Chapter 34

MAB HAD EYES FOR NO one but William.

She hadn’t quite planned how the evening would go, only that it would end in her declaring her love for him and proposing marriage.

But the instant she saw him, standing there in his tattered clothes and with nothing but pure adoration in his gaze, she simply couldn’t wait any longer.

That flitter of familiarity surfaced once more as she looked him up and down but was quickly overshadowed by her intense need to make him hers.

Mab slipped her fingers into his callused hand. She felt eyes on her as she directed him towards the doorway, but she had no interest in the curious stares from the crowd. For the first time in a very long time, she felt free.

Free to be unabashedly herself and to not have to worry about what others might think. Free to pick the man that she loved, the man that society would baulk at. Free to change her mind on values she’d held to her heart like a shield, for at the end of the day, no one really cared that she thought the notion of marriage was ridiculous. But to spend her life with a man who valued her? Well, marriage was a small price to pay for that .

And so, she dragged a confused but very much in agreement William out of the ballroom, stopping only when they had reached the hallway. The guards, sensing that there was perhaps to be a declaration that should be in private, slipped into the ballroom momentarily, closing the doors behind them.

“Mab, I—”

Mab couldn’t wait any longer. Without another thought, her arms were around William’s neck, her lips crushing against his. His eyes widened in shock for only the very briefest of moments before he too was swept away. Before she knew it, she was pushed against the wall, William’s tongue pressing against the seam of her lips, demanding for her to open for him. She obliged, and his tongue darted in, expertly sweeping against hers. His fingers roamed down her back, tracing the curves of her body. She barely had a second to register that his hand cupped her backside before she was hoisted upwards, William’s length sliding down her abdomen, hard enough that she could feel just how intensely he desired her through the many layers of fabric between them.

William broke the kiss, his lips peppering the crook of her neck. “God,” he panted between kisses. “I’m so madly in love with you.”

Mab’s heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. Her fingers managed to find their way to William’s face. She hooked a finger under his chin, pulling his face towards her. His eyes were heavy, pupils dilated under his thick black lashes, lips parted enough that she could see the tip of his tongue just beyond his teeth as a deep breath crackling with longing blew past his lips.

Mab waited a moment, desperate to emphasise how heartfelt her next words were. “William.” Her voice must have carried just how serious her following proclamation was to be, for William gently placed her back on the floor and took a respectful step backwards. She’d half expected for him to look dejected at her interruption, but instead, his features softened. He reached out a hand, taking hers in his.

Mab sucked in a breath and squeezed his hand. She had wanted to impose on him just how different a woman she was from what society expected, how he needn’t expect her to be a quiet and demure wife, or how she would certainly not be owned by anyone. But as she locked eyes with his, she realised he already knew all that. Instead, she said, “Marry me?”

William’s eyes widened in surprise. Mab’s heart pounded in her chest. And then he threw his head back and laughed.

Laughed .

Each peal made her stomach lurch, her growing anger overshadowing that pesky twang of familiarity flittering over her once more as if she knew that laugh. But it didn’t matter. He was mocking her. For all the things he’d said and done, all the alluding to equality and respect for her—

“You will never cease to surprise me,” he finally said. His hand cupped her cheek, and she felt all the anger dissipate the moment their eyes met again. “I can’t think of a more perfect proposal. Mab, it would be an honour to be your husband.”

Their lips met once more. Their kiss only broke when, without warning, she was hoisted into the air in a bridal lift.

An uncontrollable fit of giggles – giggles! – overtook Mab as William carried her up the stairs, two steps at a time. William didn’t break a sweat, his grin remaining fixedly on his face as he nodded to the guard placed outside Mab’s corridor, and the entire way to her room.

Somehow, she remained still suspended in his arms as he reached out and opened the door to her room, using his foot to close it behind them. Mab expected for William to lay her directly on the bed, the heat building in her body in anticipation of being ravished. To her surprise, however, William briefly scanned the room, his eyes landing on the middle-sized chest of drawers. In a few strides, he deposited her on top and, to her dismay, took a step backwards.

“I do hope you’re not planning on doing the gentlemanly thing again ,” Mab said, a note of desperation to her voice .

The amusement suddenly vanished from his face, replaced with a dark lust that had Mab’s mouth drying, heat pooling in her stomach.

“Someone told me a very long time ago that if you have to call yourself by an adjective, then you are probably the opposite. And, wife , I do not intend to be gentle unless you ask me to be.”

Mab thought she might possibly die if she didn’t have William sheathed inside her this very moment. She was wound up like a coil, and while gentle lovemaking certainly had its time and place, after that proclamation, it absolutely was not here and now. She was so close to begging—

It was as if she’d been struck by lightning. All the pieces fell into place. All the times she’d sensed a familiarity about William that she just couldn’t place ...

My fairy.

“You ...” she breathed, jumping off the chest of drawers. “You were the boy from the pond?”

Mab might have been useless at recalling faces, but the boy from the pond had plagued her dreams for years. At first, it had been childish dreams, where she would pull the faceless boy from the pond, and he would accompany her on her adventures. But as she grew older, she began imagining an unexpected kiss as a reward for her rescuing him, until finally, as an adult, the erotic fantasies came almost nightly, and had yet to be matched by any real-life experience until just last night, when William had pinned her to the chair and had her seeing stars.

“You finally recognise me,” he said, taking a step towards her. His fingers reached out and, with a single swipe, undid the button of her silk jacket. “I thought you had forgotten.” His voice was a soft rumble as he slid the shoulder of her jacket down. Gravity and lack of friction took care of the rest as the material pooled behind her.

He reached around her, pulling the drawstring at her back. “I fell in love with you that day,” he said, his fists bunching the material of her gown. His hand was slow as he drew the material up her body and over her head, discarding it on the floor beside him. “For a full year, when I could, I would wait by the fairy tree just to catch a glimpse of you again.” The petticoat was next to go, sliding down her body with ease.

William made a twirling motion with his finger. Mab never thought she’d see the day where she’d allow a man to have so much control over her, but damn it if she didn’t twirl on the spot like a jewellery box figurine and enjoyed it. More than enjoyed it. Her body was responding to his command in ways she never thought possible. Her core was hot, needy, clenching around nothing. The material still covering her nipples caused the most delightful friction as she glanced over her shoulder at William.

His breath was hot on her neck as he pulled on the string of her short stays and said, “I thought I must have imagined you.” The short stays fell to the floor, releasing her breasts. William’s hand grasped around one and squeezed, not enough to hurt, but just enough that Mab’s back arched, a moan escaping her lips. His fingers found the peak of her breast, and he rolled it between them. Mab bunched the last barrier of material in her fists, but William’s hands immediately clenched over hers.

“Facing me, wife .”

Mab had to clench her legs together. If this were any other man, she would have baulked. But she trusted her future husband and that the control he demanded from her body would be purely for her enjoyment, and it would never cross to dominance over her.

Mab did as she was told. She turned to face him, her breath hitching at the lust in his eyes. Her movements were slow and sensual as she dragged the shift up her body, the friction of linen against her bare skin sending jolts of current through her. When the material was finally over her head, and she stood bare in front of him, the look he gave her had her feeling like she was the goddess Venus .

William’s hands were hot as he placed them on her waist, lifting her up and setting her on the chest of drawers once more. His lips met hers, and she spread her legs, desperate for her core to be close to him. One of his hands found its way to the small of her back, pulling her forwards until she was teetering on the edge of the hardwood furniture, while the other found its way under her knee, pushing it upward and exposing her.

“You have plagued my every thought from that day,” William said. “The things I have pictured doing to you ...” His voice trailed off, his eyes darkening in memory.

“Show me,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

William’s lips twitched. “Shall I show you how I dreamed of my head between your legs? How I wouldn’t release you until I’d tasted every drop of your arousal on my tongue? And then I would dip my fingers into your core, stretching you until I was certain you could take my length? How I wouldn’t stop until you’d found your pleasure, and only when you were ready to take me, would I plunge into your depths. Sometimes I would be slow, drawing out our pleasure. Other times, I would be overcome by you, and you would have me reduced to a wild, rutting animal.”

As if this man couldn’t be any more perfect for her, he’d described almost verbatim the fantasies she’d had about him.

The only sound she managed to produce was a muddled form of “Oh, God, William, please ...”

Answering her plea, William dropped to his knees, one hand still propping her leg up, the other spreading her uncaptured leg. His breath was hot, then cooling as it reached the evidence of her desire. She was too far gone in her arousal to care to blush. She reached one hand backwards to steady herself, while the other found its way to his thick curls. The first swipe of William’s tongue was deep and unhurried, the heat almost dizzying as it dragged through her folds and past her entrance, finishing in a hard flick against her sensitive nub.

Mab’s breathing quickened, her fist tightening in his hair. She was so close to the edge already that she wasn’t sure she could hold on for any longer. William repeated the action, and her toes curled, but it was the third time, just as the tip of his tongue flicked over her bud before circling it, that sent her over the edge. Her body convulsed, her back arching as noises she’d never made before passed her lips, and her only sane thought was that he was still licking her .

When the tidal wave of pleasure had subsided to a soft ebb and flow, she could finally fully register that William truly was a man of his word. He’d abandoned her sensitive nub in favour of ensuring that he did indeed taste every drop of her arousal on his tongue. Mab let out a satisfied sigh, expecting William to raise his head. Instead, she felt his lips pull into a smile before he latched on to her swollen bud, sucking it into his mouth as he had her nipple the evening before. She bucked uncontrollably as his finger plunged inside her. He thrust twice before adding a second finger, all the while sucking on her bud, occasionally using the flat of his tongue to drag roughly over the increasingly sensitive bundle of nerves. Just when Mab thought her body was sure to combust, William’s fingers curled inside her, pressing down on a bundle of nerves that she never knew existed. The effect was instantaneous.

Mab had no control over her body as it convulsed in ecstasy. Her leg hooked over the back of his neck, pulling him closer, her hand clenched into his hair, holding him in place as she rid the most heavenly wave of euphoria she’d ever experienced. Her back arched as his fingers massaged the spot inside her as if he were determined to wring out every drop she had to offer. It took so much longer for her to come down the second time.

Only when she had no more left to give did William finally release her from his grasp. The taste of her own arousal on his lips was like an aphrodisiac as he pressed his mouth to hers, his fingers wet as they cupped her buttocks, pulling her body into his. She wrapped her legs around him, only releasing when she felt the soft velvet of her bed spread beneath her .

She didn’t want to break the kiss, but her consolation was the fact that she now had the pleasure of watching him undress.

His jacket hit the floor with a soft thud . She took great delight in watching how deftly his fingers undid the knot of his kerchief, the material sliding around the thick muscle of his neck before fluttering to the floor. He loosened the drawstring of his shirt. As he pulled it over his head, the way his body curved, a godly menagerie of taught muscle and tight skin had a fresh wave of desire pooling at her core.

Mab sent a silent prayer of thanks to the person who had invented laceless boots. William slipped them off expertly before his fingers landed on the buttons of his britches.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her knees, her fingers brushing his away. William chuckled but allowed it. She undid the buttons from the bottom to the top. Only when she released the last button did the swelling evidence of his desire spring free.

Mab had never appreciated the male form in its entirety and had never felt that the male member could ever be called physically attractive. That was until now.

William’s golden skin was pulled taut over his length, thick veins running up his shaft towards the pink head. A pearly bead of liquid pooled from the slit, and Mab had an intense desire to taste him as he had her. As if sensing what she was about to do, William crooked a finger under her chin to stop her.

“Tonight is about me showing you how I pleasured you in my dreams, and I have got a rather long list to get through. Now. On your back, wife .”

Mab couldn’t have stopped herself even if she wanted to. She couldn’t be certain what part of his statement had her knees turning to jelly, but she loved in equal measure the promise of pleasure and the pride in his voice as he called her wife.

One day, perhaps tomorrow, she’d tell him just how she’d pleasured him in her fantasies. And she would demand that he succumb to her every whim. But not tonight. Tonight was his night, and she was entirely happy for him to have hold of the reins.

William used his knees to nudge her legs apart. The coolness between her legs lasted only for the briefest moment before he settled his weight above her. His curls fell across his forehead like a hero from a renaissance painting, and she couldn’t help but think he truly was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

William dipped a hand between them, and Mab let out a little squeak as he glided his length through her folds before positioning the broad tip at her entrance. He pushed inside her in one slow, glorious stroke, a groan of unaltered pleasure escaping his lips as he sheathed himself fully inside her. Mab could barely breathe, her words catching in her throat at the glorious sensation of her body stretching to accommodate him. The only sound she could make was a series of moans as he drew out, almost to the tip, and plunged in again and again.

His movements were painfully slow, as if in punishment for the fifteen years he’d had to wait for this moment. Mab’s finger traced his face. William opened his mouth as she drew it over his lips, the flat of her finger catching on his bottom teeth in the most delightful way.

Suddenly, his hand grasped hold of her wrist, thrusting her arm behind her head to meet her other arm. His hand was so large, it had no trouble ensnaring both of her wrists, pinning them to the bed as his thrusts intensified, deepening until he had her almost coming undone once more.

William buried himself inside her and stilled. The absence of glorious friction inside her had Mab squirming beneath him, desperate for him to continue.

Mab’s eyes fluttered open, and she was met with a malevolent grin.

“William,” she pleaded.

“I can’t quite decide how to finish,” he said. “On one hand, I want to watch you come undone atop me. On the other hand, I do believe I’m feeling rather beastly. Which do you prefer?”

“Either,” Mab panted, desperate for him to move.

“... I think both,” William said.

William released her wrists and slipped his hand under her back. In one swift movement, he was on his back, Mab atop him and still gloriously impaled on his length. The moment Mab had the freedom to move, her hips rolled, grinding him and allowing his length to reach parts of her she never knew existed. Her core was slick, the sound of her arousal sinful as she rolled back and forth on him. And when his hand found her swollen nub once more, his thumb placed in the perfect position for her to grind onto, stars exploded behind her vision.

She barely noticed William lifting her off him and placing her on her hands and knees on the bed in front of him. He rutted into her, each thrust matching the intense clenching of her inner walls, providing the most incredible, drawn-out climax of her existence. She could feel the moment when his own orgasm overcame him, his seed hot inside her as he stilled, the only movement his pulsing member and her still clenching core.

“Mab.” His voice was a low rumble, like a soft thundercloud enveloping her as he pulled her against him, the heat of his chest searing into her back. Their deep breaths matched as he pressed his lips to the crown of her head. “I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life doing that.”

With his arms still around her, he guided her back to the bed. Only then did he release her from his grip enough for his member to slide out of her.

Spending every night like that might well and truly kill her. But if Mab wasn’t to be a martyr for the anti-marriage cause, she would happily be a martyr for the pro-sexual pleasure cause.

“I think I should like to spend our marriage sequestered to the bedroom,” Mab said as she turned, her arm falling across his broad chest.

“Good,” William said, stretching beneath her. “It is a terribly long list we have to get through.”

MAB AND WILLIAM SPENT a further hour in bed entwined together. They talked of everything and nothing, and by the time they finally agreed that they ought to return to the soiree to await news of Tilly and Benedict’s supper, Mab felt as if she’d known William her entire life.

She had told him of her father, and how she was, reluctantly, excited to introduce William to him. William spoke of his estate and the many, many issues that needed resolved – he truly hadn’t been exaggerating about the direness of his situation. Mab excitedly began outlining a plan of action, stopping only when she noticed how intently William was listening to her.

And when she told him that she loved him, he pulled her into his arms and told her he loved her too, his sentiment accompanied by a lengthy list of every quality he adored about her.

William talked of his childhood and the cruelties his father had issued upon him. Mab secretly thought that the late Viscount rather did meet a deserved end. She felt rather proud of William for what he had achieved. He had no more education than any of the ladies of the ton and had been set up to fail with his mother’s old family home. Despite that, he still managed to keep his head above water for a decade and a half. Mab could think of a score of men who had started life with far better odds than William and yet lacked the determination he had to avoid debtor’s jail.

When William told her about his brother’s current financial situation, and his devious plot to fill his coffers once more with an inheritance from William and his estranged sister – a fact that had eluded their talk the night before on account of their haste to be intimate – Mab’s stomach hollowed.

The fact that, had William not come to Aunt áine’s, he could have fallen victim to his brother’s plot sickened her. While she logically should wish for Lucius and Drucilla to face justice in a court of law, Mab decided that she would not be upset if the pair met their fate at the hands of Alexander Holt.

Either way, she supposed she would be taking on the role of mother much sooner than she had anticipated. William’s niece, Daphne, would be in need of a home. And Mab found a kinship with the young girl, despite having never met her, in her defiance of the rules of her cruel father. She adored the fact that Daphne, timid and scared as she was, was still prepared to sneak books from her father’s library. And it didn’t elude Mab that had Daphne not shown such defiance, the case of her grandfather’s murder might never have been solved. Despite not being related by blood, Mab could easily accept such a remarkable young girl as her own.

It felt somewhat wrong discussing such a future when they didn’t yet know the outcome of Lucius and Drucilla Blackwater. But regardless, there was nothing that either Mab or William could do to stop the wheels that were already in motion.

The clock on the mantle struck ten when the pair decided they really ought to return to the soiree. William, while an expert at removing her garments, was less skilled at helping Mab back into them. And decidedly even less adept at styling her hair, which at some point had lost a number of pins. But what he lacked in skills, he made up for in enthusiasm. Mab didn’t quite have the heart to tell him that her hair now looked like a bird had made a nest in it.

Fortunately, they only intended to loiter long enough to enquire after Benedict and Tilly before returning to her rooms.

As they left her room, an ear-splitting squeal sounded down the long stretch of corridor.

Mab took off at a run, William at her heel. They rounded the corner, only to find Emily being helped to her feet by the guard.

“Oh, no, honestly, I am quite—” Emily hissed in pain as she attempted to put weight on her foot. “Oh, bother, ” she said, disgruntled.

“I must insist on taking you to the infirmary for the doctor to take a look at it,” the guard said.

“I really do have the worst luck. Two new men, and I twist my ankle racing up the stairs to retrieve my fan. Really, the search for a husband is more perilous—Mab!” Emily squealed as she finally saw them. “And William! Whatever are you doing ...” Emily turned a shade of scarlet as her voice trailed off.

“Mab was just asking if I would marry her,” William said, his chest puffing up.

Mab elbowed him in the ribs. “I believe we agreed that we would allow Deidre and David to enjoy their special night and make the announcement tomorrow.”

“ I believe Emily is on her way to the infirmary, so aside from the doctor, she’ll keep it a secret for now, won’t you?” William said.

All embarrassment had completely dissipated from Emily’s face. She let out a squeal, her arm involuntarily clamping around the neck of the guard who was attempting to get her to her feet. “This is wonderful news! Oh, I am so pleased for the both of you. We all quite agreed that you were a fine match and it would only be a matter of time before you announced your engagement!”

Emily’s sentiments continued for the entirety of the journey down the stairs, only desisting when the guard declared that he really ought to escort her directly to the infirmary as he needed to return to his post.

As Emily waved the pair off, Mab felt as light as a feather. Who knew announcing an engagement could feel so good? She supposed it was singularly down to the person one chose to spend their life with, and Mab certainly felt a swelling pride in her choice. She wanted the world to know that her choice in partner was perfect for her. He was much more than a love match, for love can be a fickle mistress. No, William complemented her in every conceivable way, and Mab truly believed there was not a single man on this earth who could be more compatible with her than William.

When they finally reached the entrance to the ballroom, the guards manning the doors passed no remark on the state in which Mab and William returned, only offering the pair a good-natured nod as they opened the door for them. Mab sequestered herself to a corner of the room, which was thankfully dark enough that one might not guess immediately that she’d just returned from a tumble.

Both had decided that it would be in ill taste to announce their engagement during the celebration of another’s, but William wandered off to retrieve some refreshments with a grin on his face that practically reached ear to ear, and Mab highly doubted their engagement would remain secret for long.

Mab stood contentedly in her corner, watching William as he made his way through the crowd, occasionally being stopped by a group of men.

“Good evening, Miss Dubarry.” The familiar voice sent a shiver up her spine.

Mab spun on her heel, her stomach roiling in revulsion, to meet the icy stare of none other than Robert Alabaster.