Chapter 22

CHAPTER22

Seth could have sworn he was dreaming. He leaped up from the snow, gazing at Bridget’s sudden, happy smile. She giggled when he slipped in the snow in his eagerness and nearly fell flat on his face.

“I’m coming,” he said abruptly.

“How?” Her laughter broke off. “I have already called you a fool once. Do not make me say it again.”

“It does not matter. I cannot stay down here now that you have agreed to marry me.”

Seth looked around the wall, searching for a way up. There was a trellis that was attached to the wall, leading all the way up to her window. If he could climb it, it would merely be a long stretch to her window.

He moved toward the trellis, made sure his gloves were pulled on firmly, and began to climb.

“If you fall, I hope the snow softens your fall. It will hurt!”

“Worth the risk.”

“Madman,” Bridget muttered, making him chuckle.

“Maybe I am. Happy to be mad, though.”

He’d never felt more deliriously happy in his life as he climbed up the trellis. His boot slipped on the icy wood more than once, and Bridget squealed quietly, fearing for him, but he continued up, determined to reach her.

When he got to the window, he placed a hand on the windowsill and levered himself up.

“Get in before someone sees you.” Bridget took his arm and dragged him through the gap. “Oh, God, look at you. Seth, you’re shaking.”

He was trembling because of the cold. He’d ridden in it for so long that day that it felt as if it had reached his bones—but he couldn’t care less.

“I don’t mind.” Seth reached for her, just needing to be near her.

She was dressed in her night shift, with only a blanket around her shoulders to keep her warm, her brown hair loose behind her back.

“I’ll happily suffer all the cold for this.”

He hung his head toward her, inches away from taking another kiss, but first, he had to be certain he had heard her right.

“You will marry me, then? I didn’t dream up your answer out of desperation?”

“I will marry you,” Bridget said, giggling once more. “We need to warm you up, Seth. Come by the fire.”

She tugged on his arm and towed him toward the fireplace, and then she threw another log into the embers that were burning down to a low smolder.

Seth pulled her into his arms when she was done, wrapping his forearm around her waist as he molded his lips to hers. That kiss was the sweetest they had ever shared, gentle and soft. Her hands at the base of his neck were a touch of warmth, her body molding to his in such a way that he was astonished. She was warm and dry, whereas he was cold and damp, but she plainly didn’t care. She just moved closer to him.

“There is one way we could warm me up,” he said with mischief, leaning a little back from her.

Her eyes widened, and her smile grew. “Tempting,” she whispered. “If you are seen here, Seth, we will be in so much trouble.”

“Then we’ll make sure I am not seen.” He peppered her cheeks with kisses. “Come morning, I will climb back down that trellis and go to the front door. I’ll knock and beg for your father’s blessing. I will happily get down to my knees to plead with him.”

“Oh, Seth.” Her hands trailed up his chest and wrapped around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss.

Such heat spread through him that he temporarily forgot the iciness in his bones. All he thought about was Bridget and needing to be nearer to her.

“I wish to show you something,” Seth whispered.

“Show me what?” Bridget asked, though she was already taking the first steps.

She unbuttoned his frock coat, sliding it down his arms and tossing it to the side, then she reached for his tailcoat next and removed it too.

“I want to show you how I should have made love to you that night, how it will always be between us. Would you let me, Bridget?” he asked, bending toward her once more, his lips hovering over hers.

“Show me, Seth,” she whispered.

He caught her lips in a passionate kiss, his hands trailing across the curve of her hips.

Everything that happened next was fast, done in such a rush that he had to catch his breath. His waistcoat and shirt were thrown aside, and his trousers went next, along with his boots, all in one go. They dropped to the hearth near the fire, a pile of discarded clothes.

When Seth was completely bare, he reached for Bridget, taking hold of her nightgown and lifting it over her head. She was wearing nothing beneath and was completely naked.

“So beautiful,” he whispered, kissing a trail down her neck.

Having her naked body in his arms sent such thrilling tingles up his spine and down his abdomen that he couldn’t reach her bed in time. Instead, he backed her up toward an ottoman not far from the fire.

He stretched her out on the ottoman and kissed a perfect path down her body. He was careful to press adoring kisses to each patch of skin he could reach. He started with her neck, her collarbones, the valley between her breasts, her mounds, then her nipples. He stayed there for some time, playfully sucking and nipping, until she arched up into him.

Feeling her body was playing to his tune, he continued his kisses down her stomach and to the curve of her hips, then he nudged her legs apart.

She shivered, her hands clutching the ottoman cushion beneath her as he held himself above her. She plainly thought he would kiss her core, but he wanted to adore her some more first. He kissed a path from her ankle, holding her leg high in the air, down the side of her calf and across her thigh, up to her hip.

“Don’t tease me, Seth,” she pleaded.

“I’m loving you,” he whispered, moving his hot breath over her center. He wouldn’t deny her anything, not now.

He kissed her center. The way her back arched and her legs spread wide was everything. She wanted this feeling, this rush, this intimacy, as much as he did. The knowledge that they could make love whenever they wanted now that she had agreed to marry him was thrilling. He was practically lightheaded and giddy just at the thought.

Seth reached up and slid a finger inside her, driving her mad, curling his finger up to find her sweet spot. Her moans grew breathy, and she turned her head from side to side, riding her pleasure.

His mind grew mad with all the different ways he would make love to her for the rest of their lives. Some time, he would show her what it was like to be taken from behind, to feel that heat, that different position. He would show her, too, how leaning against a wall could be a thrill, watching as her hand splayed across the wall as he entered her swiftly, holding her in the air.

Yet, now, he had another position in mind, a way to show how everything would be between them—a partnership from now on.

He moved his body up, no longer kissing her but still pleasuring her with his hand. Her palms found his chest, and they trailed a path down his exposed skin, her fingers soft and exploratory on every part of him. When she found his hard length and began to explore, he nearly spilled himself right there and then. He had to groan in an animalistic fashion to hold himself back.

“This time, it will be everything,” he promised, leaning down and kissing her. He replaced his hand with his length, nudging her entrance as he knelt on the ottoman with her.

Bridget trembled with excitement, her hands curling up around his shoulder blades just as he thrust into her.

That feeling of her wrapped around him was such a thrill that he tipped his head back, a moan escaping him. Thankfully, there was no pain for her this time. He could see it, in the way that she bucked her hips against his, begging him to move.

He did as she asked, creating such a rhythm between them that they were soon heated. So close to the fire, the cold air beyond the windows no longer mattered. As he repeatedly thrust into her, driving them both toward that edge of pleasure, he felt the sweat bead down the center of his chest. He could see it on her too as her head moved from side to side, loving every minute of it.

He bent down over her, melding his lips to hers and swallowing some of her moans. The new position meant he couldn’t move so much, and her fingers tightened on his shoulders, clearly wanting more.

He chuckled against her lips. “I have an idea,” he whispered. “Something more we can do.”

He stood off the ottoman and left her body. She whimpered, but he caught her hand quickly and pulled her up to join him. He lay down on the bed and took her hips, drawing her over to straddle him, and directing her so her entrance hovered just over his length.

“You’re in control now, Bridget. It’s all up to you.”

Bridget blushed crimson red and bit her bottom lip. He nearly thrust into her at that look, just wanting more of it, but fortunately, she did take things into her own hands. She slid down onto him and began to rock back and forth, experimenting with the feeling. She leaned back, finding a position that clearly pleasured her right.

Seth offered her his hands, and she gripped them tight, using that purchase to grind herself repeatedly onto him. It was so thrilling, watching her take him, watching her make love to him too, Seth wondered how much of a fool he had been not to have seen before how it could be between them. The clues had all been there. He’d just been too caught up in his thoughts to possibly act on them.

Her orgasm came fast. She quivered above him, his name rolling off her tongue.

He had to reach up, to press his lips to hers to muffle that sound, not wanting to draw anyone’s attention toward them across the house. Her walls fluttered and tightened around him, her release hitting her in a wave.

He had to join her in that feeling, and this time, he had no wish to part from her when he found his peak.

Seth took hold of her waist and flipped her over, moving with her so that he never parted from her body. He took hold of her knee, holding it wide as he planted his knee down on the bed and repeatedly thrust into her.

Bridget was still lost in her pleasure, and the sight of it was what sent him over the edge as much as anything else. He pumped into her many times when the feeling took over.

Seth found his end, the pleasure tingling from his abdomen up his spine, the thrill blissful. He stilled inside her, basking in the glory of that feeling.

She looked up at him with such a sudden smile on her face that it shocked him.

“I should have asked you first,” he said, leaning down toward her and kissing her fast. “I should have asked—”

“You didn’t need to.” She shook her head. “We shall be married, shan’t we?” she pointed out with a giggle. “And who knows, maybe something else will come from it soon.”

She reached down and laid a hand on her belly.

A child.

Seth had risked it by spilling inside her, and it made him even more confident of a thought he already had in mind. He intended to marry Bridget as soon as he possibly could. He would happily try to make babies with her in as many ways as he could think of and as many times as she desired. Just to see that smile on her face again, he would do anything.

He rested his weight on his elbows, hovering just above her as he kissed her. The tingling path her hands created on his back made him stir to life again. He couldn’t believe his length was hardening again already, after so swiftly being spent, but there it was.

“I love you,” he whispered between those kisses. “Thank God I came here tonight.” He chuckled and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

Bridget laughed too and wrapped her arms around him tighter. “Thank God you did—Oh, no.”

“Oh no what?” He moved up sharply, their bodies still connected. “That’s not something a man wants to hear, Bridget,” he teased her softly, and she smiled once more, tapping him on the arm in reprimand, in that way he loved.

“I have to tell Lord Burnington the courtship is off.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “That is not a conversation I am looking forward to.”

“I can tell him if you like.” Seth leaned down toward her. “But let us forget Lord Burnington for tonight. There’s something more I’d like to think of now.”

“What’s that?” she asked. “Oh!”

Seth moved his hips experimentally against hers. The look of pleasure on her face showed she was ready to go again. Her body was still wet, still warm too, and her hands ran down his back and gripped his buttocks.

“What more can you show me?”

“Another lesson in seduction, eh?” he teased.

“Not seduction. In lovemaking,” she corrected, her look so flirtatious that he was startled he wasn’t thrusting boldly into her already. “What more will you teach me next?”

“Oh, I have a few things to show you.” He kissed her fast and withdrew himself from her body.

Bridget sighed in disappointment, but he was pleased to see that feeling didn’t last. He took her hips and flipped her over, then urged her onto her hands and knees.

“This is new,” she observed with a giggle as he reached for her center from behind.

“Indeed, it is. The new position should feel good.”

Then, he thrust into her, and the moans she made, the way she gripped her pillow, made him quite forget that Lord Burnington had been mentioned at all.