Page 15 of A Wallflower's Christmas Wreath
He clasped her face, pulling her back to look at him. She inwardly sighed at how perfect this night had become. How lucky she was to be with the boy she once adored, and be alone with the man he had become.
Her friend …
The term did not sound as nice as it once used to. She did not want to be this man's friend. She wanted to be so much more. His lover, his confidante, his wife …
But she would not marry out of obligation. She had wanted a love match. Had thought for years prior to their falling out that he would make her the perfect partner in life until he did not. That he would one day declare his unfailing love and devotion.
Instead, he had traveled to London and become intoxicated by a meddlesome, unlikable lady of his ilk.
"You're so beautiful," he said, kissing her deeply. His hands ran over her body, and her skin prickled in awareness. She undulated against him, desiring him and the pleasure he could give her.
Somehow between the kisses and touches, he filled her again. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of him joining her, teasing her where she craved most.
"Matthew," she moaned, riding him. "So good." She wrapped her arms around his neck.
He grinned, pulling her arms away. "Move to the other side of the tub and hold on to the side. I'm about to make you feel a whole lot better than that," he taunted.
Without thought, Heidi did as he instructed. She braced herself as he came up firm against her, his hard, muscular chest kissing her back, his manhood pressing against her from behind.
She glanced over her shoulder and met his eye. "Is that even possible?" she asked, trepidation and expectation thrummed through her at the very idea of being taken by Matthew in such a way.
He wrapped his hands about her stomach, lifting her bottom a little before slipping between her wet folds. Heidi moaned as his cock filled her, deep and sweet.
"Matthew," she huffed, pushing against him, wanting more of him.
He thrust into her, one hand wrapped firmly about her waist, holding her captive as his other clasped the front of the tub, as she was.
"I'm going to make you come this way, Heidi," he taunted her. "I want to hear my name on your lips. I want to see you come apart in my arms. I want to make you feel so good, my darling."
She nodded, wanting to feel that sensation again as much as she needed to breathe.
His hand slipped over her stomach and between her legs. She gasped as his nimble fingers flicked her mons and teased between her folds, wrenching her further toward the bliss she knew was just out of her reach.
"You like that?" he asked her, thrusting hard and relentlessly, his pace frustratingly perfect.
"I do like this. I want to come again, as you say." She looked over her shoulder and met his eye.
His burned with desire, with determination, and her stomach clenched.
"I'm going to make you come so hard," he teased her. "Just as you like it, my darling."
His words pushed her over the precipice, and she moaned as her body convulsed about his manhood, her release running through her in delicious waves. "Matthew," she screamed, feeling him tense as his release poured out of him.
"Heidi," he whispered against her ear. "Marry me."
Eight
Matthew sat on the end of his bed, the storm raging outside and now also inside his house as Heidi paced back and forth in his bedroom. Her wet hair from their bath was tied up in a towel, her shift giving him ample view of her perfect form. One that he wanted to get his hands on again if she would stop making his proposal something that it was not.
"You cannot ask me to marry you. I will not have it." She stopped and faced him, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Other than what we have partaken in tonight, we hardly know each other anymore, not to mention just because I gave myself to you does not mean I want you as a husband."
He ran a hand across his jaw, keeping silent as he thought best in these situations. Especially with Heidi, who was prone only to grow more displeased if she thought someone was not listening to her words.
But when she remained quiet a moment longer, he knew he had to say something. "I did not ask you out of some gentleman code because we were intimate. I asked you because no matter the few years we were apart, I cared for you during that time. I know you think I have not, but that was not the case. I have always hoped you and I would be friends again."
"And we are friends again," she said, facing him, hands on hips. "But we do not have to marry. If I'm to marry, which I highly doubt given my financial position and age, I want my husband to love me. Not to feel obligated. I will not be the talk of our village or London should I marry you. Everyone will think I married you to save myself from the poor house."
He reached for her, but she avoided his touch and stepped farther away. "I know this seems hasty," he agreed. "But you know we fit, Heidi. We belong together." He shook his head, wondering how else to word how he felt. "I'm just sorry it's taken this long for me to state the truth to you."
