Was it still for old times’ sake? Was he kissing the Willie of his youth, or the woman she’d become? She would never really know, and all that truly mattered was that he was kissing her. And she kissed him back for all she was worth, matching each circle and thrust of his tongue with her own.
When they broke apart at last, each breathing roughly, Wilhelmina looked up to see that his golden-brown eyes had darkened with pleasure.
“God, Willie. I am on fire for you. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a woman more than I have wanted you.”
“Oh, Sam.” She cupped his cheek in her hand. “Seeing you again is like a tonic. I am humbled, surprised, and delighted to know that you desire me.”
“Why should that surprise you? Because you’re not twenty any longer?”
“I’m not even thirty. And though I may skirt the issue of my age with others, you know full well that I won’t see forty again, either. But no, that is not why your desire surprises me. I had thought my way of life had squashed every warm feeling you ever had for me.”
“Never.”
“The last time we met, ten years ago-”
He held up his hand to stop her. “Please. Don’t remind me of that embarrassing encounter. I was mortified.”
“Why? I never understood what happened. You sought me out, then bolted after exchanging an awkward word or two. Was it because you disapproved of my marriage to the duke?”
“No, of course not. It was just…an unexpected surprise.”
“Because I had reached too far above myself? Or because the duke had sunk too low?”
“Neither, Willie. It was never that. Deep in my heart, I was glad for you. Glad that you would be out of that other life at last and into something more conventional. No, I did not disapprove. But I was…disappointed. I thought you knew why.”
“But I didn’t. I don’t.”
“Truly?”
“Sam, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I simply assumed you thought I was getting above myself, or that I had somehow tricked the duke into marriage. In any case, I knew you disapproved. Or so I thought. Tell me the truth. What were you thinking that evening? Why were you so uncomfortable?”
He looked down at his feet. “Nothing. It was stupid. You will laugh.”
“Perhaps I will, but tell me anyway.”
He groaned. “This is devilish embarrassing. But all right, I will tell you. I had thought…I had hoped…Damn. The thing is, Willie, I was ready to make you an offer.”
Her jaw dropped open in astonishment. “To marry you?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Aha. I understand.” Of course he would not have thought to marry her. She smiled. “You hoped to be my next protector.”
He shrugged. “I told you it was stupid.”
Wilhelmina laughed. “Sam Pellow, you hypocrite. You, who had once railed at me for degrading myself as a demirep, wanted to set me up for yourself? My, my. How things change.”
“It was the ultimate hypocrisy. I was ashamed ten years ago and still am. I’m sorry, Willie. It was beastly of me to want that from you.”
“Is that what you still want, Sam?”
“No, Willie girl, I would never ask that of you. Besides, you’re too good for me now. A highly respectable woman. A duchess!”
“I’d be anything for you, Sam.”
“Ah, Willie.”
And he kissed her again. Despite all the years gone by, despite the opposite directions their lives had taken, despite the very different person each of them now was, it was nevertheless a hauntingly familiar sensation to be held in his arms. Back in Porthruan, though, they’d both been innocents, both virgins. Now each of them was more experienced in the ways of passion, and desire flared fiercely between them.
Sam tried to ignore the drops of rain that began to fall on his face, not wanting anything to interrupt this moment with Willie. But when it suddenly began to pour in earnest, he was forced to end the kiss.
“Damnation. We’ll have to make a run for it, my girl. Follow me.”
He took her by the hand and rushed to the door of the church, but it was locked. Tugging her with him, he hurried into the nearest shelter: an open stable behind the church.
“Damn and blast.” Sam shrugged out of his wet coat and began to shake it out. “It seems I am destined to ruin all my clothes this day.” He looked up to find Willie flicking her damp skirts. “Here, take my coat. At least it’s dry inside.”
He placed the coat around her shoulders, then wrapped his arms around her waist beneath it. Bending his head to hers, he said, “Now, where were we?”
Wilhelmina pushed him away playfully. “No, where are we? Sam, you old sea dog, did you plan this?”
“The rain? I may be a good sailor, but I cannot control the weather, my girl.”
“Not the rain. This.” She swept out an arm to indicate their surroundings.
A slow grin quirked his mouth as he looked around. When his gaze took in the hayloft above his head, he laughed. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“If you did not plan this, please do not tell me. It is much too romantic to be coincidence. Are you going to make love to me in the hayloft, Sam?”
He pulled her close. “There is nothing I want more, Willie. But only if you want it, too.”
“You know I do. I have wanted it almost since the moment you invited me to join you for tea in the taproom. I have been determined that we should catch up with each other in more ways than simple conversation.”
Sam arched an eyebrow. “Willie, what instructions did you give to that hatchet-faced factotum of yours when he came to our table?”
She smiled sheepishly, and the merest hint of a blush colored her cheeks. “Why do you ask?”
“I have a hunch that wheel was in perfect condition when I arrived. What did you say to him?”
“I asked him to do whatever it took to keep you from leaving tonight.”
He laughed and brushed a kiss against the top of her head. “You cheeky wench. And the blasted pigs? Were those his doing as well?”
“Smeaton is very thorough and very resourceful. And I wanted this night with you, Sam.”
“Then you shall have it, my girl.” His heart soared with delight that she had orchestrated his delay. He took her hand and led her toward a wooden ladder leading up to the loft. “Come. Let us pretend to be eighteen and sixteen again, when life was simple and love was new. Just for a few hours, let’s recapture our youth, and each other.”
He’d been dashing up stepped ladders between decks for years, but he went slowly this time, guiding Willie in front and taking each step with care. When they reached the loft, it was as though years had melted away and they were back in Cornwall in her father’s barn. But Sam had been an awkward, inexperienced youth in that hayloft. He trusted he could perform with more skill and polish in this one.
He took the coat from her shoulders and spread it out on the hay, then laid Willie down upon it. He untied his neck-cloth and joined her, and took her in his arms and kissed her. He slid his mouth to the sweet, vulnerable skin of her throat, then allowed his lips to cruise the elegant length of her neck. His hands slid over the silky fabric of her dress, tracing the feminine curve of hip and thigh as his lips continued their exploration. She purred like a kitten, and Sam’s blood heated at the sound. He wanted to invade her, to possess her, to transport her to the heights of pleasure…