Page 70 of A Seaside Scandal
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his encircled my waist. I slid my fingers into his hair, then moved them to his jaw, feathering my fingertips across the sharp stubble on his cheeks.His lips dragged away from mine, trailing a blaze across my neck and collarbones. He paused near my ear, his breath brushing across my skin. “We may need to revisit our vows.”
I turned to him with a laugh. I felt the weight of each of his fingertips on my waist, his chest rising and falling quickly against mine. We both laughed. He kissed my cheek, and I felt the curve of his smile against it. “Do you still release me of all the obligations?” he asked.
I laughed again, gazing up at his face. “No. I shall expect you to fulfill them all.”
His grip tightened, a fistful of my gown in each of his hands as his mouth found mine. He kissed me thoroughly once again, until I remembered that Margaret’s ball was still underway, and I was being a horribly selfish hostess.
I pulled away, my cheeks aching from smiling. “We cannot stay out here all night. Margaret needs us.”
Jonathan nodded, pressing a kiss to my cheek, then my forehead. He took my hand as we walked back to the house, and I paused to fix a few strands of my hair in the reflection of the front window. My heart soared, a joy like I had never known buzzing inside my chest. Inside that house were all the other people I loved—and they were all waiting to see what Charlotte’s scheming had accomplished, no doubt.
“What will everyone say when they learn we are actually in love?” I asked, turning to Jonathan with a smile.
My cheeks flushed at the adoring look in his eyes—the very one I had been longing to see. He leaned close, resting one hand on the window behind my shoulder. “Your mother will say that she knew it all along.” He pressed a slow kiss to my lips. “Charlotte will say all the credit is due to her. Although Edmund might fight her for that honor,” he added.
I grinned as I stared up at his face, a whirlwind of hope crashing against my heart. Jonathan had chosen me after all. I saw it in every line of his face. “And Owen? What will he say?”
Jonathan’s smile took on a flirtatious edge, and I found that I didn’t mind it. Not one bit. He leaned close to my ear. “He will say that you should no longer spent your nights in the north wing.”
I felt a blush creeping over my cheeks as I laughed. And then Jonathan was kissing me again. Music drifted from the parlor, Margaret’s laughter echoing through the halls.
Perhaps I could be selfish a few moments longer.
