‘Wait.’ She felt nervous suddenly. ‘What if somebody sees us?’
‘I doubt anyone else is foolish enough to be out on a day like this. It’ll be just us and the seals. Maybe a few gulls.’ He carried her back towards the dunes, a safe distance away from the seal nursery, and laid her gently on the sand, stretching his body out over hers. ‘But I’ll do my best to cover you, just in case.’
‘Not this time.’ She put a hand on his chest and pushed, rolling him on to his back. ‘This time I’ll be the lookout.’
‘Really?’ He looked surprised for a moment, then folded a hand behind his head. ‘Then do whatever you want with me.’
Constance smiled wickedly as she unfastened his breeches, tugged her skirts up and slowly straddled his hips. Then she leant forward, deliberately trailing her hair across his chest as she rubbed herself against him. He inhaled sharply and she lifted away again, biting her lip as her own body tightened with need.
‘Constance...’ he groaned as she repeated the action a few times.
‘Mmm?’
‘Are you trying to kill me?’
‘You said I could do whatever I wanted.’
‘Anything without torturing me.’
‘Then you should have made that clearer.’
‘Don’t!’ He grabbed hold of her waist, holding her still. ‘Don’t make me disobey orders.’
‘Well, I suppose we can’t have mutiny.’ She lowered herself one last time, sliding onto his length with a sigh. She didn’t even attempt to tease him this time. She didn’t want to, tossing her cloak aside and riding towards her climax with an abandon that surprised even her. She was barely aware of the rest of the world, let alone the cold any more. She doubted she would have noticed even if they’d had an audience.
‘That settles it,’ Matthew panted as they came apart finally. ‘You can take command whenever you want. That was incredible.’
‘Worth the long walk?’ She settled herself into the curve of his arm as the spasms in her body gradually faded, leaving her sleepy and satisfied.
‘If you’d told me what else you had planned, then I wouldn’t have complained.’ He reached for her cloak and pulled it over them.
‘Ugh.’ She tried to push it away. ‘I’m too hot for that now.’
‘And sticky.’ He chuckled and pulled it back up again. ‘But I don’t want you catching a chill.’
‘Mmm.’ She gave a murmur of assent and slipped a hand beneath his tunic, tugging the fabric away from his own damp skin. ‘Is that better?’
‘Yes, but if you’re hoping for a repeat performance then you’ll have to give me a few minutes to recover. I’m spent.’
‘Pity.’
‘You know a good commander knows when to let his men rest.’
‘Fair enough, but don’t get too comfortable.’ She laid her cheek against his chest and sighed, listening to the heavy thud of his heartbeat. ‘Is it always like this?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘With all women?’ She pressed her hand against his stomach as the muscles there tensed. ‘I’m not accusing you of anything. I know we were married, but I was young and you were away.’ She felt her cheeks flush, trying not to feel jealous at the thought. ‘What I mean is that I understand if you’ve been with other women.’
‘I haven’t.’ He pulled her closer. ‘We made vows and I take those seriously.’
‘For five years?’
‘I can’t say I was never tempted, but a vow is a vow. I’ve seen what the breaking of them can do.’
‘You mean your father?’
His stomach muscles tightened even further. ‘His wives aren’t the only women he’s made unhappy. I don’t know how many half-brothers and -sisters Alan and I have, but we aren’t the only ones he wants nothing to do with.’