She’d done this a few times in the last week, and while the first time had proved awkward, she’d learned what to do to drive him wild. She nipped and licked and sucked until he cried her name.
He clutched at her shoulders. “I want to come inside you, love.”
Her body demanded the same. She straddled him once more and kissed his lips fervently. “I love it when you call melove.”
“I love it when …” His breaths came in harsh gulps. “Damn it, Maggie, I just loveyou.”
She rode him slow at first, then faster, and all the while, their gazes never parted. She cried out first and fell atop him, limp and sated, as he rode out his own climax.
When Maggie opened her eyes, the early afternoon sun pooled dusty light on the carpet near the bed. She rolled off her husband and smiled. “I suppose my plans are all shattered. And I’m glad of it. Shall we spend another day abed?”
He nudged a stray curl off her temple with his knuckle, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Certainly not. Up you get.” When she merely stared at him, dumbstruck, he stood and pulled her up as well. “Up, up!”
“But, Tobias! Why?”
He twirled her around and pulled her back to his chest tightly, a good thing since her legs had the consistency of melting icicles. “You, my love, are going to meet my sister and do whatever else it is you planned on doing today. And all the while, you’ll think of me and what we just did, and when anyone notices the pretty flush on your cheeks, they’ll have no idea what heats them so. But you will.”
“You are showing signs of possessiveness, Mr. Blake.”
“I am. Do you disapprove?”
She couldn’t truly say she did, not when she might very well growl at the next woman to look at her husband’s handsome visage. “I rather wanted to push that strange Mrs. Piedmont out the door at our wedding breakfast, so I can’t say I do.”
His face went completely blank. “Oh? Did she say much to you?”
“Just that you and she had a relationship. What did she mean?”
He laughed. “If I told you, you might hit her over the head with a tea tray.”
Maggie’s stomach tumbled, dropped. “That serious?”
He pushed her away and swatted her backside. “Go along, now Maggie.”
She surveyed herself in the looking glass, shaking her head. “I must send for Alice.”
“Do. Fix your tresses and smooth your skirts.” He placed a kiss on the back of her neck like a brand. “But you’ll not be able to wash me away, Maggie.”
She had no desire to. After last week’s visit to the Quinns, she finally felt as if she saw her husband entirely. He still kept secrets from the world, but surely no more lay between them.
Chapter 22
Maggie had never met Lola Knightly, the Countess of Beckingham, and the stately butler who opened the door and ushered her into the countess’s townhome did not set her nerves at ease. His dark hair slicked back on his head to reveal a sharp widow’s peak and his hooked nose seemed to threaten damage to her person if she brought insult to the house.
She should not have come to the club meeting so late. She should have sent a note to Henrietta excusing her absence, asking forgiveness, and promising to attend the next meeting of the Scandalous London Ladies.
Yet the way Henrietta had talked about the club and the countess, she rather thought they would dislike Robert Lockham and the Mathematical Baron, too. And that was enough to make her want to know them.
The butler walked with a stately gait down the hallway and Maggie followed. He stopped before a door, and Maggie smoothed her skirts. The butler opened the door and stepped aside. “Lady Magnificent.”
“Oh!” Maggie popped into the room with less gravitas than she had planned. “It’s Mrs. Blake. Not Lady Magnificent. Please.”
The butler nodded. “Of course. My apologies.”
Maggie barely heard his apology or the door shutting as he left. Four pairs of eyes studied her, and she found she could no longer move. She’d become a garden statue in an instant, as if the eyes that gazed up on her belonged to Medusa and had the power to turn anyone who looked into them to stone. She swallowed and stuttered out whatever words tripped to her tongue’s edge. “I apologize for being so rudely late. I was … detained.”
Henrietta stood and smiled warmly. “Maggie! I’m so glad you could join us!” She grasped Maggie’s hand and pulled her forward into the room where Maggie could better see the other occupants.
An exquisitely slender woman with golden hair smiled at Maggie shyly. “Hello, Mrs. Blake. I’m Willow.”
