Oliver vowing to be hers forever pushed Constance to the edge. As her orgasm overtook her, she dimly heard Oliver say, “Marry me. Please, love,” before his own peak claimed him.
She carefully stood on knees like jelly and struggled to gather her wits. “Did you just propose marriage?”
Oliver collapsed against the door beside her, gasping for air. He rolled his head and met her grin with his own.
“Why do you always wait for an orgasm to blurt out life-changing declarations?”
In the dark, she could barely make out his wink, but it still sent a frisson of heat through her. God, he was handsome. An amalgamation of parts that created exactly what she wanted. What she needed.
“I’ll take your critique under advisement,” he said.
Languid warmth filled her limbs, and for the first time all day her brain was nearly calm. “I think your cock might be magic.” She motioned toward her head. “All the noise is quiet.”
“Then marry me for your own well-being. Magical penises must be good for your health.”
She snorted, enjoying the peace of being right where she wanted to be.
“You laugh, but I’m quite serious.” Clothing rustled in the dark. A second later, he grasped her hand, then traced her ring finger to the tip. The cool press of metal nudged at her finger, and she gasped.
“Oliver?”
“I stopped by the shop to do this earlier, but you’d already left with Caro. Constance, I have two questions for you. First, will you marry me?”
She didn’t need a second to contemplate her answer. “Yes. Absolutely.”
A ring slipped onto her finger, and Constance thought she might burst from joy.
“Second question—and keep in mind, you may say no. Will you elope with me tonight? We can leave with Althea and Wellsley for Scotland.”
Constance pulled him into another kiss. “I’ll marry you any time, any day. Including tonight.”
At that moment, two things happened. A clock somewhere in the room struck the half hour, and Constance remembered she was supposed to be in the library. “Girls before earls! Damnit!”
Oliver, bless him, didn’t ask questions. He hurriedly set himself to rights while Constance did the same.
A peek down the hall in each direction proved there weren’t witnesses to their exit. When the hallway spilled into the more populated rooms, they stopped to take in the sight before them.
As if a wave went through the crowd, each table of guests paused what they were doing, listened to the chatter at the table beside them, then stood. A few truly committedgamblers stayed where they were, grumbling as others abandoned the games.
“It’s happened,” Constance whispered. “We need to get to the library.”
He gave her a speculative glance. “Are you ready to set the ton on its ear, Countess?”
Countess? That will take some getting used to.“At least it won’t be boring.”
Thirty
Reminder: sometimes hell should break loose
The crowd at the double doors of the library parted for Oliver like the Red Sea before Moses.
Acutely aware of the many eyes on them, he focused on the only one who mattered, right beside him. Blue eyes, wide with nerves, held his gaze as Connie’s grip on his arm tightened. Guests closed in around them, so reassuring Connie with words was impossible without being overheard. Instead, he raised one brow in a silent question.Are you sure?
She raised her chin, then gave a subtle nod. Hopefully she also heard the reassurance in his gaze.We’re in this together. I’m right here.
In the library, Oliver barely managed to turn his laugh into a cough. Giving credit where it was due, Althea and Franklin had taken pains to set the perfect scene.
Some elements were merely set dressing, as if the whole thing were on a stage. They’d removed Wellsley’s coat. Unlike Oliver’s coat, which had been in a heap on the floor the morning after he and Connie fell on each other like ravenous wolves, Wellsley’s draped artfully over the back of a chair. There’d been an effort to muss his hair, but the pièce de résistance was Althea.
