His hand cupped the back of her head once again and lifted her so he could kiss her full on the mouth.
As he pulled away, she noticed that desire was still etched in his eyes.
“We are so far from done, Genny.” Leo pressed her hand against his renewed hardness. “But we’ll give you a rest and clean ourselves up.”
“You know how to make a lady’s heart flutter in anticipation.” She batted her lashes teasingly at him.
He grabbed up a cloth that was tossed atop the picnic basket and wiped his hand off. Folding the material, he pressed it between her thighs and wiped away the evidence of their intimacies.
Chapter 18
Salacious scandal is afoot. This bit of gossip took place in Town … of all the unfashionable places to be during the summer season …
The Mayfair Chronicles, August 4, 1846
Genny gathered up her peignoir and pulled it over her shoulders. Her night rail had definitely seen better days but she would not sit out in the open, naked to the world. Leo pulled on his trousers, retrieved their champagne, and returned to the bench.
“Shall we gaze at the stars for a bit?” He wrapped his arm around her waist and slid her closer to his side. “You have yet to make an astronomer out of me.”
Genny tipped back her fluted glass and looked skyward. “The clouds make it difficult to see any of the patterns. I doubt I could trace a single zodiac. It may clear up in a bit.”
His lips pressed against the side of her neck. “Then I will have to think of better things to trace.”
Genny closed her eyes and swayed toward him, lost in the sensation of his gentle touches.
“Leo?”
“Hmm?” He couldn’t talk when he was nibbling at her earlobe and biting gently at the arch of her neck.
“When I asked you to wait before approaching Lord Ponsley…”
The loss of his lips sent a shiver down her spine. She pulled her garments snuggly around her body, not that it helped to warm her any.
“Didn’t we decide our course of action … for us, that is?” he asked.
“I wanted to tell you that Charlotte will be married come fall. It hasn’t been announced yet, and I shouldn’t tell you even that much, but I think you need to know.” She worried her lower lip. “It won’t be a long wait.”
“Any time away from you will feel like an eternity.”
Her heart beat frantically in her chest, it was so full of joy. Those words further confirmed that he had every intention of marrying her, but she’d still make him wait till her cousin was wed before he so much as attempted to court her.
Closing her arms around his shoulders, she pulled herself over him so she sat astride his thighs. Her hands immediately threaded through his hair, her mouth pressed gently to his. They did no more than kiss for some time, Leo stroking her back, letting her decide the pace and depth of their intimacy.
She’d always felt a deep connection with Leo. As if they were two kindred spirits meant to come together eventually. Being in his arms just felt right.
Was that what love felt like for everyone? Was it the rush of her blood pumping her heart faster, the tingling sensation that made her belly all aflutter with nerves, the happiness that filled her very soul whenever she was by his side and they could forget their positions in society and just be themselves with each other?
She pulled away and stared into his deep brown irises.
“What is it, princess?”
“Did you intend for me to fall in love with you?” she asked earnestly, not sure why she’d said it. “Is that what you were after all along?”
When he didn’t answer right away she dropped her gaze from his. His finger lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye again.
“Do you love me?” His voice was deep and husky, as though the very thought of her confession made his passions rise.
“Shouldn’t that much be apparent?” she said shyly.
“No, not till you say so.”
“I do love you.” There was a profound expression of relief in his eyes before he kissed her hard on the mouth.
“Does that mean you return the sentiment?” She was almost afraid to hear his answer if he didn’t feel the same way. What if he didn’t love her as she loved him?
“I always have.” His tone was soft.
She smiled and ran her fingers over either side of his face.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before.”
“Not even four years ago?”
She pushed a few strands of loose hair from her face. “Everything was so different back then.”
“Not nearly as fun and freeing as it is now.”
“You are teasing me, Leo, and it’s putting me all out of sorts.”
His finger brushed over her cheekbone. “I like the pretty shade of rose you turn when you’re miffed.”
She put her foot down on the ground, having every intention of leaving him here in the maze with no one but himself to mock. “I’ve just opened my heart up to you, and you use the opportunity to poke fun at me.”
He caught her hand and hauled her back down onto his lap. “Don’t leave me here, Genny. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
With the guidance of his hands, he bid her to wrap her ankles around his back. Pressing her hips down, she felt the hard ridge of his sex at the dampened folds of her core.
“Many a man would say you have my balls in a noose.”
She cringed with the image that presented. “Need you be so vulgar?”
“Another reason I need you in my life.” He gave her one of his easy smiles. “You’ll set me straight when I need it most.”
“You never said it.”
“Said what?”
“Leo.” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look of pure annoyance.
“Genny. I am falling madly, deeply, and completely in love with you. And waiting even one day to court you and then have to wait a respectable time to marry you is testing my very sanity.”
“You intend to marry me?”
“I have since the moment we saw each other again. We should have married years ago. I certainly hope you’ll have me.” The way he phrased it almost made him sound vulnerable and unsure of himself. She’d never heard him sound this way before now.
She wanted to scream out her joy. But her excitement would have to wait till her cousin was wed because Lord Ponsley wouldn’t allow Barrington and her to have a proper courtship. She was sure they’d have to marry either by special license or ride to Gretna Green when the time came. “December. Let us make our intentions clear in December.”
His expression brightened. “Is that a promise, Genny?”
Biting her lip to keep from screaming out her utter happiness, she nodded her head and grinned like the fool she surly resembled.
“I have an idea,” he said.
He suddenly lifted her off his lap, tied her peignoir tight around her waist, and dumped their unfinished champagne in a hedge.
“What are you doing?” She had wanted to finish that champagne.
“Taking you somewhere more comfortable for one.”
“Back to your room?”
He paused and thought over his answer before giving her a response. “In a sense.” Gathering up the blanket and holding it bunched up under one arm, he placed the glasses, the empty bottle, and her stockings in the basket.
“Let me take something,” she said.
He handed her the blanket and grabbed her hand with his free one. “Will you give me your complete trust right now?”
“Of course. Haven’t I done so at every opportunity?”
“Then we’ll go to my house. It’s ten minutes there, ten back. It will invigorate us for later,” he said with a sly grin. “And no one will see us together there. And we really can be as loud as we like.”
“What would your staff think?”
“They’ll all be abed. They keep to their country hours. Your reputation is safe with me, Miss Camden.”
“They won’t talk to Lady Carleton’s staff? That’s often the way rumor spreads. I don’t want to be the one whispered about come morning.”
“You won’t. My staff is loyal. Besides, if you still agree to marry me in five months’ time, they’ll be yours to command.”
She frowned. “I’ll not command anyone.”
“Then they will adore you all the more. But”—he stopped to press his mouth to hers—“not nearly as much as I.”
It took them nearly forty minutes to reach his estate. It was his fault for kissing her. She hadn’t been able to resist kissing him back, which had led to touching, then groping, then them on the lawn with her night rail hiked up to her hips and his trousers down around his shins.
They were both laughing and out of breath when they entered through the back portico. Genny looked around her, and though it was dark, and more clouds filled the sky, she could see that the gardens looked as extensive and well maintained out here as they had in the greenhouse.
The door they entered led to a large parlor. She could not make out the colors or see the furniture layout clearly without light. Leo took the blanket from her and tossed it on a sofa, laid the basket down on the floor, and then he took up her hand and led her through the dark house.
“Will you be showing me your etchings in your room, my lord?” It seemed an appropriate moment for a joke, though it was ruined when she couldn’t cover her own laugh.