Letting You In [Bridgerton]

Chapter 4

4

Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain
June 1814

They barely made it through the door of their apartments without stumbling. Were it not for the door itself, Anthony thought, they would have ended up in a tangle of arms and legs on the floor. Not that that would have stopped him in the slightest—he was already twisting in anticipation of breaking Kate's fall with his own body—but he wasn't the only one with his hand on the door, as it turned out. He'd had the doorknob; Kate had gripped the edge of the door. As he started to lose his balance, she made good use of her fistful of his waistcoat and shirt to pull him close and pivot them both around. He always forgot how strong she was! A moment later, she had pressed him up against the heavy wooden door and it fell shut behind him with a rather loud bang.

He laughed, but she was wholly focused on plundering him and his laugh was swallowed up by a gasp when her free hand cupped him fully—rather aggressively, really. Not that he minded, nooo...

He let her have the upper hand for a long moment, his eyes rolling up as his eyelids fluttered closed, but he wanted her at his mercy!

With a growl, he grasped her wrists and spun their bodies around so she was the one pressed against the door and he ground himself insistently into her, relishing her answering groan. Her breath was hot as it brushed his ear and he trailed his open mouth over her skin. Her neck, her scent, her legs on either side of his—yes, this—

"Arrrgh!" Kate exclaimed, shoving him off. Anthony stumbled back, eyes wide. She had actually shoved him away from her! Any smile that he might have attempted died instantly at the furious look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry—" he said automatically. "Did I hurt—?"

"I have had quite enough of this!" she snapped, shoving past him, easily batting his arm aside when he reached for her.

His head was spinning; the rush of passion, now having fallen out from under him, dropped his stomach into an awful swoop. She'd had 'quite enough' of 'this'? He'd thought her insatiable. Had he demanded too much of her? Had he not paid close enough attention to her limits? Was it her time of the month again? But surely not so soon! What was she—?

An old sting of pride held him back a moment. He was pathetic, following after her like a kicked puppy—

NO. He had left behind his foolish pride weeks ago, when he'd finally told her he loved her. There was no going back now.

Anthony followed her across the main room, tugging off his too-hot boots and stockings as he went, tossing them aside. The cool smoothness of the ostionera stone under his bare soles calmed him, in sharp contrast to the heat of this southern clime and his arousal.

When he pushed through the long white curtains, he found Kate standing outside on the balcony, watching the approaching sunset over the Bay of Cádiz, the ocean breeze tugging at the few loose curls of her black hair. She gave her head a firm shake and readjusted her wrap, her back stiff and straight, her movements underscoring her agitation. She lifted her chin and stilled.

How he wished he had an iota of Benedict's talent and could paint worth a damn! The sight of Kate, even in the dimness of their bedroom at night, never failed to arrest him. She stood now with her profile to him, her dark skin and sparkling lavender gown framed by a perfect geometry of white balustrades below, tossing blue-grey sea in the middle, and above that, long golden streaks of sunset fading up into orange and burnt umber, where clouds drifted through the evening sky. He paused, caught.

The salt in the sea breeze pushed away her intoxicating scent. Anthony drew in a deep breath of the clean air to clear his head. He stepped closer, finally coming to stand beside her, and rested his forearms on the wide stone railing atop the balustrades. He didn't look at her, didn't search her face, although he desperately wanted to draw her to him and ask her what she had meant. He could see the movement of her breathing out of the corner of his eye and knew she was calming herself.