“Simone.” With a heartfelt moan he reluctantly pulled back to regard her with a tight expression. “I think I should warn you that if you continue in this manner you will never be returned to your bed.”
She allowed a wicked grin to curve her lips. “That was my intention.”
“Wench,” he chided with a glint of amusement. “If you only knew how long I have ached to possess you.”
His teasing words abruptly forced Simone to realize that she had not yet been entirely truthful. She grimaced as she forced herself to pull away from his warm grasp.
After all the lies and charades between them, she had to ensure that when they came together it was in complete honesty.
“I could not give in to my desire no matter how much I might have wished to,” she confessed in low tones. “My charade as a widow would have come to a swift end.”
He stilled as he considered her confession. “Because you are innocent?”
“Yes.”
There was a long pause before Gideon abruptly heaved a deep sigh.
“Ah, my love, you do not know how you torture me.”
She frowned at his odd reaction. She had thought that he would be pleased that no other man had ever known her in an intimate manner.
“Torture?”
His hand rose to cup her chin. “We will wait for our wedding night.”
“But ...”
“It is how you have always dreamed it would be, is it not?” he demanded softly.
It was impossible to lie. Her every thought was now open to him. He already knew that even through all the years of torture and degradation she had dreamed that someday she would be rescued by her knight in shining armor.
More often than not it had been a foolish dream. What knight would possibly desire a bastard without a farthing to her name? She was a drudge without friend or even family who would acknowledge her.
And yet, through it all she had battled to maintain her innocence.
Her dream would not be stolen. And when her knight came she wanted to at least give him the gift of her virginity.
Now she was fiercely proud that she could give her innocence to Gideon.
“Yes,” she at last admitted with a small smile.
Although she could feel the dreadful struggle it took to rein in his smoldering passions, Gideon merely gave an understanding nod of his head.
“Then that is how it will be. You are already mine in all the ways that truly matter.”
Wondering if her heart could burst from sheer happiness, Simone lifted her hand to touch his lips.
“I love you.”
Chapter 14
Late the next morning Gideon was seated beside Simone on the bench in her garden. Rather ruefully he patted the special license that was safely tucked beneath his jacket.
When he had agreed to wait for Simone he had imagined they would be wed within a few days, if not hours, but as he came to study the unexpected vulnerabilities of the woman he loved he realized that she deserved more than a hurried marriage before the vicar.
All her life she had been taught to be ashamed of who she was. And while she still maintained her sister’s name, he was not about to allow her to think he wanted to hide their wedding from the world.
With considerable sacrifice he had ordered his staff to begin preparations for a lavish ceremony in St. George’s Square that would include the entire Ton.
If neither of them were quite whom society presumed them to be it did not matter.
Simone would have her day to shine brightly and he would at last have her at his side.
And just as importantly, a dark voice whispered in the back of his mind, in his bed.
Shifting uncomfortably as his body stirred in anticipation, Gideon choked back a groan of frustration. For all his logic, there was no controlling the endless need he felt for this woman.
Perfectly aware of his scandalous thoughts, Simone glanced up to flash him a wicked smile. The minx was becoming quite adept at driving him mad.
“Well?” she said in those sultry tones that made his blood heat to a near boiling point.
“Well what?” he demanded as he considered dragging her into his arms and reducing her to his own state of discomfort.
She held up the sketch she had been diligently working on for the past few hours.
“It is my wedding gown.”
Gideon obligingly studied the smooth charcoal lines drawn upon the pad then gave a decisive shake of his head.
