Realm 06 - A Touch of Love (64 page)

His blood sizzled with desire, but he meant to prepare her for his entrance. Drawing her breast into his mouth, Carter suckled her while his thumb found her bud, massaging it gently–tantalizing her. He stroked her folds, separating them, before entering her with first one finger and then two. She clenched her internal muscles, as her hips rose to meet each of his thrusts. Along with his, Carter could feel her need rising, and then she was writhing, pushing against his palm, her inner muscles tightening around his fingers. Carter milked her response until she cried out his name.

When she stilled, Carter crawled up her body to kiss her tenderly. “I hope you enjoyed your first taste of pleasure,” he whispered. “When it comes again, I mean to be inside you.”

A flame flickered in the honey umber of her eyes. “Love me, Carter.”

He raised himself above her. “Always,” he promised. His erection twitched with lust. He strained not to explode as he angled his hips closer. Carter positioned her legs where he could enter her with the least discomfort for her. He placed his swollen head against Lucinda’s damp opening. It took all his well-honed patience not to thrust deeply into her. Their eyes met and held.

Inch by inch, he entered her. Sweat covered his brow as Carter exercised control he did not think possible. He pulled out and entered her again, setting up a leisurely pace, allowing her to feel the width and breadth of his manhood. Lucinda responded. Her moisture covered his length, driving him to complete distraction. He squeezed his eyes shut, silently begging for control.

He felt the thin membrane, which protected her innocence. With a hard, but fluid, thrust, Carter broke through. Lucinda was truly his. No other man would ever know her in this manner. It was exhilarating to consider. Carter lowered his head to kiss her neck, but he never paused his manipulations. “You have bewitched me, Lucinda Lowery,” he whispered against her skin. “I was nothing until there was you.”

A groan announced her desire. “I have loved you since Waterloo,” she professed breathlessly. In her euphoria, his wife had uttered the first admittance of their being on the battleground together. She would learn to trust him, and Carter gloried in the knowledge.

Carter lifted her hips to him, holding her where he could sink completely into his wife. “God, Lindy!” he growled.

His pace increased, pounding into her, demanding Lucinda’s complete surrender. A muffled cry of his name told him she desired him as much as he did her. A stilling of her hips announced another climax, her muscles tightening around him. Each thrust brought him closer; throwing his head back, Carter abandoned his self control to the ecstasy of knowing her. A shuddered brought his seed erupting inside her–inside Lucinda. His wife. Finally, Carter released her legs so she might lie flat, before he collapsed upon her. His sweat mixing with hers.

He did not know how long they lay as such, but Carter became aware of how his large form had swallowed her petite one. With effort, he rolled to his side and cradled her to him. “That was…” she said on a husky whisper.

Carter chuckled, “Exactly.”

Her fingertips traced his lips. “I spent three and twenty years waiting for heaven,” she murmured against his skin.

“And I five and twenty.” He kissed her hair and inhaled deeply of her very feminine scent.

Lucinda raised her head. A look of self-chastisement graced her lips. “I do not even know your birthday,” she confessed. “When did you celebrate another year?”

Carter kissed the tip of her nose. “The night of the prince’s party. If not for you, it might have been my last birthday. When you admitted your love, I found myself thinking it was a glorious day, after all. I lay bleeding and exhausted, but I had found a home, one no one could deny me.”

“I know nothing of being a good wife or of how to be a competent mother, but I promise always to put you first.”

“We will deal well together. If we are honest, even when we disagree, our love will grow richer.”

She snuggled closer. “Must we disagree?”

Carter lifted her chin to brush his lips across hers. “I fear we are both accustomed to speaking our minds. Ours will be a magnificent battle of wills, but I would have it no other way.”

She crawled up his body. “Is it time for our second battle?” she asked as she ran her tongue across his nipple. Carter hissed in his breath. “I believe it is my turn to win.”

Carter sighed heavily. “Do your worst, Lady Lowery. I am your prisoner of love.”

Finis

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first that which comes; so with present time.

- Leonardo da Vinci

Jane Austen-Inspired Novels from Ulysses Press:

Darcy’s Passions: Pride and Prejudice Retold Through His Eyes

Darcy’s Temptation: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel

Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion: Jane Austen’s Classic Retold Through His Eyes

Vampire Darcy’s Desire: A Pride and Prejudice Paranormal Adventure

The Phantom of Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

Christmas at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel

The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery

“The Pemberley Ball”
(a short story in
The Road to Pemberley
anthology)
Regency Romance from Ulysses Press:

The Scandal of Lady Eleanor – Book 1 of the Realm Series

Regency and Contemporary Romance from White Soup Press:

A Touch of Velvet – Book 2 of the Realm Series

A Touch of Cashémere – Book 3 of the Realm Series

A Touch of Grace – Book 4 of the Realm Series

A Touch of Mercy – Book 5 of the Realm Series

A Touch of Love – Book 6 of the Realm Series

His: Two Regency Novellas
(includes “His American Heartsong,” a Realm series novella and “His Irish Eve,” a sequel to
The Phantom of Pemberley
)
The First Wives’ Club – Book 1 of the First Wives’ Trilogy

Second Chances: The Courtship Wars

Honor and Hope: A Contemporary Romantica Based on Pride and Prejudice

Lord Sidmouth

Henry Addington, 1
^st
Viscount Sidmouth, was a British statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804. Elected to the House of Commons as an MP for Devizes, Addington became Speaker of the House in 1789. In March 1801, William Pitt the Younger resigned as Prime Minister, and Addington assumed the position. However, in May 1804, an alliance of Pitt, Charles James Fox, and William Wyndham Grenville, 1
^st
Baron Grenville, took advantage of Addington’s inability to manage a Parliamentary majority and drove Addington from office.

Yet, Addington remained a political force serving as Lord President of the Council from 1804 to 1806 and in the Ministry of All the Talents as Lord Privy Seal and again as Lord President in 1807. In 1805, he was created Viscount Sidmouth.

In June 1812, Addington became Home Secretary. During his reign, Sidmouth countered revolutionary opposition and was responsible for the suspension of
habeas corpus
in 1817 (the setting for
A Touch of Love
), as well as the passage of the Six Acts in 1819. His term saw the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 (the setting for “His Irish Eve” from
His: Two Regency Novellas
). He left office in 1822.

Pentrich Rising

The Pentrich rising was an armed uprising in 1817, which started among the workers in the village of Pentrich, Derbyshire. It began on 9 June 1817. A gathering of 200-300 men (stockingers, quarrymen, and iron workers) led by Jeremiah Brandreth set out from South Wingfield to march to Nottingham. They were lightly armed with pikes, scythes, and a few guns, which they had
hidden in a local quarry prior to the march. They carried with them a set of mixed complaints against the government.

When they reached Giltbrook, twenty soldiers of the 15th Regiment of Light Dragoons met their force. The revolutionaries scattered: Forty were taken into custody, but the leaders were not captured for several months. Eventually, three men–Jeremiah Brandreth, Isaac Ludlam, and William Turner–were hanged and beheaded at Derby Gaol for their participation in the uprising.

Jews in England During the Reign of George III

Like the Deputies appointed to protect the civil rights of Protestant Dissenters, the Spanish and Portuguese Jewry, who had taken refuge in England, periodically nominated
deputados
to keep the Jewish community aware of the political developments, which could affect Jewish interests. Therefore, when George III ascended to the throne, a standing committee was formed to express loyalty to the new king, while keeping a close eye on political changes.

However, the Ashkenazi sect–those of Judaeo-German extraction– lodged a formal protest, expressing their fear of neglect. They nominated the German Secret Committee for Public Affairs to serve their particular interests. Eventually, the King’s government insisted the
Deputados
regularly communicate with the Committee of the Dutch Jews’ Synagogues. This joint venture formed the basis for the London Committee of Deputies of British Jews.

The Jews in England had increased twelve fold over the seventy years following the Glorious Revolution and numbered between 6000-8000, most of whom lived in London. The more anglicized (but only 25% of the total population) nation were those from Spain and Portugal (Sephardic). The Ashkenazim were less assimilated (with several notable exceptions) and belonged to the lower classes. Many Jews chose to forsake their religion and take advantage of the opportunities available to those who submitted to conversion.

The process of assimilation brought English into the public school curriculum of Sephardic Jews. Sermons appeared in English translations. Even the publication of the Jewish prayer book into English occurred in 1770. Yet, the foreign character of the community was maintained by the constant influx of new arrivals.

London attracted more of the displaced Continental Jews than did other English cities, most settling in the East End or the West beyond Temple Bar.
The well to do found employment or developed institutions dealing in commerce, jewelry, brokerage or stocks. Those of the middle class became silversmiths, watchmakers, and shopkeepers. Lower still were tailors, hatters, glass engravers, pencil makers,
etc.
Lowest of all were those without job skills or money. These took on the roles of peddlers or traders of old clothes, often referred to as the “Rag Men.”

Eventually, this population of peddlers spread out across England, bringing “treasures” (buckles, buttons, lace, tobacco, cutlery, toys, etc.) to the isolated rural population. Jews of the organized provincial centers aligned with one of the London conventiclers, generally the Great Synagogue.

At the height of the expansion, the Ashkenazim community was hampered by the steady flow of poor Jews, who were often of a criminal element. A series of crimes, culminating in a brutal murder in Chelsea, caused the community to disassociate itself from the malefactors.