Page 84 of Reforming the Rakish Marquess

Pushing aside his worries, for a little while anyway, he released a hearty laugh. “You think I’m letting you leave?”

“I must at least inform Marina that we have resolved matters between us, and I need to get my things,” she said, drawing circles with her finger on his chest.

He cringed. “I am not sure if Marina will exactly be overjoyed about our news. She wasn’t pleased with me when I spoke to her last.”

She surprised him when she started laughing. “Marina is the reason I came here today. She urged me to come and fight for you.”

That might have been the most shocking revelation of the day. “I guess that means I should thank her,” he said, rubbing his cheek along the top of her head. “As I am in her debt, it would seem.”

“I’d say we both are,” she said. “I believe all of our friends will ensure the scandal we face is minimal. They are practically our family and won’t abandon us.”

“You might be right about that,” he replied, “I shall escort you to Evan’s. We will stay there tonight and return here tomorrow. We can make the arrangements for a quick wedding. I will seek a common license from the vicar, and we can marry at the parish here, if that is agreeable to you.”

Regardless of when they married, he wasn’t leaving her side.

“I’m just ready to be your wife, my love,” she said, beaming up at him. “I just wish I didn’t have to sleep apart from you tonight.”

Jude erupted into laughter. “Oh, my dear. I have it on good authority that Evan spent the night with his wife before they were married. I dare him to try to remove me from your chamber.” He clasped her hand and brought it to his lips. “Let us go tell Rose, and then we shall depart.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Juliana couldn’t believe the events of the day. When she boarded her carriage to see Jude, she would only allow herself to have small hope they might find a way to work through whatever had sent him running from her. In a matter of hours, she was betrothed, the future mother to a delightful little girl, and may carry the child of the man she loved more than life itself.

They told Rose that they intended to marry, and she threw herself into Juliana’s arms, chattering away about how she couldn’t wait for Juliana to live with them. The little girl was so full of love. She imagined Rose was how Jude would have been as a child if he hadn’t been subjected to such a horrid father.

“Penny for your thoughts, my love?” Jude asked, pulling her from her reveries and reflecting on everything that had transpired.

“I just can’t believe we will be married soon. I was devastated when I received your note,” she said, biting her bottom lip and looking out the window of the carriage as they journeyed back to Marina’s.

He cringed next to her, and she immediately regretted saying the words. She didn’t intend to make him suffer more than he already had.

“Please forgive me, sweetheart,” he begged. “I believed I was doing the right thing, and I assure you, it wasn’t because of any doubt about my love for you. I have been miserable without you.”

“I heard,” she said, smirking at him.

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean? How could you know?”

“Marina sent me to you because Carter spoke with her during the visit she and Evan made.”

Jude ran his hand down his face, and she turned to face him beside her in the carriage.

“Please,” she said, “don’t be angry with Carter. He was only trying to help and was worried about you. He wished for you to be happy.”

Jude cupped her cheek. “I can’t be angry at him. Especially not when it brought us together.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “That doesn’t mean I can’t give him a hard time about it, though.”

She laughed and leaned against him, nuzzling her nose into his neck. Before she could stop herself, she was kissing his jaw. He released a soft moan when she caught his earlobe between her teeth and then suckled it.

Turning his head, he captured her lips with his. Scooping her up, he shifted her so that he laid her back on the seat.

“Jude.” She was wanton and wanted him again. The man who would soon be her husband. Never had she thought to do such wicked things in a carriage, and yet with Jude she couldn’t imagine not doing so.

Lifting her skirts, he knelt to the floor of the carriage. “I believe I promised you my tongue, and I am a man of my word,” he said. “Put your legs over my shoulders.”

She did as he said, and he adjusted her garments before his tongue on her pearl caused her to cry out. He placed his hand on her stomach to hold her still while he licked and lathed her most sensitive areas with his tongue.

Her hands shot to his head, grasping and holding him where she wanted his attention, while he slipped two fingers inside of her.

He lifted his head but continued moving his fingers inside of her.