Edge of Time (Langston Brothers Series) (23 page)

At long last the party came to a cl
ose. She and Craig
bid the
last of the well-
wishers goodbye and left his
grandmother in the sitting room.
Alone in the front hall
Marissa sagged against his chest. “I have never been much of a social butterfly and after tonight I am exhausted! Thank goodness I don’t have to be at work tomorrow.”

“You may not be accustomed to acting as a ‘social butterfly’,” Craig said with a grin. “But no one would have guessed it. You’re every inch the gracious lady, my love.” Craig touched his lips to her hair and breathed deeply. “You always smell of roses.”

“Well it’s a good thing the party ended when it did because I was going to punch the next person who
intently scrutinized my waistline.
”

Craig threw his heart back in hearty laughter. “I have no doubt that you would have made good on your threat. Your feistiness is only one
of the things I love about you.” He looked down at her for a long moment, pulling down one of her manicured curls. He released the hair and it sprung back into place. “
I suppose I must take you home
now
.”
The glea
m in his eye told her it was the last thing he wanted to do and it made her blood run hot.

“I suppose.”

*
             
*
             
*

Craig
handed her up into the cart he would use to deliver her to Carolyn’s house and settled himself in the seat beside her. The stars twinkled in the late night sky and the air had a bite to it that hinted of autumn. To guard against the chill Marissa pulled a pale blue woolen shawl more tightly around her shoulders and leaned into Craig. “I wish we were married now,” she whispered, her voice soft and wistful.

Craig’s entire body tightened at her words. He was more than ready to have her properly wedded and in his bed. If not for having promised his grandmother the social event of a church wedding, he would have spoken the vows already. “We could go get married right now,” he said, looking down at her mischievously. “I don’t think I can wait another week to have you again.”

“Your grandmother will be devastated if we don’t wait. She wants to see you married in a church. If it weren’t for the war, I think she’d have insisted on a longer engagement so she and Genie could properly prepare for a huge wedding
.”

Craig’s broad shoulders lifted indifferently. “So we won’t tell my grandmother or anyone else. We’ll get married tonight, keep it a secret, and then have a big wedding next Sunday.”

She turned teasingly accusing eyes to him and
opened her mouth, likely to protest further, but… she hesitated, lending a bit of foolish hope that she might accept his proposition.
“What is it going to be?” he asked softly. The carriage
approached a crossroads, he slowed the horse slightly.
“Your cousin’s house or the justice of the peace?” Bathed in the silvery moonlight, Craig knew she had never looked more beautiful than in that moment. The love he felt for her was the most intense emotion he had ever known. He needed her. She was more important to him than food or air. “Marry me tonight?” His voice was soft, pleading.

Marissa turned sparkling eyes to him. “Yes.
Although I don’t think the judge will be very happy about us waking him up this time of night.

“He’s not asleep.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because Judge Peterson left our engagement party all of five minutes before we did.”

*     *     *

“Welcome home, wife.”

Beneath the blanket of twinkling starlight
Craig
opened the door of his—
their
—townhouse and
swept
Marissa up into his arms, carrying her
ceremoniously over th
e threshold
.

Marissa giggled, curling her arms around his neck, unable to
slow th
e rapid tripping of her heart. The mere thought of
an entire night in wedded bliss with Craig, a night
with no
guilt or rushing
, thrilled her. “What about the servants? Are they here?”

“No. It’s just us
.”
He kicked the door shut, nipping teasingly at her ear.
“
The
y only work here during the day, but if you like I will hire some to stay around the clock.”

Marissa
shook her head
, threading her fingers through the hair at his nape, brushing the tip of her nose against his
. “No, I would prefer to have the house to ourselves at night.”

“Mrs. Langston,” his lips covered hers for a dizzying moment, “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

Mrs. Langston.
Mentally Marissa savored the words
Mrs. Langston
—
there was something erotic about the way he said it.
Mrs.? Erotic?
Who’
d
ever believe
she’d think so?

In record time Craig mounted the stairs
, sweeping her into the bedchamber. Marissa laughed as h
e tossed her
playfully
onto the thick feather mattress.
She rolled to her back, wrapping her arms around his powerful shoulders as he leaned over her reclining form. With a
self-assured
grin
he caught
h
er lips in a
long, savoring
kiss that
left Marissa disconcerted and breathless. Without warning h
e
stood up and backed away, leaving her utterly bereft. She reached for him, but he caught
her wrists
, preventing her from pulling him back.

Marissa
sat on the mattress, watching
in eager anticipation
as he
r new husband
tugged the gold buttons at his throat loose and dropped the heavy uniform tunic to the floor. Blood r
oared deafeningly in her ears and she rose up on
her knees, watching him quickly unfastened the white shirt still covering his strong
, swarthy
chest. His suspenders hung in twin loops down beside his thighs.

He c
losed the distance between
them
and reached for her, drawing
her to the edge of the bed until her breasts brushed the hard expanse of his chest. Electric shivers shot up her spine as he cupped her face between his palms, smoothing his thumbs across her cheeks and jaw
,
breezing them softly down her throat to the edge of her bodice
. It was sweetest kind of torture as he held
her
on the precipice
, her entire body tingling and straining
,
reaching
,
for him with ev
ery inch of her heart and soul.

Marissa reached behind her back, deftly unclasping the round pearl buttons holding her gown in place. Craig’s broad hands peeled the champagne fabric from
her shoulders, revealing the thin cotton chemise beneath.
Their eyes locked and he s
lowly he bent down to
sweetly
capture her lips. Their mouths danced erotically as
he deftly peeled the
remaining
layers
from her creamy skin. He pressed her back onto the bed and slipped off his trousers and under drawers, leaving them in a heap on the floor. Marissa shivered as he settled against her, skin on skin. His tongue traced an invisible line down the gentle slope of her throat. And she trembled.
This
was better than anything she could have possibly imagined.

“I love you,” she whispered softly.

*
             
*
             
*

“I know.” Settling more fully on top of her Craig could hardly believe the goddess before him was his wife. Her hair spilled over the pillows
in rivers of
molten butter
and
her skin glowed like a magnolia
in what meager light
the moon
lent
.
H
e roamed every inch of her body with his hands
and lips
, learning, exploring, until every last curve and crevice was embedded in his memory.
Marissa
trembled
beneath his
gentle caress
es, answering his every
stroke by tracing his body with her soft hands until he fairly vibrated with wanting more.

“I can’t take this anymore,” she groaned, wiggling beneath them until her hips nestled flawlessly beneath his. He grin
ned against her throat, slowly tracing the curve of her thigh with his palm
. “Don’t make me wait,” she gasped.

“Your wish is my command, wife.” He needed no further urging and positioned himself above her, more than ready to plunge into her heat. To hell with slow. He needed her now. Fast and hard.

“Oh, yes!” Marissa
cried out when
he entered her
, and it was near to his
undoing.
T
he shudder that coursed from her
body
and into his
was a sensual experience he would
remember for the rest of his life. Never had
he realized that this act of joining two souls as husband and wife through a love and devotion and mutual giving and taking of pleasure could usher forth a fulfillment t
hat only those truly in love could
appreciate… encompass… achieve...

I
f Craig had believed he understood love before making love to a woman who’d promised herself body and soul to him and no other, he was mistaken.

In the early hours of the morning he collapsed on top of her, breathing deep the scent of rosewater that seemed ever-present in her hair, and enjoying the slick of their damp skin pressed intimately together.

“You’re amazing,” he murmured, raising her hand to press a soft kiss upon the palm.

Marissa smiled wit
h satiated contentment. “Y
ou’re not so bad yourself,” s
he teased, rising on an elbow she
press
ed
a loving kiss to
his forehead. S
he gazed into his eyes she sighed wistfully. “I suppose I should get back to Carolyn’s before the entire town realizes
I’ve spent the night here.
”