He was about to say something when an acquaintance stopped him, and Nathaniel brushed by her, pressing something into her hand. After she said her goodbyes to Edward, she turned away into the crowd and unfolded it, her heart in her throat.
Meet me in the observatory at ten o’clock. It is on the second floor.
Nathaniel
She folded it in her hands again, a smile lighting her face. She would go. No matter what could happen, she would go. She looked around the room. Everyone was busy dancing, laughing, or drinking, and her aunt was nowhere to be seen. She would go, and she would have whatever adventures lay ahead.
Chapter 32
A few hours later, Nathaniel waited patiently in the observatory, but he pulled at his cravat a little as he stared out at the night sky. The observatory had a small balcony that faced the dark country lands below, and that night, the sky was brilliant with stars.
Would she come?
His heart leapt when he heard a sound from behind him, and he turned to see Jane entering the room. Beautiful Jane with her pink gown, her long white gloves, and her bright blue eyes that made him forget all common sense.
“Jane,” he said, coming towards her, his hands outstretched. “Come see the stars with me.”
He led her out onto the balcony, his heart hammering away wildly, and he savored her gasp as she stared up into the night sky.
“Incredible,” she whispered, leaning a little against him.
His hand moved to her lower back, warm, possessive. He wanted Jane even if he needed her money, too. They said nothing for a little while, and she seemed to press against him even more.
“There may be talk,” she said. “When we are noticed.”
“Then we must not be gone long,” he said, turning to her. “So, why do you dream of faraway, exotic places? Like you mentioned at Kew Gardens?”
She sighed first before she said, “It has always been my greatest dream to travel, to follow in the footsteps of my mother. I want to use some of my father’s money to allow for my travels.” She shrugged, a little smile playing on her face before she turned back to the stars. “But husbands tend to make orders about what the money is to be used for, and I cannot receive my full inheritance until I wed, and so I daydream for now.”
Nathaniel blinked. Guilt threatened to choke him, and the words were on his tongue to ask her to get away from him, to save herself for someone more honorable, but the words didn’t come.
“That man would be a fool to try and stop you. I can practically see your dreams shining out through your eyes.”
He reached out for her, his hands coming to land on her shoulders. He stared down into her beautiful face, and hewaited. A smile grew on her face, and before he could tell her the words he needed to tell her, she leaned up and kissed him, her hands on his cheeks, pulling him closer.
Instantly, he responded, his mouth opening to hers, his tongue sliding forth to taste her. His desire for her took over, claiming his body as he crushed her to him.
***
Jane was surprised at the sudden jolt of passion from Nathaniel, but she responded in kind. It had been pushed aside, pushed down, deep down, but now she set it free. Intertwining her fingers in his hair and pressing her whole body against him, she sucked his lower lip.
“Jane,” he breathed, kissing down her jaw, her neck, and back again. “I want you. Say you will have me.”
“Yes,” she found herself saying without any hesitation. “Yes, Nathaniel.”
She didn’t have to think about anything else because nothing was certain. Nothing was certain except her own feelings. She didn’t know how it had happened or when, but she was falling for this man, if she had not already fallen. All she knew was that she wanted him and no one else. He spun her around, pulling at the laces of her bodice, pulling down her gown with ease. Hethen worked on her stays, kissing the skin of her back as his fingers worked nimbly to remove her clothing.
“The hair, keep the hair,” she told him when she felt his fingertips at the base of her neck. “The pins will be far too difficult to replace, and we have a ball to return to.”
When she was naked, she turned back to him and worked to remove his clothing. Her hands slid under his jacket and pushed it over his shoulders. Then her fingers went to the buttons of his waistcoat before he helped her.
His eyes locked on hers. When he was bare, he stepped back from her, his eyes sliding from her head to her feet, pausing at her breasts. She might have felt exposed, vulnerable, but not with him. She wanted him to look. His features, every line of his taut, hard body, kept her eyes on him. A smattering of hair covered his chest, and she reached out to spread her palms on him.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, his hands coming to grasp her breasts with his rough, large hands.
She moaned as he squeezed and gasped when he leaned down to pull one taut nipple into his mouth. She had not expected it to feel as it did, heat spreading like ink through her veins.
“Nathaniel,” she said, arching her back as he lifted her breast to his mouth, and she tangled her fingers in his hair again.
