Chapter 16

CHAPTER16

"What an utterly wonderful evening!" Leah exclaimed as soon as they had returned home.

Edward closed the door behind him, enjoying the sight of her slightly flushed, probably from the one too many sherries she’d had this evening. She looked like a forest nymph, moving about as if her feet were not even touching the ground. All that was missing was for her hair to cascade down her back freely. He longed to pick those pins out of her hair one by one, allowing those waves of chestnut brown to flow.

"I am glad you enjoyed yourself, my dear."

My dear? That was probably his own drink talking out of him. He allowed it. Perhaps it would provide him with the necessary courage that he so desperately needed tonight. In the carriage, he almost succumbed to the temptation to kiss her, but he quickly decided against it. Then, the moment was gone, and he regretted it. He did not want to lose another moment with her.

She rushed up the stairs, giggling. He quickly followed; his gaze pinned to her. She stopped at the top, looked down to see whether he was following, then once she was certain he was, she continued running toward the library. He had no idea what this game was, but he liked it. His heart raced as fast as his feet required him to do, until he was in the library, with her, with the doors closed.

She stared at him, a bright flame burning from those sky-blue eyes, beckoning him to come over. He walked over slowly, almost afraid that if he acted too quickly, this bubble would burst, and he would realize that this was all just a dream. Even if it was, he didn’t want to wake up quite yet. He wanted to enjoy it for a few precious moments more.

When he finally stood in front of her, he felt her hand caress his cheek softly. "I had never been more proud to stand by someone’s side than I was this evening," she told him. That was exactly what he needed to hear. Her words provided him with all the bravado that he needed, that had been lacking up until that point. He could not control himself any longer. The time for talking had finished.

He pressed his lips against hers, hungrily tasting her. He had been yearning to do this for so long. His hands were around her waist, pulling her close to him, so close that he was certain she could feel what she was doing to him. His entire body became a tangled sensation of nerves as this wonderful woman gave herself to him, moaning softly against his lips. The feeling was beyond any description in words.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. She tasted like sherry, a ripe sweetness of the Spanish coasts. His tongue dived into the velvety caresses of her mouth, demanding more of her, demanding everything she had to give.

His desire was unquenchable. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking everything, while he knew that he needed to take him time. He needed to be gentle and slow with her, not take her with the speed of a hurricane. Desire exploded in his loins, reminding him of all the times he had taken himself into his hands, thinking of her, sleeping under the same roof, bathing between those four walls, her body naked as the day she was born. He could not think about that and not get aroused at the thought.

Now, she was in his arms, meowing like a little kitten, purring, wanting more. His hand slid upward slowly, ready to stop at any moment. He did not want to, but if she showed even the slightest reluctance, he would force himself to pull away from her. He would never do anything she didn’t want him to do.

He cupped her breast with the palm of his hand. It fit perfectly. He longed to see the color of her nipples, whether they were a rosy pink or a darker shade of peach blossoms. He yearned to flick her nipple with his mouth, leaving it wet, then sucking it into his mouth completely. The thought made him even harder.

As the sight of her heavenly nipples graced his mind, he felt her bite at his lower lip, then gently tug at it. He never thought she had that in her. Then again, he should have expected it. She was not submissive in any part of her life, why would she be submissive in bed? He pulled away for a moment, only to stare at her intently. Her eyes were wide, dreamy, like two stars in the night sky. They were looking at him and him alone. No one else.

She smiled. It was a smile unlike any he had ever seen in a woman. Instead of soothing that sting between his legs, it only seemed to make it stronger, more prominent. He smiled back, diving into her again, kissing her with all the fervor he had in him.

His other hand slid down the small of her back, where he held her during their dance, only now, he went even lower. His tongue licked hers, sinking inside of her mouth. Kissing her felt electric. He had never kissed a woman quite like this before, and something told him he never again would.

He squeezed her bottom with his entire palm, which made her pull away for a moment, and giggle. She closed her eyes as she did so. It was such an endearing sound. He wanted to listen to that giggle every day for the rest of his life. This assured him that he was desperately, not just madly, in love with this woman, and he would do anything for her.

He buried his nose in her throat, as the remnants of her chuckle still filled the chamber. She was so soft, so silken. Everything about her was divine. It drove him insane. Even the taste of her neck was enough to drive him completely out of control. He would gladly relinquish it to her.

They stumbled backward, as he kept his eyes open for the proximity of a chaise lounge, or at least an armchair. Not that an armchair would help them much. He pressed her against the wall, and the minx lifted her leg in the air, wrapping it around his waist, keeping him closer. His manhood was pressing against her heavily, shielded by layers and layers of clothes that separated them.

He could not stop kissing her, just as he could not stop thinking about how warm she would feel, how wet and tight as he entered her. His manhood twitched at the idea. He wanted it all now, but he knew that he could not demand that of her. The world seemed to dissolve all around them, as he had her breast in his one had and her buttock in his other, squeezing both of them softly. He kept reminding himself to go slowly.

But no matter how many times he repeated that in his mind, every time her lips parted to inhale, he would suck at her tongue, at her lips. How she moaned... it made him go out of his mind. Nothing in the world existed any longer. There was just one thing that was true and real, just this woman in his arms and the sheer need for her that was tearing him apart.

Everything about this was reckless. It was savage. It was beyond anything he could have anticipated. It was also impossible to be prevented or stopped. Her tongue rubbed against his, and at that moment, she slid her hand down from his chest, gazing at the protrusion from his trousers.

"Leah–" he murmured her name, surprised and stunned, but everlastingly aroused. The sensation was so powerful, it made him pull away from her, and as he did so, he stumbled over the corner of the carpet, which was turned upward, making him fall backward on his behind.

That was not the worst part. As he was falling down, he outstretched his arms, like a bird in flight, in an erroneous desire to keep himself standing, so that he knocked down several of the books which rested on the fifth row of the bookshelf to this right. They dropped down around him, crowning his embarrassment. He frowned to himself, grateful that the light of the candle was soft enough to perhaps not have shown her the entire extent of his excruciating feat.

Instead of laughing, Leah rushed over to him and knelt down by his side. This was certainly not how he was planning on ending this evening, with him falling down to his bottom right in front of Leah.

"Are you all right, Edward?" she asked, sounding concerned. It did not even occur to her to make fun of him. He could not help but love her all the more for that, for being so protective and caring.

"Yes, I’m fine," he frowned, hoping to put this situation behind them as soon as possible. Not that there was any chance of going back to what they were doing, but at least he wouldn’t have to discuss stumbling over the darn carpet. "Nothing is hurt but my pride." That much was true.

"It’s a good thing those books didn’t fall on your head," she pointed out. He had to admit she was right. They were all hard covers, with edges that could make quite a bruise or a bump, neither of which he was too keen on.

"Yes, silver lining and all that," he was still frowning, upset with himself that he could have been so clumsy. He could have been still kissing her, having her melt in his arms, but no. He had to go and be so clumsy.

Endeavoring to change the subject, he looked around at the books, then suddenly, something caught his attention. Something was not quite right. It didn’t belong in there. He got up and grabbed one of the books that had previously knocked down on the floor, opened somewhere along the middle.

"Let me help you," Leah offered, taking another book in her hands and putting it back on the shelf. She thought he was already starting to clean up, which was not his intention at all.

"No, no, Leah, look at this," he said, keeping the book open, revealing a page that did not seem to belong in it at all. Instead, it seemed to be a note of some sort, stuck in there for either safe keeping or simply forgotten by whoever placed it there. Whatever the reason was, Edward was curious to find out more about it.

"What is it?" she wondered, approaching him, staring at the book in question.

"A note, I think," Edward pondered, extracting the note with the tips of his fingers. "Or a letter."

As Leah gazed at the note, suddenly, her eyes widened. Without any warning, she grabbed the note right from his hands and brought it closer to her field of vision. Her eyes were darting left to right faster than he had ever seen anyone read.

"I was going to read it out loud," he told her with a shrug. "But you could do it as well."

He could see her trembling, silently, staring at the note. Her lips were parted, but no sound was coming from her. Just that look of sheer shock which he had seen more times than he could count.

"Leah?" he called out to her, realizing that something tremendous was taking place, right this very moment. "What is the matter?"

"This–" she finally lifted her gaze from the note and stared at him, the note quivering in her hand. "This is my mother’s handwriting... how did a note from my mother end up in your library?"