Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Two days after they confessed their love for one another, Bridget and Anthony met in the park. Anna had joined them as chaperone, but she had fallen tired early in their walk and decided to rest in the shade of a large, sprawling tree. From the gleam in her sister's eyes, Bridget knew her sister was only feigning exhaustion, allowing her time alone with Anthony.

Bridget felt her face grow hot. Her sister surely realized what manner of activities she and Anthony might indulge in if they were alone. But did it matter anymore? After all, the ton already knew she and Anthony had engaged in some salacious activities. What more damage could her reputation incur? And anyway, she was to wed him.

"Are you still feeling well?" Anthony asked.

"Of course," Bridget said. "Why would I not be?"

Anthony furrowed his brow. "It is the first time you have left your family's townhouse since your accident, and I feared that you might have not fully recovered."

"I can assure you that I am quite well," she replied. "More than well. I am to marry you, after all."

"The two weeks until our wedding will feel like an eternity to me," he said.

"And for me, as always," Bridget replied. "It seems impossible to think that we are going to spend our lives together."

"Yes," he said. "It is difficult to believe that I am so fortunate. I want to see you every morning eating breakfast across from me and telling me your plans for the day."

"Only for the day?" Bridget asked slyly. Even though that night had ended disastrously, she found herself thinking about the encounter in the garden, where Anthony had sheathed himself inside her and brought her to the height of utter bliss.

"I presume that you will spend many of your nights with me," he said mischievously. "Therefore, I will not need you to tell me your plans for them."

"I see." Bridget tucked a wayward curl behind her ear and gazed at him from beneath her eyelashes. He grinned back at her, his face softened with mischief. "Only the nights?" she asked with mock innocence. "I wonder if I ought to be disappointed at that."

"Not only the nights," Anthony replied. "It would be ungentlemanly not to meet a lady's every need, regardless of when that need occurs."

"Suppose the lady has needs at an inconvenient moment?"

"A lady's needs are never inconvenient."

As they walked alongside one another, Bridget dared to let her hand brush against his. Even the small contact sent a jolt of pleasure coursing up her arm. The park was quiet, and they were away from any prying eyes. Bridget spied a hedge ahead of them, one that would readily hide them from any lingering couples who happened to have ventured further into the park.

"For example, if you had needs right now," Anthony said, "I would find myself honor-bound to fulfill them."

"I see," Bridget replied. "That is a very reassuring response."

She halted, as did he. Her pulse quickened, as she always did when she thought of engaging in acts of intimacy with him.

"I wonder, though, if you mean it."

He stepped very near her and tipped his head down, his breath warm against her forehead. "Must I prove myself to you?"

"I think that is only reasonable given your most recent claim."

Smirking, Anthony took her hand and led her behind the hedge. He seized Bridget's waist and pulled her flush against him. A delighted gasp tore from Bridget's throat. She placed her hands against his chest, savoring the warmth of his body and the firm muscle that she felt beneath his shirt and jacket. His lips found hers, and she eagerly met his mouth. She kissed him as hard as she could, eager to show him the strength of her love. Bridget felt heady, as though she were floating, and she was dimly aware that his hands had taken great handfuls of her skirts and were hitching them up to her waist.

She groaned into his mouth and arched her back, her hips pressing against him. Her body burned with longing, and she silently urged him to do more. She ached for his kisses to be harder, his touches more urgent, and his member inside her. Bridget could not remain still. She trembled in anticipation, tension jolting along her spine.

Her toes curled when he dipped his head and let his mouth fall to her breasts. Bridget's chest heaved as she panted for air. "Oh, Anthony!" she gasped.

She felt as though her face and chest were ablaze with the heat of her desire, and she frantically tore at his trousers, undoing his fly. Bridget inadvertently grasped his manhood through his trousers, and Anthony groaned raggedly. "Bridget," he gasped, his voice raw.

She freed his member and stared at it, anticipating coursing through her as she thought of Anthony burying himself deep inside her. Bridget grasped his shoulders with her hands, a low cry tearing from her throat. She insistently bucked her hips. "Please," she murmured.

He pushed himself inside her, the suddenness and force of him shattering her to the core. Bridget gasped and groaned. Her entire body shook as he seized her by the waist. Anthony drove himself into her. Bridget's muscles all grew tight, and she moved with him, matching his fast rhythm. Her breath came in uneven pants and moans. Distantly, she thought she ought to be quieter in case someone stumbled upon them, but she found herself helpless. Her thoughts were scattered, and the only thing capable of holding her attention was Anthony.

Bridget's legs trembled, and she dug her nails into Anthony's shoulders. All at once, she reached her release. Bridget threw her head back and shouted in pleasure as her orgasm thundered through her. She felt as though she were coming alive as she rode the wave of blissful fullness to its very end. White lights edged her vision, as Anthony continued to thrust inside her. With a roar, he reached his own release, and Bridget shivered at the rush of warmth and wetness she felt inside her.

Anthony dropped his head to her shoulder. ‘You are marvelous," he gasped between breaths.

Bridget raised his hand and grasped his hair. Her own breath was a rapid thing, rivalled only by the frantic beating of her heart. Anthony withdrew from her, and Bridget squeezed her thighs together. She groaned. All her muscles felt wonderfully used. She felt boneless and exhausted in the most pleasant of ways.

"You are marvelous, too," she said, running a hand through his hair.

He chuckled and placed a tender kiss against the side of her neck. "I may be, but I can assure you that I am nothing compared to my incomparable wife-to-be."

For a long moment, they simply stayed like that, wrapped in one another's arms, relishing the heat between them and the peace that followed intimacy with one's soulmate.

After a long time, Anthony raised his head. His eyes slowly raked over her form, and Bridget shivered beneath the intensity of his gaze. She knew she looked disheveled. Her skirts had fallen, and they were rumpled and uneven. One of her stockings had slipped down. Bridget knew her face and chest must be flushed bright from exertion, and her hair was drenched with sweat. When Anthony looked at her, though, she felt like the most beautiful woman in the world.

"I love you," Bridget said.

"And I love you."

He kissed her again, deeply and slowly. Bridget melted against him and into the kiss. It was short and left her yearning for more.

"I look forward to tending to all your needs," Anthony said, his eyes gleaming. "Have I proven that they will never be an inconvenience to me, no matter what they are and when you have them?"

"I believe that you have."

Anthony grinned, clearly satisfied with him. He took his member and forced it back into his trousers, buttoning them once again. Bridget straightened her stocking and retied her garter. Then, she straightened her skirts, making efforts to appear presentable.

"Do I look as though I have had an illicit encounter behind a hedge?" Bridget asked.

Anthony chuckled. "Not necessarily. Perhaps you merely engaged in some rigorous exercise."

"That is one way to describe what we did," she mused.

She doubted that Anna would believe her. If anything, knowing that she had already had a dalliance with Anthony, Bridget expected an interrogation about this second encounter—third, if she were to consider the time that Anthony had pleasured her with his hand.

"Shall we return to your sister?" Anthony asked.

Bridget took his hand between hers and pressed her lips to his knuckles. "Not yet," she said. "I want to spend just a little longer with you."

"Only a little longer?"

He pulled her into his arms, and Bridget let her cheek rest against his chest. She breathed him in, enjoying the freshness of his soap and the sharpness of his sweat. Even standing so near him and smelling him, learning his scent more than any other man's, filled her with such delight that it seemed to transcend all words.

"Forever," she said. "But today must eventually end, and I must return home."

"Indeed."

She tilted her head up and gazed at him, marveling at the flecks of gold in his eyes. "I know it goes without saying, but I am very pleased that I am to be married to you and not the Marquess of Thornton."

"Indeed. He shall have to find some other miss." Anthony paused and seemed to deliberate something. Then, he continued, "I have heard that he already has found a potential new bride."

"So quickly?" Bridget asked.

Anthony nodded. "Lady Isabelle is being courted by him, according to Rose."

Bridget arched an eyebrow. As relieved as she was that the Marquess of Thornton had resolved to marry another lady so quickly, she felt a spark of indignation. Women were not objects to be traded, one for another.

"Let us not spend our time together worrying about Lord Thornton, though," Anthony said. "I would be delighted never to think about the man ever again."

"I feel the same, actually."

He offered his arm, and she placed her hand at the crook of his elbow. They continued their walk around the park. Eventually, they reached the end of their path and turned back the other way, heading toward Anna. She remained sitting beneath the tree, her sketchbook in her lap. Bridget's lips twitched into a small, fond smile.

"Are you sketching something to paint?" Bridget asked.

"I am," Anna said, closing her book with a sharp snap. "Did the two of you enjoy your walk?"

Bridget caught the insinuation in her sister's voice and assumed that Anthony had, also. "It was pleasant," Bridget replied. "After spending so many days bound to my bed, I quite enjoyed the chance to have some exercise."

Anthony chuckled, and they exchanged looks with one another. "I am glad that you were well enough at last to join us at the park, Bridget. I suppose that our paths must diverge here."

"Regrettably," Bridget said.

"I shall call on you in the morning," Anthony said.

"I would like that."

Anna stood, dusting grass and dirt from her gown. "If we linger much longer, Father will begin to worry that we have lost our way."

Anthony dipped his head and placed a quick kiss on Bridget's lips. "Until tomorrow, Bridget."

"Until then."

She gave him a last, lingering look before turning away and linking her arm with her sister's. Even if they would only be apart until the morning, Bridget felt as if she and Anthony would be apart for an eternity. But they would not be parted for much longer.

Soon, they would be married. Soon, Bridget and Anthony would have every day and night to spend together. Bridget had finally found her love match, and he was better than she could have ever imagined.