Wallflower (Old Maids' Club, Book 1) (41 page)

Just how he intended to make love to
her.

Just like she deserved.

Little by little, he deepened the
kiss. Her lips gave way, and he stroked his tongue inside. Peaches.
She tasted sweet, like the strawberries and peaches they’d eaten as
part of their breakfast celebration. Someday, he’d remember to
thank Miss Faulkner for that little touch.

When he angled his head and took the
kiss deeper still, a little hum sounded deep in her throat. She
grabbed onto the lapels of his coat and held on like she was afraid
she’d fall otherwise. Maybe he could move on now.

Without removing his mouth from hers,
Noah went back to work on the buttons at the back of her gown. With
painstaking care, he undid them one at a time. There must have been
over a hundred of those little pearl fastenings. The process was
torturous exultation. Every clasp undone brought him a moment
closer to heaven.

Halfway down her back, Noah broke off
the kiss as Tabitha’s bodice began to fall forward, revealing
tantalizing glimpses of her breasts through the paper-thin shift.
He groaned at the strain of taking his time.

“
Let me help,” Tabitha
said. “I can move things along more swiftly.”

“
No.” His erection was
full and his sac felt heavy with need. But some things shouldn’t be
rushed. Some things ought to be savored.

Trailing a path of kisses along her
jaw and down her neck, he continued releasing the complicated line
of closures until his hands were over her perfectly rounded
derrière. If not for his hands moving over her and the small cap
sleeves, the gown would be on the floor. Come to think of it, that
was precisely where he wanted her gown to be.

Noah released her for a moment and
gave the dress a little tug, marveling as the gossamer-fine fabric
fluttered down to pool at her feet. Tabitha was left in her shift,
drawers, and stockings, with dainty little slippers on her feet.
The bright, mid-day sun flitted through the sheer underclothes,
outlining her curves in exquisite detail. Her pert nipples were
already pebbled and begging for his attention beneath the
barely-there fabric.

Tabitha hugged her arms over her
chest, attempting to hide herself from his view. “Should we close
the draperies?”

“
No. I want to see you.”
Noah brought her close, pulling her arms away from her body. Her
neck and cheeks were flushed pink again and she looked down at the
floor. “Don’t hide from me, Tabitha. You’re so
beautiful.”

Shaking her head, she opened her mouth
to speak. Noah placed a finger over her lips to stop her and pulled
her close with his other hand around her waist. “You are. You are
the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ll not deny you much, if
I can help it. But you are not allowed to doubt how beautiful you
are to me.” Tears sprung into her eyes. “Ever.
Understood?”

Tabitha nodded, fighting to keep the
tears at bay.

“
Good. Now let me see
you.” Before she could argue, Noah lifted the hem of her shift and
tugged it over her head. He took a step back, holding her hands to
prevent her from covering her breasts. If anyone was going to do
that, it was him.

He would, too. But not yet. Noah
pulled at the strings holding Tabitha’s drawers up. In seconds
they, too, fell to her feet, leaving her with only her stockings
and slippers. She gasped. The curls at the apex of her legs matched
the shade of her hair. If he didn’t get her into bed soon, he would
lose the small amount of control he still retained. Lifting her
into his arms, he carried her over to the four-poster bed he’d
asked to be prepared with the finest silk beddings he owned. He
pulled down the counterpane and gingerly placed her on her
back.

Noah sat beside her legs, taking one
foot into his hands to slide the slipper free. He massaged her
foot, easing her tension with each stroke. She squirmed against
him, but he had no intention of moving things along until he was
ready. When he could feel no more resistance, he replaced that foot
on the bed and repeated the process with her other foot.

“
Take off your clothes. I
want you to bed me.” With her free foot, Tabitha tried to slip it
over his leg and use it to stroke his erection.

Noah pushed her foot away. “I’ve
already told you. My way this time. I intend to spend hours
exploring your body, finding every sensitive spot, every place that
makes you gasp and moan. I want you to know how much I adore you.
How much I need you in my life. How perfect you are for me, in
every way.”

To emphasize his point, he licked the
bottom of her foot through her stocking, grazing the arch with his
teeth before sucking her toes into his mouth one at a time. Tabitha
bucked her hips in response and let out a little mewl. Her wetness
was already glistening over the tangle of her curls, without him
even touching her breasts or her sex. By Jove, she was so
responsive.

When he brushed his hands up the
curves of her legs to her knees, she whimpered. Noah lavished equal
attention on her calves, the underside of her knee, the length of
her thighs, as he had done with her feet.

By the time he had finished, she was a
heated, writhing jumble of desire. “Touch me. Blast, Noah, I need
you to touch me or I’ll go mad.”

“
What do you think I’ve
been doing this last while?” Noah stifled a chuckle at the outrage
in her near-black eyes. “Where do you need me to touch you, love? I
want you to touch yourself for me.”

Tabitha’s eyes shot wide. “What? I
can’t do that.” That glorious blush sprawled over her again, her
neck and cheeks, her breasts, all the way down her stomach until it
disappeared somewhere near her navel.

He couldn’t resist licking her there,
tasting her navel and feeling her core jump at the unexpected
touch. “You can. Anything that happens between us is all right,
sweetheart. There is to be no shame between us.”

She hesitated. Her eyes showed her
fear. But slowly, ever so slowly, Tabitha lifted her hands off the
bed sheets and placed them on her breasts. At the faintest touch,
her eyes darkened, ardor overtaking the fear.

Noah’s erection became even harder,
pulsating against the flap of his breeches at the sight. He needed
to get his clothes off, and he needed them off now. Noah tugged at
his Hessians and flung them across the room, then set to work on
the rest of his garments. “Show me. Show me how you want me to
touch you.”

Tabitha flattened her dainty hands
over her breasts and squeezed lightly at first, tentatively.
Letting out a little groan, she closed her eyes and pressed them
harder.

“
Open your eyes. Watch
me.” He had his coat, waistcoat, and shirt off now and was fighting
with the buttons holding his flap up as Tabitha snapped her eyes
open again and met his. Almost frantic with need, Noah couldn’t
take his gaze from his beautiful wife pleasuring herself. For him.
She was doing it for him.

Rolling her nipples between thumbs and
forefingers, Tabitha whimpered. “Hurry. I need...” Her voice
trailed off as her hips rose up off the bed.

“
What do you need? Show me
what you need.”

Her right hand left her breast and
hesitantly moved down her body, her fingers dipping below her curls
into the gateway to his piece of heaven on earth. He had to touch
her. Noah’s need—Tabitha’s need—it was all too great to wait any
longer. The last of the buttons of his breeches wouldn’t give, so
he ripped, pulling them down along with his smallclothes, all in
one motion.

As soon as his clothes were free, Noah
returned to the bed and supplanted her hand with his own. He placed
two fingers inside her wet heat and stroked, rubbing his thumb over
her straining nub. Within seconds, she was shuddering, pulsing
beneath his attentions, rocking her hips forward to match him
stroke for stroke. She called out something inarticulate and
magnificent.

“
Yes. Come for me, love.”
While she was still in the throes of her climax, Noah positioned
himself at her entrance and thrust forward until he was buried to
the hilt. The walls of her sex quaked around him, urging him to set
a pace to match.

But he didn’t. Noah began a slow,
languid lovemaking. As she returned to herself after the climax,
Tabitha lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, taking him
deeper. He held himself above her with one arm, using the other to
give her breasts the attention she’d asked him for
earlier.

With each thrust, with each
manipulation of her nipple, with each kiss or nibble along her jaw
line, Tabitha let out a little pleasure-sound.

When he didn’t think he could last
much longer, Noah picked up the tempo and slid his hand between
their bodies. He parted her folds and found the secret to her
release, rubbing over it with increasing friction until she was
panting and holding onto his shoulders with a grip so tight she
might leave marks.

Both their bodies tensed for the
coming release. Noah tightened and swelled inside her. With a
keening moan, Tabitha trembled around him as she came. He pulled
back, gave a final thrust, and spent himself inside her with a
shout.

After a few moments, when he could
breathe again and she mumbled something beneath him, Noah rolled
over, pulling Tabitha with him. He held her there, stroking the
hair back from her face for long minutes.

“
Noah?” With heavy eyes,
she looked up at him. Whatever she might ask him for at that
moment, he would do anything to be able to give. But she didn’t ask
him for anything. Instead, she whispered up to him shyly, “I feel
beautiful.”

It sounded like a prayer on her
lips.

“
I’ll do everything I can
to be sure you feel beautiful for the rest of your
life.”

Tabitha stretched her head forward and
pecked him on the nose. “I love you. And I really do promise I’ll
never try to shoot you again.”

Noah let out a bark of laughter. “I
love you too.”

Minutes later, the rise and fall of
her chest slowed to the deep breaths of sleep. Tabitha was
exhausted. As well she should be. It had been quite a day for them
both. He watched her for a while, listening to the steady rhythm of
her breathing, studying the peaceful expression on her face. So
serene. So perfect.

In her sleep, her hand fell from his
chest to land near his manhood. Instantly, he was hard again. Noah
hated to wake her up...but then again, he had an entire lifetime to
watch her sleep.

Epilogue

Spring, 1816

London

“
If you don’t keep
breathing, I’ll smother you with a pillow, myself.” Jo pushed
Tabitha’s shoulders back down on the bed and then took her hand,
patting it comfortingly. “And don’t think Bethie wouldn’t say the
same thing if she were here. She would. Your mother would have,
too.”

Tabitha didn’t have the energy to
fight with her cousin at the moment. It was taking everything in
her not to rip her hair out. That might be why they had taken to
holding her hands so tightly, come to think of it—to prevent her
from doing them bodily harm.

“
Jo’s right, Tabitha,”
Aunt Matilda said. She squeezed Tabitha’s other hand and wiped a
cool, damp cloth over her brow. “Breathing is absolutely necessary.
For you,
and
for
the baby. Trust me. I went through this five times. I
know.”

Tabitha shook her head. Unbelievable.
“You can’t have gone through this. You can’t have survived such a
thing.” No one could have survived the pain threatening to rip her
cleanly in two. The aching in her back was enough to send her to
Bedlam, alone.

Aunt Vanessa smiled from the foot of
the bed, where she sat next to the midwife. “I know it feels like
the end of the world, but I can assure you it is not. Four times
for me, and I came out just fine after every one. Your mother only
had to go through childbirth twice, since you and Toby came at the
same time. Lucky her.”

Aunt Matilda, Aunt Vanessa, Lavinia,
and Elaine all shared knowing looks.

“
I don’t care. I don’t
care what you say or what you went through.” Tabitha sucked in a
huge gasp of air as another sharp pang assaulted her middle. Every
muscle in her body seemed to clench in agony. She squeezed the
hands she held as tightly as she could, trying to ease the
discomfort, to no avail.

“
Breathe,” Jo commanded.
“Take a deep breath in, and then slowly let it out.”

Somehow, Tabitha managed to do as she
was ordered. A cool cloth came over her head again, over her chest,
down her arms. Finally, after what could have been a minute or
maybe a lifetime, the worst of it passed. For now. She slumped back
against the mound of pillows behind her, utterly exhausted, trying
to rest until the next wave assaulted her.

“
Are you sure that Jo
ought to be allowed in here?” Lavinia asked. Her voice grated on
Tabitha’s last nerve for some reason. “She’s not been through this
herself yet. For that matter, she’s not even married.”

“
I’m not leaving Tabby.
Not for anything.”

Lavinia scoffed. “This is not
something an innocent should see. Mother, you really ought to send
her away.”