Chapter Seven

"I 'll procure a special license," Ambrose said. They'd moved to the chair by the fire after Lucien disappeared. Eve sat across his lap, snuggled in his warm embrace. "I want you to be my wife right away."

He nuzzled her temple, the words soft in her ear.

He must be thinking of her father and the marriage contract to the viscount. Her father would be terribly angry with her, but he'd ignored her wishes. It had been wrong to run away, she knew that. Though if she hadn't, she wouldn't be with Ambrose now.

"I'm yours," she said and pressed her lips to his.

Their kiss was long and languid. Drugging and delicious. She skimmed her hand down the side of his neck and under the edge of his shirt. Ambrose rarely wore a cravat and that open patch of skin from his throat to his waist called to her. Freely touching him like this was a wonder. The feel of his skin, different and rougher than her own, excited something deep within. She felt a tightness between her thighs and her stomach fluttered with heat.

Ambrose trailed his mouth down her neck.

She pressed her thighs together as the feeling between them intensified.

His hand went to her ankle and his fingers slid beneath the hem of her night rail. "May I touch you, darling?"

"Yes. Please, Ambrose." She needed the feel of his hands on her body. If the marriage bed was anything like this tender intimacy, she might never leave it.

His palm skimmed up her calf and over her knee, sending tingles through her skin.

Eve's hips rocked forward, seeking his touch. She needed more of him. More skin, more kisses. "Ambrose, I want to touch you too."

He leaned away long enough to pull the linen shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor, treating Eve to the sight of his muscled chest. Silver and black hair gathered into a line that ran to his navel and disappeared beneath the waist of his trousers. His body was beautiful. She traced every muscle, every line, learning him.

Ambrose kissed her hard, his mouth hungry. White-hot desire erupted in her body. She needed to feel every part of him. She needed his touch. Eve speared her fingers into his long locks, gripping them as he ravished her mouth. She moaned, squirming on his lap.

His member pressed hard into her hip.

Eve sucked in a breath, looking down at his body. She wanted to see all of him.

"Stay with me tonight, Eve," Ambrose whispered, his voice husky in her ear. "Let me love you. I swear you'll be my wife, even if I must rush you to Scotland. You're mine, always."

She knew what he was asking. He wanted her to come to his bed before they properly wed. Doing so would ruin her, and if he changed his mind, any child she might bear would be illegitimate.

"I'll wait if I must," he continued. "But there will never be a day that I don't want you in my bed."

A sense of freedom washed over her as she realized that she was already ruined by the very act of staying here without a chaperone. She could do as she pleased. The viscount would never want a ruined woman and she was of age to choose whom she loved.

Eve pressed a kiss to his lips. "Take me to your bed."

Ambrose scooped her into his arms, startling Alfred from his slumber by the fire. He meowed in protest, giving them a grumpy glare.

Eve giggled. "Go back to sleep, Your Highness."

Alfred laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

"He likes you," Ambrose said as he carried her from the study.

"I'm honored. Not everyone is approved by the king of England."

His chuckle made her stomach flutter. It sounded rusty, as if he hadn't laughed in years. That she could tease a laugh from him warmed her in places she hadn't known could feel love.

Eve stilled as the realization washed over her. She loved Ambrose.

He'd been cold to her at first, even avoided her. Now she understood why. He was as haunted as she. Yet he'd shown himself to be a man who cared for the people around him. He'd also cared for her injured mare. Then there was Alfred, who did not want for food or plush pillows. Ambrose Grey had so much love to give. She eagerly anticipated learning everything about him. Starting with the secrets of his body.

Ambrose carried her up the stairs to a set of doors at the end of the corridor. He pushed one open and strode inside, depositing her on a soft mattress. He closed the door and turned the key in the lock, then returned to her side.

Eve stroked the planes of his chest, marveling once more at the texture of his skin and the feel of the soft hair there. The dim light from the fire made his skin golden and his deep blue eyes almost black.

"I'll be gentle," he said, as he slid his palms up her legs, drawing her night rail up.

"I know." Eve shifted her hips, allowing him to pull her gown up and over her head. He dropped it to the floor.

"Christ, you're beautiful," he said. He cupped one of her breasts, his thumb finding her hardening nipple. He circled it, watching it peak, then dipped his head and ran his tongue in the same path.

The sensation was heavenly. Her thighs grew damp, and she moaned in pleasure.

Ambrose rose and pulled the coverlet back. He ushered her beneath, then shucked his boots, stockings, and trousers until he was as bare as she.

Eve had only the briefest glance of his body. She opened her mouth to protest, but Ambrose was there, crawling over her and pressing her down onto the mattress. The feel of his skin against hers, and his solid weight bearing down was more pleasurable than she could ever have guessed. His hips flexed, pressing his manhood against the juncture of her thighs. She wound her arms around him, holding tightly. A breathy sigh escaped her lips when he thrust against her again.

He dipped his head to take one nipple into his mouth again, cupping her other breast and teasing that peak in time with his swirling tongue.

The pleasure in her body coiled tighter. Fire blazed from her breasts to her core. "Ambrose!"

He stroked his hand down her side, then from her thigh to her knee and back up, and dipped between her legs. His fingers stroked through her wet folds.

Eve surged up against him, crying out in pleasure.

His thumb found a sensitive spot, stroking circles over it until her body wound so tightly she thought she'd explode. "Ambrose, I… I can't…" She didn't know what she was saying or even what she was asking for. She wanted him to stop, yet she never wanted him to quit that delicious touch.

"Feel how your body responds to me, Eve." He pushed one finger inside her core. "Your channel is so tight. I can hardly wait to sink inside you and feel the way you grip me." He slid a second finger in.

She shivered, her entire body trembling with need. His wicked words sent her pleasure higher.

Ambrose pumped his fingers, pressing his thumb to her sensitive nub. "Feel the way your body has tightened? Let go. Don't fight it."

Eve didn't know how to let go. All she knew was that he pushed her desire to a place that bordered on pain.

He kissed her then. Hard and hungry, his mouth claiming hers. The moment their lips touched, thoughts of what to do fled her mind. All that remained was feeling . Waves of pleasure broke over her, making her nipples harder and her body shake.

She gasped against his lips, swamped in sensation.

"Beautiful," he whispered. Ambrose shifted his hips and pressed the tip of his cock to her entrance. "Ready, love?"

"Yes."

He rocked forward, sliding the tip inside. The feeling was indescribable. Eve clung to him, wrapping her legs around his waist when he pulled back. He pushed forward, easing inside her body, then stopped. "You're mine, Eve. Say it."

"I'm yours, Ambrose."

His grin was savage. Then he surged forward, filling her completely.

Eve cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain. She'd known it would hurt some, but never expected the throbbing desire that went with it. The fullness she felt inside nearly blanked her mind. "More," she moaned.

Ambrose pumped into her body, building her pleasure back to that precipice she'd teetered on before. He claimed her body and her heart with his, stroke after stroke.

Eve trembled. Then she pulled his head down for a kiss and felt another release flow through her.

Ambrose kissed her until the spasms between her thighs subsided, then rocked harder into her. Several pounding strokes later, he cried out, body trembling over hers. He placed a kiss on her neck, then lowered himself to her side, pulling her to his chest.

Eve lay her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath. "That was glorious."

He pressed a kiss to her temple and his words whispered over her skin. "You're mine, Eve. That is only a taste of the pleasure I will give you."