Claiming His Bride Read online

  William turned speechless eyes toward Bastian, but soon focused his gaze behind him. Bastian turned to see Victoria approaching them.

  “Hello, Jack, are you working for the Winterbourne’s today?”

  Bastian crossed his arms as his gaze bounced back and forth between the two of them. “Jack?”

  William turned crimson again, but he did bow to Victoria. “My name is William, Lady Aslet. His Lordship, your father, got my name wrong the first time I made a delivery to your house, and I never dared correct him.”

  “William?” she said, her eyes going wide.

  “Yes.”

  “You do know William, my dear. You simply didn’t know you knew him.”

  Victoria blinked several times, but seemed to recover right away. “You sent the flowers and ribbons because you thought Isabella was Lady Aslet?”

  “Yes, because I didn’t know about the switch. Or the child.” He grabbed Victoria’s hands. “I have to go to her. I have a home now, my own business as well. I can take care of her. It will be harder with a baby, but not impossible. I live near my aunt and uncle, and I know they’ll help.”

  Bastian started to object to this man touching his wife, but she fixed William with such a compassionate look he didn’t dare interfere.

  “I’ll help you, though you know you’ll have to speak to my father.”

  William paled again.

  “I’ll talk to him first, and trust me, he’ll be glad to have her married, whether he says so or not. He was angered by her actions, but I could tell it saddened him to see her gazing out the window so often in those days before she left.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Come to our house on Tuesday afternoon. You obviously know where we live.”

  “Yes, Lady Aslet.” He shifted his feet, coloring again and gazing timidly between the two of them. “I’m sorry if I caused any problems.”

  Bastian started to speak, but Victoria beat him to it. “It was nothing. Mystifying, but no harm done.” She peered toward the house. “Now you should probably go. We don’t want people asking too many questions.”

  He kissed her hand and bowed to Bastian before scurrying away toward the front gate.

  “Nothing, was it?” He drew Victoria close. “I missed out on two nights making love to my wife.”

  “You wasted little time this morning.”

  “And I’ll waste even less once we get home.”

  ****

  Victoria finished her note and then gave the box of ribbons to Agatha to be sent to her sister. She felt so silly now at not having guessed the mix up. Isabella always tied her hair back with ribbons at night, and pink roses were her favorites as well. Of course, she hadn’t known the roses were from the same person, had she? Her anger had faded completely, and now she felt sorry for what Bastian had endured. Yes, it had been his own fault, but how could he have guessed what was really going on? The switch had been gossiped about so widely that being far from London was in fact the only way William could have escaped hearing about it.

  She looked down at the silver charm she’d bought for Bastian nestled in its box. Laughing, she pocketed the present and went to find Bastian. He had been gracious enough not to pressure her in any way regarding his declaration. It had been a week since they’d discovered the truth, and he’d been twice as adamant in all his attentions, telling her how much he loved her every chance he got, but he’d followed every declaration with a kiss or some other distraction. Part of her believed he was subtly trying to give her time, while the other part of her knew he was worried her feelings hadn’t reached that point yet.

  But they had, and she intended to tell him now. She found him in his study rifling through some papers in a drawer. He stopped what he was doing immediately, and then he smiled when she locked the door.

  “You need a private word with me, my dear?”

  “Indeed, I do.” She walked around his desk and sat on the edge, presenting the box to him. “I bought you a present.”

  He opened the box and gazed down at the charm. Lifting it from its paper, he laughed. “Oh dear, am I as bad as all that?” He drew his watch and chain from his pocket and attached the small, silver bull’s head to the chain.

  She laughed. “Just a reminder for you. I don’t want your stubbornness dividing us ever again. Now that we know the truth, it is rather amusing.”

  He pulled her down into his lap. “Perhaps for you, darling, but I was in misery some days.” He lifted her hand and kissed it.

  She turned her hand and caressed his face. “All that time you were worried I loved another, I was falling in love with you.”

  Bastian didn’t move. After several seconds, he lifted his hand to press hers to his cheek. “Victoria, could you perhaps rephrase that so we’re absolutely clear here?”

  She laughed. “Afraid of another misunderstanding?”

  “Yes, I loathe them with all my heart, you vixen, now say it again.”

  She laughed even harder. “So now I’m a vixen again, am I?” Taking his face in her hands, she gave him a gentle kiss, and then another. “Well, this vixen loves you very much, despite your flaws. They’re all precious to me, and I want the pleasure of putting up with all of them every single day.”

  “That’s quite a unique declaration, my love.”

  “Well, I think you deserved a unique one. You’ve kept me guessing from the moment you took my hand at our wedding reception.”

  “I was terrified. You seemed anxious to get as far away from me as possible.” His fingers gathered her skirt, hitching it higher and higher until his hand could slip underneath.

  She smiled and leaned down to kiss him when his eyebrows went up playfully. He kissed her back deeply as his hand slid up her thigh to her quim. He flicked his thumb over her swollen nub before parting her nether lips and sliding one finger into her.

  She shifted to let him play with her. It still amazed her what he could do with the lightest caress. He pressed several kisses to her neck, stoking her need, but then he withdrew and moved her up onto his desk. As he took her mouth, he pushed her skirts up and spread her legs. His slow teasing strokes made her whimper against his lips, and his dark eyes made her tremble when he pulled back to look at her.

  “I love you, Victoria. I planned on having a true marriage, a happy one, but I didn’t expect to be this happy so quickly.” His fingers continued their slow caress.

  “I love you, too.” She moaned as pleasure began its slow build.

  “Tell me what you need.”

  She dropped a few kisses on his cheek, blushing a little as she whispered, “Your mouth.”

  She felt his response, the quickening of his breathing and increased pressure of his fingers.

  “You want me to kiss you, my dear?” His husky tone told her he could barely contain himself, the teasing perhaps as torturous for him as it was for her.

  She leaned away from him, arching her back. “You know what I mean, Bastian.”

  He lifted his fingers to his lips, licking them slowly. Her core clenched as he kissed her and let her taste her own desire. “Are you saying you wish for me to pleasure you with my mouth, Victoria?”

  “Yes.”

  Bastian went down on his knees immediately, making her cry out when his tongue went straight to her clitoris. He sucked hard between rough strokes, making it difficult for her to stay upright. One of his hands inched up to her waist and lowered her back on the desk, and then he put her legs over his shoulders as he intensified his assault. She cried out when her orgasm broke and dug her heels into his back. Wave after wave of pleasure overtook her as he continued to lick her and make her shudder with bliss. She tried to move when it became too much, but he kept her firmly beneath him and drove his tongue into her trembling passage.

  “So stubborn,” she murmured, though the words came out a bit slurred.

  He finally relented and slid his hands under her back to lift her just enough for a slow kiss. He deepened the embrace, making ever
ything fall away. She didn’t even notice him freeing his cock from his pants, but suddenly he was inside her, thrusting hard.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched back to let him fill her. Wet as she was, the friction still built right away, and the need in her core overwhelmed her and made her cling to him. Soon they shuddered together, a slow but nonetheless intense release taking her to new heights. He buried his face in her neck as he came, whispering words of love.

  Victoria made no effort to stop her tears as she whispered her love back. He kissed the trails of tears, the tenderness on his face causing her to lapse into silence mid-sentence.

  He chuckled low in his throat. “Left you speechless, have I?”

  She smiled and sighed. “Speechless, breathless … heartless.”

  Chuckling again, he said, “Heartless?”

  “You did steal it from me, dearest.”

  “Only because you stole mine first, and one does need a heart to live. I had no choice but to go after yours.”

  “Well then, I’ll forgive you.”

  He kissed her soundly, lifting her into his arms. “Let’s go upstairs, Victoria,” he said as their lips parted.

  “There’s a perfectly good couch right here, Bastian.”

  He grinned at her. “I see my wife is going to prove to be a model of efficiency.” He moved to the couch quickly and placed her on it, soon covering her body with his.

  “Just impatient to feel you inside me again,” she said, trying not to blush but failing.

  “I love hearing about your desire for me.” He kissed her neck as his fingers worked at the tiny buttons of her dress.

  “I know.” She giggled as he caressed her breasts. “It certainly spurs you to—” A gasp cut her words off as he suckled one of her nipples, and she didn’t regain the ability to speak for over an hour. She had a feeling his decided talent for silencing her in this way would never diminish.

  Epilogue

  Bastian looked at the other couples walking in the park as they laughed and talked together. He always felt comfortable with Victoria’s quiet moods, but today she seemed unusually quiet. They walked behind Isabella, who pushed her daughter Millicent in a pram, and William, who kept inching up beside the pram to make sure Millicent hadn’t come into mortal danger since the last time he looked.

  Victoria shifted her weight more heavily upon his arm, which she’d done several times that day. He lifted her hand and kissed it. “All right, darling?”

  She nodded at him absently, a look he could only describe as dreamy crossing her face. Then this look faded, a pleasant but bland smile replacing it as she nodded to a couple passing by.

  Bastian nodded as well before whispering, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Bastian.”

  When Millicent made a cooing sound, that dreamy look returned, again quickly replaced by a much more subdued one.

  His heart sank as he watched Isabella playfully swatting at William in front of them. Seven months of marriage, and Bastian still hadn’t given his wife a baby. He wanted one himself, of course, but ever since Victoria had confessed her love for him, he had seen everything in the world as something to give to her, whether an actual object or something more abstract. She seemed so happy when she held Millicent that he couldn’t deny her desire for a child of her own. He felt like a failure, especially since no one could accuse them of not trying. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, and the last month or so she’d been even more eager than usual. Perhaps that was another sign of her longing for a child.

  He slowed his pace a little, caressing her hand as it rested on his arm. “Victoria, you seem to be thinking of something very specific.”

  She gazed up at him for a moment before smiling. “I am, but we can talk of it later.”

  Later? He hesitated. While he agreed this subject was rather intimate for a stroll through a public park, he felt compelled to say something.

  “You’re right. That would be best, but I only wanted to tell you one thing.”

  “Yes?”

  He measured out his words, trying to order them just right. “I think I know what it is you want, and I want you to know that I want it, too.” He took a deep breath. “Soon.”

  She laughed. “And what do I want? You sound so mysterious! What are thinking I’ve set my sights on?”

  He looked down at her, confused. Had he been mistaken? She did still surprise him at times, and he loved that about her, but he felt sure he’d been right. “Well, you seem so delighted … to have your family here. Especially Millie.”

  “Yes, she’s so lovely! Such a sweet baby.” Her face positively glowed.

  “Well, it seems to me,” he lowered his voice, “that you would like one of your own. I want you to know that I want it as well. It’s the one thing I haven’t given you.”

  Victoria’s face fell, and she looked away. “Really, Bastian!”

  She didn’t sound angry, but she did not look happy. He gripped her hand. “I’m sorry. We’ll discuss it later. Forgive my poor taste.”

  She shook her head slowly, a smile coming to her lips as she looked up at him with a spark of humor in her eye.

  “I’m not angry about the subject. I’m upset with my stubborn husband who thinks he needs to spend every moment giving me things and doing things for me.” She took his hand off hers and pressed it to her belly. “Did it ever occur to you that a child was something I wanted to give to you?” she whispered.

  “Victoria?” he asked, unable to hold in a gasp.

  She laughed and pulled him down for a brief peck on the cheek. “Glad the surprise was not completely spoiled. You should see your face!”

  “Victoria, are you sure?”

  She nodded. “So stop worrying. You’ve already given me everything I could ever want.”

  Happiness flooded his heart, and he wanted to sweep her into his arms and spin around with her, but he knew propriety and her condition prohibited both.

  “Even as a mother-to-be, you, my love, are a vixen!”

  Her eyes widened in delight. “Am I?”

  “Yes! Delivering news to me at a time when I must conduct myself with dignity. It shall be hard to forgive you.”

  “You’ll forgive me tomorrow morning.”

  “Will I?” he asked, trying to sound teasingly skeptical.

  “Yes, you shall.” She lowered her voice. “I’m going to wake you up the same way I did this morning.”

  Once again, he wished they weren’t in public. He pretended to ignore her, trying to calm his ardor so he didn’t shock anyone in the park. When he could tell she was ready to burst into a fit of giggles, he slanted his eyes at her and whispered, “Vixen!”

  Her laughter rang out finally, and Isabella turned to them with a curious smile. “What are you two whispering about?”

  Victoria smiled back. “We’ll tell you tonight when everyone arrives for dinner. It’s a surprise.”

  Bastian beamed down at his wife, thanking fate for the thousandth time that he’d been able to win the love of the beautiful, remarkable woman at his side.

  The End

  www.mariemedina80.blogspot.com

  Other Books by Marie Medina:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/marie-medina

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  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

 

 

 
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