Her Gift - Bundle Pack (8 page)

Charlotte tried to pull her hand from
his but he didn’t let go. Instead, he turned to face her in the
carriage, and raised one arm to rest along the back of the
squabs.

“Your husband came there with a woman
once.”

“Who was she?”

“She was the daughter of a courtesan.”
He waved a breezy hand in the air. “Who she was is not of any
importance. What matters is what happened that night.”

“Pray continue.” Charlotte’s heart was
beating so hard within her chest that she was afraid she would
expire.

“He took her into a room where others
can look on. It was our first dealing with him. We had no idea what
to expect. We should have known better. I knew from the look in his
eye that there was evil inside him. I should have listened to my
gut.” He heaved a sigh. “I didn’t.”

“What happened?”

“He was an evil man. Full of hatred.
And we knew immediately that things were going poorly. But none of
us could get into the room.” His voice cracked. “It wasn’t until
blood was spilled that we were able to get in the room and get her
out.” His voice quivered. “Lots of blood. So much I’ll never forget
it.”

“Did she survive?” Tears pricked at
the backs of Charlotte’s lashes.

“Yes, she did. But with scars as a
result of it.” He pushed a curl behind Charlotte’s ear. “Scars much
more visible than yours.”

“I don’t have any scars.”

“Yes, you do.”

A sob welled up within her. “That’s
why you haven’t fucked me. Because you think I’m
broken?”

He tried to pull her into his chest.
She shoved hard against him but he didn’t relent. “The girl,” he
said. “The girl nearly died. He nearly killed her.” He took a deep
breath. “And then I killed him.”

Charlotte’s world stopped spinning.
Her heart stopped beating. “What?” she whispered.

“I was the first one to get inside the
locked room. He was frantic and he pulled a knife from his boot. I
dodged it, and he stumbled forward. He fell on his knife. It was my
fault.”

“Why did you come to me?” Charlotte
whispered.

“I tried to stay away. I really did.”
His voice grated like gravel, thicker than a swallow could
dislodge.

“I needed to be certain you were all
right.” He pulled her hand forward and laid it flat over his heart.
“And then I looked into your eyes and it was like I’d found
home.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed.
But she didn’t pull her hand back. His heart was beating like mad
beneath her palm.

“But I needed to tell you. I couldn’t
bed you until I did. Because when I bed you, I’ll be making you a
promise.”

“What promise?” she
whispered.

“A promise that I’ll love you
forever.”

“You killed my husband.” Her heart
filled with gratitude. Gratitude she couldn’t show him. Or could
she? His face grew pale.

“I know you can’t forgive
me…”

Charlotte laughed, her heart feeling
lighter than it had since the sadistic old bastard’s death.
“Forgive you,” she scoffed. “I want to give you a blasted medal.”
She got up on her knees and lifted her skirts so she could climb
over his lap and rain kisses upon his face. “A medal, damn you,”
she whispered as he kissed him. Tears ran from her eyes. Tears of
joy. The remnants of fear. Hope for a new start. “You didn’t kill
him. He killed himself with his hatred. You just happened to be the
unfortunate person in the room when it happened.” She dropped her
voice to a whisper. “I’m so sorry it had to be you and that you’ve
carried this for so long.”

“My intentions with you were
honorable, I swear it.” He grabbed her bottom and pulled her closer
to him.

***

God, she felt good in his arms. Trent
had never felt quite so lighthearted. He didn’t remember feeling
this lighthearted when he was younger. He couldn’t remember a time
he’d felt this overwhelming sense of peace. He tugged her even
closer. He would draw her into himself, if he could.

Or onto himself. His cock strained
against his trousers, as though trying to get closer to her on its
own. God, he wanted her. But he hadn’t felt like he could have her,
not until he revealed the truth to her.

He began to pull the pins from her
hair. “What are you doing?” she gasped.

“Taking your hair down,” he said,
cupping her face between her hands and tilting his mouth across
hers. He licked across the seam of her lips and she melted for him.
God, she always melted. Despite that arrogant ass of a husband. Or
perhaps because of him. Who knew? But he wouldn’t throw it away.
Not a chance. “Then I’m going to take off all your
clothes.”

“Why?” she whispered against his lips.
“You’ve yet to fuck me. I have just about given up
hope.”

“I’m going to court you, my lady. I’m
going to take you for rides in the park. I’m going to come over and
eat those horrid little sandwiches and drink tea with all your
friends in attendance. I’m going to waltz every waltz with you at
the next ball. I’m going to court you and then I’m going to marry
you.”

Charlotte began to tug at his cravat.
“I’m going to accept your courtship. I’m going to ride with you in
the park. I’m going to feed you little sandwiches, perhaps from
atop my naked body.” He groaned from beneath her as she shoved his
coat from his shoulders, unbuttoned his waistcoat, and bared his
chest with her hands. “I’m going to rub my breasts against your
chest as we waltz. And I’m going to make you so hard you can’t
stand.”

“Like now?” he murmured against her
lips. She reached between them after she tugged his shirt over his
head and unlaced his trousers. She pulled his cock out with no
assistance and ran her thumb around the drop of fluid at the tip.
“You will unman me,” he murmured.

“I will ride you,” she said as she
pulled his cock away from his body and lifted her bottom so that he
pushed against her wetness. “I will ride you until you can’t stand
it.”

Trent lowered his hand to where their
bodies were nearly joined and strummed across her clit. She cried
out. “I’m going to take you inside me.”

Her voice hitched as he probed at her
entrance. “Take me inside you,” he urged. “Let me have you, now
that there’s nothing between us.”

“Oh, there’s something between us,”
she said as she slowly lowered herself on his cock. He growled into
the side of her neck.

There was something between them.
There had been since the day he’d met her. “I’ve never done this
before,” she cried as her legs tentatively began to make her rise
and fall on his cock. She took him in shallow plunges, just enough
to wet the head of his cock with her desire.

“I’m happy to take over, if you
prefer.” He slid lower against the squabs, and she adjusted her
body so that her palms lay flat on his chest. She pushed against
them as she found a rhythm to her short strokes.

“Let me do this,” she
breathed.

She could do it all night, if she
wanted. “You have on too many clothes,” he complained, tugging at
her bodice. But she was laced too tightly. He’d have to move her to
get her clothes off. Thank God for split drawers. He pinched her
nipple through the fabric of her dress. Her eyes closed.

“Next time,” she breathed. “Next time,
we’ll do this better.”

Trent doubted it could get any better
than being inside her. But he was willing to try
anything.

She rose and fell on his cock, her
legs growing stronger with each plunge. Trent reached between them
and drew some of her slickened desire forward, and began to rub her
clitoris. Her legs trembled. “I’m going to flip you over,” he
warned.

He spun quickly, dropping her onto her
back in front of him. Her legs rose to circle his waist. He could
take more of her this way. She pulled his head down and breathed
against his lips, “I think you were made for me.”

She was certainly made for him. He
spread her legs wide, anxious to see her in the dim lights of the
carriage. But it was too dark. “When we get home, I’m going to lick
your pussy until you come on my face.”

“Promises, promises,” she
twittered.

“Witch,” he ground out, as he tilted
her hips so she could take more of him. “I’m going to fuck you all
night long.”

His cock swelled inside her and he
knew he was about to come. He needed to pull out. But he didn’t
want to. He didn’t ever want to pull out of her. Never. Ever. He
wanted to stay one with her for the rest of his life. He rubbed her
clitoris in smaller circles, and she began to pant beneath him.
“I’m going to come inside you,” he said.

“Yes,” she cried as her sheath began
to flutter around his cock. He grew harder and longer and she
suddenly grew wetter. The scent of their lovemaking took over the
carriage, and sweat formed on Trent’s lip and slid down the center
of his naked back. She accepted every inch of him, her heels
tapping his buttocks, encouraging him to go deeper. Deeper than
he’d ever been. And deeper within himself at the same time. He gave
her everything he had as he took her lips with his and pumped his
seed deep inside her.

It was like dying a small death,
giving himself to Charlotte this way. He suddenly felt exposed. And
he liked it. He liked it a lot. “I’m going to come inside you every
time I can. Until I get you with child.”

Sadness clouded her face. “I’m
barren.”

“No,” he said gently as he pulled
himself from her depths and wiped her quickly with his
handkerchief, then cleaned himself off. “He was. He never got any
of his mistresses with child. Ever.”

“Are you certain?” she asked, her chin
quivering slightly as she sat up and began to right her
clothing.

“Positive.” He kissed the tip of her
nose quickly and sat back, drawing her up to rest in the crook of
his arm. “If we never have any children, we’ll find some orphans or
urchins or something. Or we can just grow old looking at each
other.” He laughed. It felt good to laugh with her. “It’s you I
want. The rest we can worry about later.”

The carriage drew to a halt and Trent
began to right his clothing. He didn’t bother to tuck his shirt
into his breeches. He carried his jacket and waistcoat in his
hands. He looked thoroughly debauched. And she didn’t look much
better.

They opened the door to find Mary and
Trent in the entryway. Beyond them was the local vicar. “What’s
going on?” Trent asked.

“I am tired of seeing you two tippy
toeing around one another,” Mary said with a laugh. “So, I had
Charles send for a special license for you.” Then she arched a brow
at them. “From the look of the two of you, you’ve put the cart
before the horse.” She snapped her fingers at the vicar and said,
“Do your duty sir.”

“We are gathered here today…” the man
began. Charlotte took a deep breath as Trent squeezed her hand.
Nothing had ever felt so right.

***

Nine months
later

Trent paced back and forth in front of
the window and the duke of Charburton refilled his glass with
brandy. They’d been waiting for hours, and still no progress. “What
if she’s not well?” he asked of Charles.

“She’s fine,” Charles reassured him.
“Mary would have come and told us if she wasn’t.”

“They sent for the doctor?”

“He arrived a half hour ago, Trent.”
Charles squeezed his shoulder.

She’d come to mean everything to him
in the past nine months. Nine months exactly from the day they’d
married. From the day he’d said, “I’m going to come inside you.”
The day he’d hoped to get her with child.

“Do you think it’ll be a boy?” Trent
asked, gnawing on his fingernail.

A cough from the doorway stopped
Trent’s frantic pacing. Trent looked up to find Mary beaming and
motioning him toward the bedroom. “Is she all right?” he asked
frantically. She turned and he had no choice but to
follow.

Trent heard the noise of a newborn
baby as he rounded the corner. Tears pressed against the backs of
his lashes. He looked into the room to find the love of his life
with a babe pressed to her breast. He sat down on the edge of the
bed and looked down at the two of them. “That’s mine, little one,”
he murmured as the baby pecked around Charlotte’s nipple. “At least
I can still have the other one.”

Mary coughed into her fist and said,
“I sincerely doubt it.”

Trent’s head shot up as Mary placed a
wrapped bundle in his arms. “Two?”

“Two,” Charlotte said with a soft
smile. She laid her head back against the bolster and looked
happier than he’d ever seen her. “The next time you tell me you’re
going to come inside me and get me with child, I’ll believe
you.”

He laughed, because if he didn’t, he’d
have to cry.

Want to read more from Laurel
Bennett?

The Headmaster’s Fall
(Regency Erotica Couples’ Fantasy)

Confessions of a Naughty
Headmaster (Regency Erotica Couples’ Fantasy)

A Governess Tempted
(Regency Erotica Couples’ Fantasy)