Merely the Groom (Free Fellows League 2)

Colin stared at the bodice of her wedding dress, swallowed hard, and gritted his teeth against the swelling in his trousers. “I don’t see any buttons.”

“Down the back.” Gillian turned around and presented him with her back and the row of buttons that ran from her neckline to just above the small of her back. “I hate to bother you…”

Bother him? She was killing him. He ached to kiss her again. And to touch her. Colin wanted to feel her firm breasts in his hands and taste the texture of her smooth skin against his mouth and tongue. He wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her again and caress her and give her the wedding night both of them deserved to have. He had the urge to touch her—to lift her chin and look her in the eyes and repeat all the promises he’d repeated at their wedding to her and to her family. But this time, he wanted her to know he truly meant them.

“...but I forgot about the buttons,” Gillian continued in the breathy voice that made him want to take her in his arms and shield her from all the hurt in the world. “My lady’s maid always helps me with the dresses that button down the back. I chose to wear this one because it matched my betrothal ring.” She paused long enough to look down at the ring in question. “But I forgot about the buttons and that Lavery wouldn’t be accompanying us on our honeymoon.” She knew she was babbling, but Gillian couldn’t seem to stop the rush of words. She glanced over her shoulder at Colin and held up the nearly transparent length of fabric. “Do you mind unfastening my dress so I can get ready for bed?”

Her request pleased him more than Colin liked to admit. “I’ve never acted as lady’s maid before,” he admitted, fumbling with the first in a long line of tiny pink buttons. “All the women with whom I’ve shared a pillow have always—” He broke off, abruptly remembering with whom he was sharing intimate details of former encounters.

“I hope you don’t mind too much,” she said. “Because you’re the only one here I feel comfortable enough to ask.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Colin answered, unfastening another tiny button.

“What did the other women do?” Gillian asked without warning.

“Pardon?” Colin unbuttoned another button and stared with longing at the vulnerable spot on the nape of her neck visible through the baby-fine curls covering it. He had the urge to press a kiss there and wondered what she would do if he did.

“You said that all the other women with whom you had shared a pillow had always done something,” she refreshed his memory. “But you didn’t say what.”

“I caught myself in time,” he told her. “Before I forgot my gentlemanly manners and divulged intimate secrets from past rendezvous to my bride.” He had unfastened about half the buttons on her dress before he realized her silk wedding dress was boned with whalebone and lined with another slightly heavier weight of pink silk so Gillian didn’t need to wear a corset or chemise. He was staring at bare flesh. Colin’s heart began to beat a rapid tempo as he stood admiring the indention of her spine, the bend of her tiny waist, and the vulnerable spot on the nape of her neck. Leaning forward ever so slightly, he brushed his lips against her hair. “Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell.”

“Oh.” Gillian sounded disappointed, then covered it. “Of course they don’t,” she said. “Ladies appreciate that quality in a gentleman.”

Colin unbuttoned another two buttons. “Do they?”

“Without question,” she answered. “Unless, like me, they’re burning with insatiable curiosity.”

“You’re curious?”

“Insatiably,” she admitted.

“I thought you were sleepy,” he said.

“I was,” she replied. “Until you presented me with that mystery. Now I won’t be able to sleep until I have an answer.”

That seemed fair enough to Colin, since he doubted he’d be able to sleep knowing she was in the next room lying in bed and wearing that thin silk nightgown.

He unfastened the last of the tiny buttons, freeing her from her wedding dress. The curve of her nicely rounded buttocks was visible through the open back of her dress, and Colin’s mouth went dry at the sight of a pair of very brief, very thin silk drawers and a pair of white stockings. He took a deep breath to steady himself before he made the biggest gamble of his life.

“All done.” He ran his index finger down the indention of her spine to signal that the buttons were open.

Shivering with reaction at his soft touch, Gillian turned to face him.

Her wedding dress slipped from her shoulders, and Gillian clasped the nightgown to her chest in order to hold the dress in place.

Colin grinned. “There’s no reason for you to lose any sleep over my past peccadilloes. I’m willing to satisfy a bit of that insatiable curiosity if you promise never to reveal what I’ve told you.”

“Really?”

“Cross my heart.” He crossed his heart.

“So do I,” Gillian attempted to follow suit and nearly lost her hold on the bodice of her dress in the process.

“My information isn’t free, my lady,” he warned. “It will cost you.”

“How much?” she asked, willing to meet his demands. “A good night kiss.”

“Just one?”