To Have and to Hold (20 page)

Her scream of
release was abruptly dampened by the moistness of his mouth as his lips slammed
upon hers.
 
His groan lost in their
questing lips as her feminine sheath clamped rhythmically around him until he
couldn’t stand the torment any longer and lost himself within her with a moan
of satisfaction.
 

Isobel had never
felt anything like it.
 
Stars blossomed
within as she gave herself over to the wonderful sensations buffeting her
senses.
 
Everything within her was
focused entirely upon the man buried deep inside her.
 
Vaguely she felt the fluid warmth of his
release deep within and wondered briefly what it meant for them.
 
She didn’t know much about the human body but
knew that such matters could most certainly get her with child.
 
Slowly as the haze of passion subsided, she
became increasingly aware of his weight upon her as the rhythmic twitching
inside her gradually eased until he slipped from her body with a deep
sigh.
 

Vaguely, she was
aware he had pulled her into his arms and settled her against his chest with a
sigh and wondered at the sheer luxury of having the man she loved claim her as
his own.
  

Some considerable
time later he reluctantly eased his arms from around her and with a sigh gently
shook her awake.

“I need to get
you home”.
 
He murmured, kissing her
parted lips softly.
 
Dawn was starting to
lighten the sky warning the stable lads would soon be joining them, and the
staff at Willowbrook would be up and about to start the day. She needed to be
inside the safety of her own room, tucked into bed before anyone was wise to
her nocturnal activities.
 

He fought a
groan as she smiled sleepily at him before stretching languorously beneath the
meagre cover of his cloak.
 
God she was
beautiful!
 
He briefly considered he
would be a very lucky man indeed when they were married, and he got to wake up
beside her daily!
 
Until then, it was
imperative he preserved her reputation.
 
Despite the delectations on view to his hungry gaze, he took enough
risks with her tonight without ruining her reputation to boot!
 
Placing a tender kiss upon her lips he
carefully pushed away and turned his attention to their scattered
clothing.
 

An hour later
they wandered together through the early-morning mist towards the kitchen doors
of Willowbrook Hall.
 
Isobel was adamant
nobody would have locked the door she had used to make her escape last night.
 
It was that same door they stood at briefly
and let the silence settle around them.

“I will call by
later before I leave, if I may.”
 
Dominic
murmured quietly eyeing the dark shadows under her eyes with concern.
 
“You must go in and try to rest for a while,
you look tired.”
 

Isobel smiled
shyly and tried not to blush as memories of the past few hours flooded her
mind.
 
“I shall get some rest and would
be delighted if you had the time to call before you left.”
 
She murmured unwilling to break the closeness
that had settled between them, and partly because she didn’t want anyone come
to investigate the sound of their voices.

“This will most
probably be the last time we shall have the opportunity to be together.”
 
Dominic murmured as he slid his arms around
her and tugged her closer until she was flush against him.
 
Placing a tender kiss upon her lips, he
gently eased a loose tendril of hair away from her face before slowly trailed a
blunt fingertip down her soft cheek.
 
“I
am sorry for taking such liberties with you last night.
 
You deserved better.”
 

Isobel shook her
head slowly.
 
“I came to you
remember?”
 
Leaning into his embrace, she
placed a tender kiss upon his stubbled jaw, mindful of the liberties she was
taking.
 
“I have no regrets over anything
we did last night.”
 
Indeed, she would do
it all over again given the opportunity.

“I would have
preferred a nice soft bed instead.”
 
Dominic murmured ruefully gently tugging a piece of straw out of her
hair before showing it to her with a teasing smile.
 

Isobel blushed
and lowered her gaze only to find his fingertip tilting her chin upwards until
her gaze met his once more.
 
“I promise
you I shall be back as soon as I possibly can.”
 

“Promise me that
you will remain safe.”
 
Isobel demanded
with a sudden rush of emotion so strong it brought tears to her eyes.

“I shall be
fine.
 
I have Peter at my back so do not
fear and when I do return we need to talk about the future, my dear.
 
Already I have taken liberties with you that
I shouldn’t have, especially knowing I depart today.”
 
His voice was sterner than he would have
liked, but Dominic couldn’t stop now.
 
“Although there is no time to make anything official, I do expect you to
remain mindful of what happened between us last night.
 
I do not expect you to remain at home each
night.
 
However I will not countenance
you encouraging the suit of another.”
  
His gaze was possessive as his eyes met hers.

“I promise you
Dominic,” Isobel replied softly, “I shall wait for you for as long as need
be.”
  

Dominic
considered the fire crackling heartily before them for a moment.
 
He knowing instinctively this was one of the
main reasons for her reluctance to marry him.
 
He knew his answer would have a significant impact upon his future
happiness.

“I regret that
our first time together was in the barn.
 
It should have been in a nice soft bed, somewhere warm.”
 
Dominic murmured honestly.
 
“Where I didn’t have to walk you through the
cold morning air and leave you on the doorstep before dawn.”

“Why were you so
angry with me later that morning when you came to say good-bye?”
 
The question was out before Isobel could hold
it back.

“I wasn’t
angry.”
 
He paused consideringly, and
frowned.
 
“I was worried.”

“Worried?”
 
Her voice rose incredulously.

“Worried.”
 
Dominic replied decisively.
 
Deciding not to spare her blushes, it was
imperative she understood the reasoning behind his actions.
 
“Only hours before I had taken your
virginity.”
 
He watched the faint blush
stain her cheeks.
 
“I hated leaving you
so soon afterwards.
 
It was a time for
lovers to be together.
 
I should never
have touched you knowing I was leaving that morning.” He moved to stand before
her.
 
“Tell me darling, can you remember
much about that night?”
 

“Of course I
can,” Isobel was incredulous he could even ask.
 
“I gave myself willingly to you. It was incredible.
 
How could I not remember every second?”
 

“Because when we
made love, I spent myself inside you.”
 
Dominic murmured harshly, raising his hands to cup her face.
 
Although his masculine instinct warned him he
should not discuss such things with a lady, even the lady whom had lay beneath
him, he wanted to shock Isobel and make her realise the significance of their
actions.
 
“I didn’t want to leave you at
all, much less carrying my baby.
 
The
censure of what we did out of wedlock would be enough if we had been discovered
by anyone other than the Head Groom.
 
Whether you move within Ton circles or not, your life would have been
considerably uncomfortable had you discovered yourself pregnant while we were
apart.”
 
Gently, he kissed her face.
 
“When you are carrying my baby, I want to be
here for every second of it.”
 

Isobel felt
tears pool in her eyes at his explanation.
 
She was stunned at his next comment.

“If you remember
the last time we made love.”
 
He paused
and waited for her eyes to meet his.
 
“I
spent myself inside you again.”
 
Isobel
stared at him steadily.

“You could most
definitely be carrying my baby.
 
Not that
this time I have any intention of going anywhere.”
 
Dominic placed a gentle kiss upon her
startled lips.
 
“You need to understand
that neither are you.”
 
He willed her to
accept his need to protect her.

“A
baby?”
 
Isobel
queried in wonder.
 

“Most
definitely.”
 
Dominic
murmured with a smile.
 
“There is no way
you are going anywhere, baby or not.
 
It
would make both of our lives considerably easier if you were my wife, and we
could set about making those three babies of ours.”

“Three?”
 
Isobel whispered, considering the
possibilities he was opening up to her.

“Maybe
two?”
 
Dominic
queried huskily.

“Four!”
 
Isobel placed a gentle kiss upon his.
 

Dominic drew
back to consider her carefully, his manhood already growing.
 
“Four?”
 
At that moment, he would give her anything she desired.

“Most
definitely four.”
 
Isobel
murmured trying and failing to tug his head down to hers.
 

“First you have
to marry me though.”
 
Dominic murmured
carefully withholding the kisses she sought.

“That’s
blackmail!”
 
Isobel murmured, eyeing the
gentle curve to his smug smile.

Scenting
victory, Dominic began to look supremely satisfied.
 
“Not blackmail my darling, just fact.”
    

Isobel rested
her head against his broad shoulder.
 
He
still had not declared his feelings for her, if indeed he had any but she
couldn’t find any argument with his reasoning.
 
She was just as culpable as he.
 
 
Neither did she want any child of hers borne
out of wedlock.
 
Whether he loved her or
not, she loved him enough to be relatively certain she could achieve some level
of happiness.
 
But something inside her
kept her silent.
 
Would it really be
enough to know that he cared for her, but it wasn’t love?
 
She knew instinctively that it wouldn’t be
and she couldn’t bear living with anything less than all of him, but was she
strong enough to hold out against his seductive persuasion?

“Marry me
Isobel.”
 
Dominic murmured placing tender
kisses along her jaw.

Isobel knew
there were a lot of issues that needed to be ironed out but knew that her fate
was sealed.
 
“If you are absolutely
certain this is the right course of action, then yes I shall be your wife.”
 
Isobel murmured with a sigh.

“Thank God,”
Dominic’s heartfelt murmur was accompanied with a surge of elation.
 
A huge weight suddenly lifted off his
shoulders as he deepened the kiss and slowly lowered her to the soft rug before
the hearth.