A Secret Proposal (10 page)

Amelia ran up the stairs to the boxing saloon. She didn’t even stop to explain herself to the enormous doorkeeper. “Where is Mr. Hammond?” she asked breathlessly, running past.

“He’s in his office at the end o’ the corridor,” the giant man said, pointing. Apparently, a lady dressed in full finery entering the saloon had so surprised him that he hadn’t even thought to stop her or ask what she was about.

She didn’t stop either. When she got to the office door, she pushed it open with the full force of her body and let it crack against the opposite wall.

Thad was sitting behind the desk. His head snapped up, his bright blue eyes going wide. “Amy?” he breathed.

Letting her own breathing settle back to rights, she clutched the door handle and swung the door shut behind her. Then she approached the desk, placed both palms facedown on it, and leaned toward Thad.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, watching her carefully.

“Two things. First, I need to tell you something.”

He nodded, the barest hint of assent.

“You did nothing wrong. Paul never would have blamed you for what happened that day. He would have blamed himself, for agreeing to the fight in the first place, for dragging you out to that field with him. You must believe that.”

Thad’s chin dipped to his chest and he expelled a long breath. “But I—”

“Your guilt won’t bring him back and I know he wouldn’t have wanted you to live the rest of your life paying for the rash actions of two foolish young men.”

Thad lifted his chin and met her gaze. Something that looked a bit like relief flashed across his face. “Thank you. For that.”

Amelia nodded. “Thank you for believing me. Now, I have to ask you something.”

“Anything,” he answered.

“This,” she said, gesturing to the room at large. “This saloon. All of it. It was for Paul, wasn’t it? You learned to fight, you became the best, for Paul?”

Thad raised his eyes skyward. He seemed to be searching for the right words. “For Paul…and for me,” he finally said. “I promised myself on the day Paul died that I’d never be the weaker man again.”

She leaned forward and covered Thad’s hand with one of hers. “You never were.”

He pressed his lips together, then shook his head. His voice was low. “What’s the second thing?”

A huge smile spread across her face. “Ah, yes, the second thing. I’m here for my proposal.”

“What?”

“My proposal. I want it. One more time. This time it might be nice if you got down on one knee however, but that is merely a suggestion.”

Thad stood quickly and moved around the desk. “What are you talking about, Amy? I thought you—”

“I just needed time to think…about everything. And I have. Paul loved you. He died saving your life. I love you. I can’t live without you. And I’ve already told Mama that I intend to marry you so that’s all settled.”

His eyebrows shot up. “She agreed?”

“
Agreed
is a bit too strong of a word, but she realizes my mind is made up. I threatened her with the scandal of running off to Gretna Green if she didn’t allow it.”

Thad cracked a grin. “You didn’t?”

Amelia laughed happily and nodded. “I did!”

“Why, Miss Templeton, defying your mother? I can scarcely believe it.”

“Well…” Amelia tapped her foot on the carpet, her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m waiting for my proposal.”

“Right. With all due haste.” Thad fell to one knee next to her and grasped her hand. He looked up into her face. “Miss Templeton, I love you desperately. Please do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

Tears hung in Amelia’s eyes, but she gave him a bright smile. “Yes, Mr. Hammond. I
should like very much to marry you.”

Thad pulled her down into his arms. “Excellent. Now that that’s settled…” He whispered in her ear. “Come to bed with me.”

A shiver of anticipation raced along Amelia’s nerves. “Yes,” was her answer.

He stood and helped her up too. Taking her hand, he led her straight out of his office and through the back door into the alley where her coach was waiting.

“My house is only a few blocks from here,” he assured her as the conveyance took off over the bumpy cobbles.

By the time they arrived at his town house in St. James, Amelia’s insides were quaking, not with fear, but with anticipation.

He opened the front door and stood aside, allowing her to precede him into the residence.

Thad’s home was just like him, strong and unpretentious. It was a bit more elegant than she’d expected. Perhaps owning a gambling saloon was more lucrative than she’d guessed. No matter. They could live as paupers and she wouldn’t care. Just as long as they were together.

If there were servants in the house, Amelia didn’t see them. Thad whisked her quickly up stairs and into his elegant bedchamber before she ever had a chance to worry about the inappropriateness of being at a bachelor’s residence in broad daylight. Inappropriateness, apparently, was the theme of the day given what they were about to do.

If Thad’s town house was manly, his bedroom was even more so. Thick dark rugs and oversized leather chairs sat at odds near a fireplace on the left side of the room. And an
enormous bed occupied a great deal of the space on the right.

Amelia slowly made her way to the bed. “So,” she said in a low voice, tracing her finger along the dark blue sheets. “Our wedding night is not to be a night at all, but an afternoon.”

His gaze was steady, level. Were his insides not rioting the way hers were?

“Would you rather wait until the moon rises, my love?” he asked.

Amelia shook her head emphatically. “I’ve waited long enough to learn these secrets.” She gave him just the barest hint of a smile.

“Good,” he answered huskily, crossing over to her and running his palms along the bare skin of her forearms. “Because I don’t think I could wait a moment longer if you asked me to.”

A thrill shot down her spine.

She’d already removed her bonnet and coat downstairs and now she turned to him and offered him her back. “Help me with my buttons?”

“With pleasure.” He slowly unbuttoned the back of her gown and the feel of his warm fingers against her back was enough to make Amelia shudder.

Thad helped her to pull the gown over her head. Then he walked over to the fireplace and lit a brace of candles. Next, he crossed over to windows where the thick damask curtains hung. He pulled them closed across the broad expanse of glass, enveloping the room in shadowy darkness. “We can at least pretend it’s night,” he said, turning to her with a smile that made Amelia’s knees nearly buckle.

“And that there’s already been a wedding.” She winked at him.

Thad crossed back over the carpet. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he shucked his boots, then his coat, waistcoat, and shirtsleeves.

Amelia stood watching him in her chemise, stays, and stockings. Oh, but he was magnificent. She reveled in the sight of his bare chest. Yes. It was just as glorious as she’d remembered it. She waited for him to finish undressing—though he kept his breeches on, drat the luck—before she turned and gestured for help with her stays.

Thad undid the lacings one by one and each tug was a slow, agonizing wait. Soon Amelia was free of the confining garment, however. She bent to pull off the stockings, but Thad’s hand on her knee stopped her. A warm heat shot straight down her thigh.

“Let me,” he breathed.

“With pleasure.”

He picked her up at the waist as if she weighed nothing and gently set her on the bed, then he followed her onto the mattress. She leaned back against the pillows and easily plucked the pins from her coiffure. Her curls flooded down over her shoulders and she shook out the golden mass. She discarded the pins on the bedside table.

“You’re beautiful.” He gently touched her cheek.

He kissed her, so tenderly. And she kissed him back, ran her fingers along his slightly stubbled jaw, pressed the corner of her mouth to the scar next to his eye. Now she knew what he’d been through to get that scar. She shuddered. She loved this man with her whole being.

She closed her eyes, squeezing his hand that lay against her face.

“Keep your eyes closed,” he whispered, and Amelia complied. She lay there, trembling with anticipation as his warm hands skimmed along her calves, stopped at her knees, and continued up to her thighs. His palm rubbed against the high inside of her leg, so near her most private place that she shuddered. Then, he slowly began to roll down her stocking. He eased it over her knee and calf, and then pulled it off her toes.

“Can I open my eyes now?” she asked shakily.

“No.”

She shivered again.

His strong, sure hands moved to her other leg, caressing upward until they met with the top of her second stocking. He hooked one finger under the fabric and gently rubbed back and forth against her inner thigh.

Amelia sucked in her breath. He was so close, so close to touching her where she most desperately wanted him to.

“Now?” she asked.

“Not yet.”

She blew out a breath, tried to relax. This was turning out to be so much fun.

Thad slowly rolled the second stocking down her thigh, his palms skimming along her bare skin. Amelia bit her lip and wriggled her hips.

The sound of buttons coming undone nearly made Amelia look. He was taking off his breeches, she could feel it. Anticipation hummed along her nerves.

Next, his strong hands were at her hips, shimmying up her chemise past her thighs. She was bare to him, exposed. He was looking at her naked body and it felt…delicious. He pulled the garment up over her head and it swished to the floor.

“Now?” she pleaded.

“Not quite yet.”

Amelia was intensely aware of the fact that they were both naked, but she couldn’t look at him. Not yet. She reached for him, wanting to touch him. He grabbed her wrists and imprisoned them next to her hips. The bed shifted under his weight as he moved down…down…down.

By the time Amelia realized what he was doing, her entire body was quaking. Her teeth tugged frantically at her bottom lip. She tried to regain control of her hands to cup his head, but Thad refused to let go. Holding her wrists firmly against the sheets, he nudged her knees apart with his head and then pulled her down to lay flat on the bed. She slid easily along the satin sheets, her breath catching in her throat.

She couldn’t see him, could only feel, and when his lips settled between her legs, she gasped.

“Thad—” She struggled to sit up.

“Shh.” His hot breath feathered against her thigh. “Let me do this, Amy. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

She pressed her shoulders back onto the mattress. Well, when he put it like that…

Her breathing hitched again, however, when his tongue found her. Its hot sweetness was
nearly her undoing. She chafed against the hold he kept on her wrists, wanting desperately to run her fingers through his hair, to feel him, to hold him.

His tongue lapped at her, rough, hot, wet, perfect. There were no words. He brushed heavily against her once, twice. She moaned deep in her throat. “Thad,” she said again, but this time it was a plea for him not to stop.

His hot, rough tongue made her hips writhe, her knees clamped against his head. She gasped, her head thrown back against the mattress. It was all the more sensual because he wouldn’t release her wrists. Wouldn’t allow her to touch him. But why?

He kissed her there, repeatedly, licked her, teased her with his marvelous mouth until Amelia thought she would burst into a thousand tiny flames.

He finally released her wrists, and her hands shot into his hair, holding him steady against her.

“Can I look now?” she begged.

“Yes,” came his reply. She opened her eyes, adjusting them to the dimly lit room. She looked down to see Thad’s head between her legs. He glanced up at her. The look on his face overwhelmed her. There was such love and tender reverence reflected there.

He moved up then and she was afforded a glimpse at his finely sculpted body. He was bigger and more muscled than she’d even imagined. His thighs were strong and wide, his hips narrow and taut. The muscled flat plane of his abdomen made her want to touch him. He was magnificent and that was before she saw his throbbing member jutting impressively from
between his legs. Oh, but he was well endowed in
every
way. Just like she’d known he would be when she’d imagined this moment a hundred times.

“Thad, you’re beautiful.”

He smiled at that. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I mean it. Your body… You look like a sculpture.”

“Being a prizefighter pays in more ways than one.” He kissed her then, kissed her and reminded her of where his mouth had been just moments earlier.

She shivered again and he pulled back the sheets, then gently tugged them over them both. His hand moved to the juncture between her thighs and she gasped. One strong, sure finger entered her. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her aching nipples against his chest. “Oh, yes,” she murmured against his neck. “Touch me.”

His finger moved, slowly at first, and then his thumb rubbed against the most sensitive spot between her legs, the same spot his mouth had been. Amelia’s knees trembled. Her body shook. His thumb moved in perfect unerring circles over and over. A fine mist of sweat broke out across her skin.

Just when she thought she could stand no more, Thad turned his hand slightly and hooked his finger, touching a spot so perfect, so sensitive, that her hips nearly shot off the bed. “Oh, God, yes.” She groaned against his chest, her entire being shuddering into a series of spasms that left her gasping for breath.

It took several minutes for Amelia’s breathing to return to normal and in that time she clung
to Thad’s rock-hard chest. He’d just made her feel the most intense feeling of her life. And she knew, right then, that was the
real
secret of a wedding night. She couldn’t help her slight smile. And what a selfish secret to keep.

She slowly opened her eyes and stared at Thad with wonder. The feelings this man was capable of making her feel…they might have frightened her once. But she was anything but frightened now.