don’t say no.”

Juliet pulled on her spectacles, then pulled the sheets to her chin. Her hair was a dark rope hanging over her shoulder.

Tony walked toward the bed. He removed his robe and dropped it to the floor. Juliet’s eyebrows went up and she licked her lips as she took in his bare chest.

“Am I welcome?”

Juliet said nothing, and Tony started to worry that he’d misread the messages she’d been sending in the parlor that night. He thought about reaching for his robe and making his escape, until she moved.

Juliet rose from the bed and moved toward him without saying a word.

Never had she looked more beautiful than at this moment when she came to him and put her hands on his body.

Her hands curled in the hairs on his chest and he groaned. “I take it that’s a yes.”

Juliet looked up at him and smiled. A wicked smile. “I waited and waited. I fell asleep debating whether I should come to you.”

Tony took his hand and unbraided her hair, spreading it around her shoulders. He could feel the tremors in her body. “Would you have? Come to me?”

She pulled in a breath, as if she didn’t have enough air. “Yes.”

All the blood in his brain headed south at her words.
God, he needed this woman
. Tony pulled her into his arms and his mouth found hers in a hungry kiss. He wasn’t capable of softness; he was wound too tight. That one yes had him aching to be inside her.

But she was a virgin, like him. He had to make it good. It was a tall order because he didn’t have the first clue what to do next. He forced himself to relax, to go slow.

“Tony?” Her voice was breathless. “Can I see you?”

“Now?”

Juliet chuckled. “In order for this to work properly, don’t we have to remove our clothing?”

“That would make it easier.”

Juliet shrugged, causing the loose night rail to fall off one of her shoulders. “In the book, it shows everyone naked.” She looked down at his tented trousers.

The book. He’d forgotten the damn book. He stepped away from Juliet and fumbled with the buttons on his falls. He shucked off the trousers, smalls and all, and tossed them by his robe.

He stood before her naked, aching, hard, fighting for control.

Juliet examined him, her fingertips trailing his chest, his arms, and his arse as she walked around him. She lingered on his backside. “Very nice.”

She moved around and stood in front of him, her hand on his abdomen, playing with the hair that trailed down to his cock. He wanted her to follow the hair down and grasp his cock in her small, soft hands.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“Please.”

She took him in her cool hand and gripped him. He couldn’t stop the groan that erupted from him. She was a fast learner.

“Am I hurting you?”

“No, sweetheart.” He took her hand away. “But I’m afraid if you keep doing that I won’t last long.”

Juliet frowned, puzzling over his comment.

Tony framed her face with his hands. His mouth took hers and she responded, as hungry as he. She stepped closer, wrapping her arms round his neck, lifting up on her toes to better meet his mouth with her own.

He grabbed the fabric of her night rail and tugged it over her head, then tossed it aside. He pulled her to him, groaning at the feeling of skin against skin.

Juliet gasped. Tony groaned. She felt so damn good. His hands played along the silky skin of her back to cup her bottom and fit her against him. “You said yourself that you had to take your clothes off to do this.”

Juliet looked up at him with slumberous eyes. “I did, didn’t I?”

“You’re so soft, so smooth.” He pressed his mouth to the skin at the base of her neck. “You smell so good.”

Juliet tilted her head to let him kiss her further.

Tony trembled. If he didn’t get their bodies horizontal shortly, he wasn’t sure his legs would support him. He walked her back to the bed as he kissed her, twirling his tongue around hers.

She had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her skin plastered against his. He placed his hands on her small waist and lifted her onto the bed and went down with her.

Tony lay beside Juliet, one hand running down her body with an awe he knew showed on his face. She was lovely. Rose-brown nipples tipped her small breasts that were sensitive to his lightest touch. He flicked one with his thumb. His hand trailed down over her soft stomach and he circled her navel, causing her to squirm.

“You’re ticklish.”

She blushed. “A bit.”

“Good to know.” His hand traced the curve of her waist to the flare of her hips. She’d bear his children one day. He trailed his fingertips over her thighs.

Juliet parted her legs as he caressed her inner thighs. He kept his touch light, until she opened her legs further.

Tony combed his fingers through the hair at the juncture of her thighs, his eyes watching Juliet’s face. He parted her folds, continuing to torment her. He pressed a finger inside her. She was so very tight. He wasn’t going to last more than a few seconds once he was inside her.

Juliet gazed at Tony through the foggy lenses of her spectacles. If the look in his eyes were any indication, he didn’t care if her bottom was too big and her breasts too small. He made her feel pretty, wanted, with the heat of his eyes.

The stroke of his work-roughened fingers against her skin intensified the craving she had for him. When he touched her between her legs, she couldn’t stop herself from pressing into his hand, silently begging for more.

“I want to make this good for you, Juliet.”

“I’d like that too.”

Tony moved over her, nestling his hips between Juliet’s legs. He bent down and kissed her, his tongue tangling with hers. She nipped his bottom lip lightly, then licked it. He growled against her mouth.

Tony moved his mouth down her neck to her breasts, pulling one into his mouth. Heat pooled low, and she could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest and lower.

Tony switched to the other breast, pulling it into his mouth. She squirmed, needing to move. He moved down her body, his lips nipping at the skin of her stomach. He bent between her legs, his eyes fixed on her, as if asking for permission.

“Please, Tony,” she whispered.

Juliet rested her head back against the pillow and gave in to a frenzy of emotions. His tongue licked, tormented her. His fingers moved in and out until Juliet couldn’t control the movements of her own hips.

Pleasure built. She needed him deeper, harder, until the pressure burst and she collapsed, boneless, against the bed linens, her spectacles askew on her nose.

Tony moved over her, bracing himself on his elbows. He removed her spectacles and set them on the bedside table. “I don’t think you need these right now.”

“But I can’t see.”

“Then I’ll have to get closer.” Tony lowered his body to hers, positioning himself at her core.

Juliet raised her hips in invitation, her eyes not leaving his as he pushed into her. She winced. He was too big—this was never going to work.

“I’m hurting you.” He paused. His voice was deep, rusty. His arms trembled as he held himself over her. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No. I’m fine,” Juliet whispered.

Tony’s face above her was tense as he tried to ease inside her. “Relax, sweetheart.” His lips moved down her throat. “Please.”

She squirmed beneath him, trying to adjust.

“Wrap your legs around me. That might help.”

Juliet did as he asked and he slid inside her, deep. She gasped as her body adjusted to the invasion. He was still above her, inside her. Tense, waiting. She raised her eyes to his.

“All right?”

She nodded. He pulled out of her, then sank into her again. He kissed her hungrily as he repeated the movement. She raised her legs higher to accommodate him and felt the stirring of the passion that she’d felt before.

She caressed his back, her fingers moving over smooth, damp skin. Her palms slid lower to the curves of his backside. Her hips lifted with each stroke, seeking something just barely out of reach. “Tony?”

Tony slid deeper inside her, increasing the pace of his thrusts. She was starting to enjoy it as she felt him pump himself into her and then with a grunt collapse against her.

Surely, this couldn’t be it. Juliet lay there, a bit disappointed, trying to breathe from the weight of Tony on top of her. Was this what put the smile on Anne’s face most mornings? If so, Juliet thought they must be doing it wrong. She poked at Tony. “Can’t breathe.”

Tony rolled off her with a groan and pulled her into his arms. He brushed her hair from her face and kissed her softly, his fingers tracing circles on her skin.

Juliet liked this part. She had liked the first part too, but the middle not so much. She hoped it got better. No wonder they didn’t want women doing this before they were married.

“Sweetheart, are you all right?” Tony whispered against her skin. “I didn’t hurt you too much, did I?”

What was she supposed to say? “I’m fine.”

He grinned. “I cannot wait to do it again.”

Good Lord, no.
“Perhaps later,” Juliet said softly.

Tony frowned and leaned over her, looking at her face. “You didn’t like it.”

She glanced away from his knowing look. “It wasn’t bad.”

“But it wasn’t good either.”

“The first part was good. And this is quite nice.” Juliet tucked her head back on his shoulder. “I like this a great deal.”

Tony tipped her face to his. “It won’t hurt next time. I promise.”

Of course he was going to want to do it again. Juliet said nothing, fighting to keep the contented smile on her face. “It’s very late.”

Tony yawned and pulled her into his arms again. “That it is.”

“You’re sleeping here?” Juliet tried to keep the shock from her voice.

Tony opened his eyes and frowned at her. “You want me to leave?”

“Well, no, but isn’t that what people do?”

“I don’t want to go. Not yet,” Tony said softly. “I want to sleep with you in my arms.”

“But what if we’re discovered?” Juliet didn’t want either of her sisters to find Tony in her bed.

“The door’s locked, and I’ll go back to my room before the maids get up.” He pushed her head back onto his shoulder and kissed her forehead. “Go to sleep.”

Juliet watched Tony close his eyes. He fell asleep in minutes. Clearly, the exercise had proven too much for him. He relaxed against her. Once he finally succumbed to sleep, she crept out of the bed, cleaned herself, and put on her night rail.

Juliet studied him as he slept. He was so handsome, and he didn’t look quite so large now that he was asleep. Unfortunately, she was going to have to find a way to like having relations, as it appeared Tony really enjoyed it.

She climbed back into the bed and pulled the covers over them both. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes, finally letting sleep take her.

 

Tony woke hard and wanting, curled around Juliet. When had she put her nightgown on? He nuzzled her neck softly. She smelled warm and sweet. He could envision his future, waking every morning with this woman in his arms.

She stirred slightly, turning toward him, still asleep. One shoulder was exposed, having slipped free from her gown. Her hair was a wild tangle across the pillow. Her long lashes formed shadows on her cheeks.

Tony needed to be inside her again. His hand edged her gown out of the way and caressed her sex. He moved his finger over the nub of nerves between her legs.

Juliet moaned softly in her sleep and her hips arched to meet his fingers. He slipped first one and then two fingers inside her. She met the thrust of his fingers with tiny pulses. Tony moved over her and slid inside her easily.

 

Juliet was having the most amazing dream. She was making love with Tony and it felt really wonderful. He was leaving little bites along her neck. She opened her eyes and found Tony’s body over her and inside her. He was moving slowly, deeply.

“Good morning,” he whispered against her mouth.

Juliet captured his lips with hers, kissing him hungrily. He was deep inside her, and this time it didn’t hurt; there was only fullness and this delicious passion. She raised her hips in time to the rhythm of his hips. She could feel the fire building inside her, as it had when Tony had his mouth on her. “Oh, God.”