“I . . . maybe,” she finally managed to say. He couldn’t be. Could he?
Before there was time for any further consideration, Michael’s lips came crashing down on hers, the warm heat of him wrapping itself around her. Her lips parted of their own accord and the moist warmth of his tongue, as it filled her, sent her heart racing in seconds. “I love you, Alex,” he murmured against her neck as he trailed scorching kisses over her. “I love you with a desperation I can’t quite begin to fathom, and I assure you I’ll never stop doing so.”
Clinging to him, her nails dug roughly against his back as he nibbled lightly on her earlobe. How could she ever have thought to deny herself this? “Michael,” she murmured while a tingling heat flowed down her spine. “I want you . . . I need you . . . I . . .” She needed to say what was in her heart. As much as it frightened her, she owed it to him to be honest. “I love you, Michael. I love you so terribly much.”
A small murmur of pleasure erupted in the back of his throat at the sound of those words. “I love you too,” he whispered against her ear. She pulled him closer, reveling in the knowledge that he felt as strongly for her as she did for him. Her heart swelled with instant happiness until she thought it might burst with joy.
Taking her hand, Michael pulled her along with him, stepping between rows of bushes until they reached a large oak tree. He leaned her carefully against the trunk of the tree, his hands placed on either side of her as he bent his head toward her.
Her breath was ragged with passion as she waited expectantly for him to make his move.
“Say it again,” he told her as he ran a finger along the edge of her neckline and felt her flutter.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“And?” He dipped his finger between her br**sts. She drew a tight breath. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her she realized, but she could hardly fault him for that. After all, she was the one who’d backed out of their proposal, not him.
“I know I’ve treated you unfairly, Michael, but I was so scared . . . I still am, but perhaps . . . I was hoping you might help me overcome it. Please, Michael, I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything or anyone else before in my life, and as terrified as that makes me, I can’t turn my back on it. I want you by my side for the rest of my life, Michael.
“Will you marry me? Please?” She could feel her heart hammering against her chest as they stood there, but all she could do was wait.
“Why, Lady Alexandra,” he placed a kiss against her cheek. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Is that a yes?” she asked with a note of desperation in her voice.
“Indeed, it is,” he replied as he lowered his lips to kiss the swell of her br**sts. She responded with a soft sigh as she arched against him, encouraging him to take more. The movement forced her br**sts to rise, producing a hard outline of her perky n**ples as they pressed against her gown. His desire for her was evident in every part of his being—his eyes, his touch . . . his arousal, which seemed to be growing increasingly hard with need.
Pushing her neckline down, he bent his head to her n**ples. Nothing in the world could have stopped the gasp that escaped her lips at the feel of his tongue teasing its way around each bud, or his teeth tugging them gently a moment later. She moaned her response.
Desperate hands pulled and tugged until her skirts were up around her waist and the front of his breeches had come undone, freeing the whole length of him. He ground himself against her, and she reveled in the erotic feel. “More,” she whispered.
Responding to her wishes, he stroked a finger between her thighs. Heaven help her—she might just burst into flames. “You’re so very, very”—he dipped a finger inside her, and she almost buckled—“wet, Alex.”
“For you, Michael,” she breathed. “Only for you.”
Without another moment’s pause, he removed his finger and pushed himself inside her, gripping her buttocks and thrusting against her as if his life depended on it. There was nothing gentle about their coupling this time—they both had too much built up passion for the patience and restraint that such a mating would require.
Instead, they felt the wave of pleasure crash over them with a mightier force than ever before. For moments on end, they soared together among the stars, completely sated and joined, in the sparkling sensations their love had wrought.
They stood for a long moment afterward, just wrapped in a tight embrace, enjoying the closeness. “I’d better help you adjust your gown,” Michael grinned after a while as he eased himself away from her.
“Do you think I might be pregnant yet?” Alexandra suddenly asked as she pushed her br**sts back inside her dress and tugged her bodice back in place.
“I suppose you might be,” he answered hesitantly. “Would that worry you?”
“No, not at all. I long to have your children. I was merely wondering what a child of ours might look like, that’s all.”
“I suppose that he, or she, shall be very handsome indeed.”
She smiled at that. “That will be very true as long as the boys take after their father and the girls after their mother.”
“If the girls take after their mother,” Michael mused. “Then I fear the lads of tomorrow will have their work cut out for them.”
“And is that such a bad thing?” Alexandra asked as she smoothed away the wrinkles in her skirts.
“Not at all, my dear,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “They’ll soon discover that it’s well worth it.”
They looked at each other for a long moment, both incredulous that it was possible to feel as much happiness as they suddenly felt just then. It was overwhelming. “Shall we go back to the house and announce our engagement?” he asked as he took her hand in his and placed an endearing kiss upon her knuckles. “Or would you rather keep it as our own little secret for the present?”
“I’m not much prone to the idea of torturing people, you know,” Alexandra told him seriously. “And I do believe your mother and my father might soon expire from the anticipation of it all.”
“Then we ought not keep them in suspense,” Michael remarked. He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”
“Indeed we shall,” she replied.
They were just climbing the steps to the terrace when they heard a couple of familiar voices talking to each other. It was Ryan and William who were practically hanging over the railing to get a better look at Alexandra and Michael as they made their approach. “Good heavens, where have you two been off to?” Ryan asked.
“You’d better not let Papa catch you looking like that, Alex,” William laughed. “Do you know you have leaves sticking out of your hair? And your gown . . . well, all I can say is that you two had better be getting married since you’ve clearly been up to no good. Oh look, here comes Papa right now.”
Alexandra froze as she stepped onto the terrace. Not only was her father making his approach but he was also bringing the Duke and Duchess of Willowbrook as well as Aunt V and Uncle Henry along with him. She grasped hold of Michael’s arm as if he was a lifeboat about to rescue her from drowning. “Do I really look as bad as William says I do?” she asked Michael quietly.
“Not at all,” he said, plucking a bit of grass from her dress. God only knew how that had gotten there.
“Ah, my dear, there you are,” Bryce remarked as he walked up to her, his brow furrowing disapprovingly as he took in her overall appearance. “I dare not even begin to guess why you suddenly look so . . . tousled.” His gaze went to Michael. “I hope this isn’t your doing, Ashford.”
“If I were you, Papa, I would certainly hope it is his doing,” Ryan said. “For if it’s not, I’m quite confident you’d like that even less.”
“When the devil did you become so mouthy, Ryan?” Bryce growled while Virginia appeared to try desperately and quite unsuccessfully to hide a smile. Alexandra hoped she’d just tripped on the stairs, hit her head and was presently having what could only be considered a nightmare—from which she would soon awaken to find herself still engaged to Michael, but without the judgmental stares of her entire family hanging over her.
“Well? What have you to say for yourself, Alex? Really, you’ve gone too far this time. Every single person of the slightest importance is here tonight and yet you insist on causing a stir, not only with what you’re wearing, but—”
“Sir—”
Michael started to say.
“And I’m sure it was a shock for you when Alexandra said no to your proposal, though I have since learned of her reasons for doing so. But really, to . . . to run off between the bushes when someone might happen upon you at any given moment . . . scandal would be too mild a word to describe such a catastrophe and—”
“I’m sorry, but I really must interrupt,” Michael quickly cut in. “I don’t intend to be rude, Lord Moorland, but before you go any further, I was hoping you might all be able to congratulate us. We’re finally engaged and wish to be married as soon as it can be arranged.”
A deafening silence followed.
“Well why the devil didn’t you say so sooner?” Bryce suddenly exclaimed.
“I don’t believe he was able to get a single word in edgewise, Papa,” Alexandra muttered.
“Oh come here, sweetheart,” Bryce said as he stepped toward his daughter with open arms, his eyes misting over with tears. He hugged her tightly against him. “I wish you a lifetime of happiness together, Alex. I know you’ve made the right choice for yourself, and I truly couldn’t be happier for you.”
“Thank you, Papa,” Alexandra sniffed as she wiped at her own eyes.
“Take good care of her, Michael,” Bryce added as he shook Michael’s hand. “We’ll be keeping an eye on you.”
Michael grinned. “I have no doubt that you will, my lord.”
A string of good wishes followed from the duke and duchess, Alexandra’s aunt and uncle, and finally from Ryan and William. When they eventually decided to go back inside after making Alexandra a bit more presentable, Michael put his arm about her, holding her close. “Now, we just have to find my sisters,” he grinned as his hand slipped down to grip her hand.
“All five of them I suppose?”
“Yes, my dear, you’d better arm yourself with patience because I do fear we’ll be here all night.”
“Michael?” Isabella suddenly asked, holding him and Alex back for a moment.
“You said you wish to marry quickly . . . is there . . . ?” her meaning was unmistakable of course, and Alexandra felt herself blush for the hundredth time that evening.
“We don’t know, Mama, but we thought it best to play it safe,” he replied.
“Yes . . . I see your point,” she murmured though she did not sound the least bit surprised. “Well then, we’d best get started right away.”
With a helpless look of desperation at Michael, Alexandra found herself hauled away by his mother to discuss the very last thing she wished to talk about at that very moment—her wedding dress, the cake, the invitations, the guest list, and just about a thousand other things that seemed to play a vital role in a society wedding. Alexandra could do nothing but take it in stride. She would gladly sit through endless days of fashion plates and fittings if she could only marry the one man who had managed to capture her heart.