He moved his leg between hers andpressed against her womanhood, bringing only minor relief to theache. She pressed against him, hoping he would touch her more orrelieve some of this building pressure, while her hands caressedhis back. She didn’t know what to do or where to touch, too lost ina sea of new sensations.
John sat up and pushed her dress andchemise over her hips, down her legs and off to the side, leavingher completely naked to him. Thank goodness it was too dark to seeanything, or she would need to find the blanket.
His fingers trailed downher stomach until they came to her curls and paused.Don’t stop now. Shearched, encouraging him to continue, and soon he did. After that,she was lost. She had no idea what magic he created, but in amatter of moments something inside her shattered. She arched andscreamed while John’s mouth covered hers, muffling anysound.
She lay there panting,wondering what was next, but John did nothing further. She knewthere was more—hehad yet to find any pleasure. After what she experienced, shewanted him to experience the same. Instead, he lay on his back,breathing deeply.
Elizabeth came up on her elbows andmoved towards him. He was having second thoughts, or at least sheassumed that was the case, but she would not allow it. She bentforwards and placed her lips on his chest. It was a bit awkwardbecause she could not see what she was doing, so she used herfingers to caress him until she found the flat nipple and continuedto tease and nip as he had done to her. His breathing becameerratic and she smoothed her hand down his stomach until she cameto the waist of his pants. John grabbed her hand.
“Elizabeth,” hepleaded.
“I want you,John.”
His hand fell way. She undid thepacket of his pants and slid her hand inside. Thank goodness shehad listened to the maids in Tuileries when they talked of theirliaisons or she wouldn’t have any idea how to go about this. Hiships lifted and she moved her hand around his shaft then up anddown. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but he seemed not tomind. His hips came up again, and John pushed his pantsoff.
With gentle hands against hershoulder, he pushed her onto her back. His fingers were between herlegs again. Elizabeth arched into him and John repeated hiscaresses. Elizabeth was surprised when she shattered a second time.Before she could recover, he had moved between her thighs. Hismember probed and entered.
A moment later he stopped, lowered hismouth to hers, and gave her the gentlest kiss, so loving that tearscame to her eyes. He then plunged forwards, tearing though hervirgin barrier. Elizabeth clenched her teeth to keep from cryingout.
His hands touched her face and hestilled. “You are crying. Did I hurt you that badly?”
She turned her face and kissed hispalm. “No. That is not what the tears are from.” Thank goodness hedidn’t ask why she cried, because she would be hard-pressed toexplain her emotions at the moment.
His lips returned to hers, and soon hewas moving in the age-old rhythm, slowly increasing his tempobefore he jerked away and groaned. Warmth spread across herabdomen. John had enough control not to leave her with child. Itwas a consideration she should appreciate, but it also left herpartially disappointed. It was stupid, of course. A child wouldruin everything for her, and how would she ever explain? Butapparently he had not been as overcome with passion as she that heforgot everything, including the consequences of their makinglove.
John fell to the side and lay withoutsaying a word before she felt him move. She heard ripping andassumed it was her chemise. The thing was already in tatters frombeing used for bandages. He returned and wiped her stomach beforesettling down beside her and drawing her into his arms. Elizabethfelt the need to say something, but she was robbed of speech.Instead she lay in the cocoon of his arms, relishing these momentswith him.
He couldn’t let her go. He must, heknew that, but he didn’t want to. Elizabeth was perfect for him,and once they docked he would have to turn his back on her and moveon to the next assignment. How many more men would she sleep withbefore she retired? The idea of another man sharing with her whathe just had sent his pulse rising. She was his, and nobody had theright to touch her.
But Elizabeth wasn’t his. She belongedto England, and they would use her how they saw fit. He could outher and ruin her career, but to what end? It wasn’t as if they hada future together. He could be gone weeks and months at a time,leaving her to wait for him in England, which would be grosslyunfair. Besides, what if his assignment turned into something thatlasted for years, as this last one had? Was it really right to askher to sit back and wait for him? No. He had to let her go. As muchas it killed him, he would walk away.
The boat bumped either a dock oranother ship. Either way, the young man would be returning soon,and it wouldn’t do for him to open the bookshelf and find Elizabethin a state of complete undress. John searched the area and locatedher chemise, which he helped pull over her head, followed by herdress. He fastened the back while she put on her boots. In hishaste to make love to her, he hadn’t bothered to remove herstockings and barely recalled them against his legs.
While she messed with her hair, Johnquickly dressed and was shoving in the tail of his shirt when thebookcase swung open. “We’ve arrived in Portsmouth.”
A few days ago he would have lookedforward to hearing those words. Now, he wished it was still milesaway. “Thank you.”
He turned to Elizabeth. There weretear stains on her cheeks and her eyes watered once again. A smallsmile pulled at her lips. “Thank you.”
He shook his head. “No. Don’t thankme, and
