If only, she thought as he kissed her cheek where the wetness of her sorrow had slid. But she would take what she could. She would seize every moment that remained, tuck it into her heart so deep that the memories could never fade.
“Before you go, promise me that you will kiss me one last time,” she pleaded, her pride crushed and ground into dust beneath the weight of her emotions.
“I promise, love.” He kissed her temple, shifting his touch to her waist. “How much time have you before you need to dress for your ball?”
At his question, heat unfurled in her belly. Familiar longing.
“Time enough,” she said, and took his hand in hers to lead him to a chaise longue.
* * *
Time enough,Pamela had said. But the words were all wrong. There would never be enough where she was concerned. And each tick of the mantel clock behind them reminded him that his time with her had dwindled.
He was leaving at dawn. Stasia had sent word that everything was in place. The day he had been dreading had almost arrived. But he wouldn’t think about that now. Instead, he would make the most of their remaining time.
Theo covered Pamela’s body with his on the chaise longue, reveling in the soft, pliant give of her womanly curves. Pamela had been made for him. Made for loving. How could he bear to leave her in the morning? With her beneath him, her lips clinging so deliciously to his, he was not sure he could.
He kissed her throat, her ear, across her jaw, and then leveraged himself on one arm so he could drink in the sight of her. There wasn’t sufficient time to remove their garments, so he settled for pulling down the bodice of her afternoon gown, revealing a full, creamy breast and the tight pink bud of her nipple. He cupped her with a shaking hand, stroking the peak with his thumb until she sighed and arched into his touch.
He would kiss her a hundred times before he left. Theo vowed it to himself as he lowered his head and dragged his mouth over her nipple, delighting in the way she quivered beneath his lips, in her swift inhalation, the way one hand settled on his shoulder and the other found purchase in his hair. Her fingers threaded through the strands, urging him on.
As if he were caught in the helpless throes of a fever, he revealed more of her, the other breast popping free of polite constraints. He dipped his head, catching the stiff point of her nipple with his tongue. Lingering to lick hungry circles around it until it was pebbled and puckered.
“Please,” she said.
He knew what she wanted. Theo dragged his mouth over the tip, sucking even as his free hand captured a fistful of petticoats and skirt, pulling it high to reveal her lovely legs. He thought he could happily feast upon every inch of her creamy, pink flesh, licking and kissing and tasting, and never have his fill.
“You’re beautiful,” he said. “Let me savor you while I still can.”
Her fingers in his hair gentled, and he felt her stiffen beneath him at his reminder he would soon have no choice but to leave her. To chase the pain from them both, he kissed the hollow between her breasts, and then pulled her hems to her waist. She parted her thighs, revealing glistening pink flesh, sleek and hot and as made for him as the rest of her was.
How he wished he were on his knees, or that he had his leisure to devour her in bed. But the awkward fit of the chaise longue meant he could not fully pleasure her as he wanted. Later, he would make amends.
“I want to touch you,” she murmured, her hand leaving his shoulder and gliding down his chest and stomach.
Her fingers grazed the hardness of his cock, before molding it in her hand, and he hissed out a breath as fire licked through him.
“Unbutton my falls,” he commanded thickly, needing to feel her without the unwanted barrier of cloth.
She didn’t hesitate, seemingly spurred to the same frantic, desperate edge of need as he was. Her fingers made short work of the buttons, and in a breath, her fingers were wrapped around him, stroking him in a firm grip.
“I want you inside me,” Pamela said.
Heneededto be inside her. To bury himself deep and forget everything and everyone else. But his legs were too long, and when he propped himself on one arm, it meant that he could not also hold her skirts and pleasure her at the same time.
The blasted chaise longue in the library was not nearly as obliging as the last one they had made use of. He couldn’t seem to find a comfortable angle as he attempted to align his body with hers and give them both what they wanted.
“I’m too damned big for this furniture,” he muttered, an idea occurring to him. “We’ll have to try another way.”
She gave his cock another tantalizing stroke, nearly making him spend in her hand. “But I ache for you, Theo. I need you now.”
He gritted his teeth, willing a wave of desire to abate, every bit as eager as she was. “Let me show you.”
Carefully, he arranged them so that he was seated on the chaise longue and she was draped over him, her knees bent alongside his so that she could straddle his lap. He held her waist, guiding her and keeping her from tumbling to the carpets.
With a low moan, she rubbed herself over him, coating him in her dew.
Heaven.That was what she felt like. No, better still, perfection. She was sunshine glinting off ocean waves, the life-affirming scent of salt air. She was as beautiful and powerful as the sea. And he was lost in her, pulled by her tide, away from the shore.
