Matt swung down from the carriage as it drew to a stop before Faith’s house. Though he had just left her a short time before, he felt a driving need to see her again. His encounter with Noah had left him feeling jaded and slightly embittered, and he needed the warm, healing sweetness that only Faith could provide.
“You be wanting your trunk, sir?” the driver called down.
“No. I won’t be staying here. Wait for me. I shouldn’t be too long.”
Knowing that at this time of night there was little call for his services, the driver readily agreed to the delay.
Faith and Ruth were surprised by the knock at the door. Faith hurried to answer it, thinking that there must be an emergency of some kind for them to be getting a visitor at this time of night.
“Matthew?” Her surprise was as real as her delight to see him again so soon after they’d parted. “Come in… Is something wrong? You look worried.” She took his arm and drew him into the welcoming glow of her small home.
“Faith? Did I hear you say that…Why, Matthew, it is you…” Ruth was puzzled as she greeted her future son-in-law.
“I’m sorry to bother you again so late in the evening, but I wanted to let Faith know that I’ll be changing residences.”
“What?” Both women were astonished and confused. “But why?”
“Noah and I had a disagreement of sorts, and I decided to sever my connections with him. I’ve moved out of the Red Lion, and I’ll be taking a room at the inn near here,” he tried to explain.
“Your argument with Noah must have been very serious for you to take such drastic measures,” Faith said softly as she took Matt’s arm and guided him into the parlor. The muscles in his arm tensed beneath her hand at her words. Though he said nothing else immediately, she quickly perceived the gravity of the situation. “You and Noah are very close, aren’t you?”
“We used to be,” he supplied grimly.
“Can you tell me about it?” she urged, wanting him to be open and honest so she could somehow help to ease the distress he was obviously feeling.
Matt raked a hand nervously through the thickness of his dark hair. “There isn’t much to tell. We had a major falling out over something, and I decided that it would be better for us to part.”
A pain seared through Faith as she thought she knew the reason for their separation.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” she asked, her eyes trapping his and forcing the truth from him.
“Only indirectly,” Matt managed, glancing toward Ruth and then back to Faith. He knew he owed her the complete truth, for only then would she be able to understand everything.
“I don’t understand…”
“You know how I explained to you about Noah’s and my situation.” He waited until she nodded. “Before we left England Noah was determined to make as much money as he could very quickly. He discovered while making inquiries into the most profitable goods to ship that some of the groups supporting revolution here would buy arms at a premium price.”
“Yes, so?”
“I need your secrecy on what I’m about to tell you.”
“Yes, of course. You know we’d do nothing to harm you or your brother.”
Matt knew he could trust them implicitly and told them, “Noah has contracted to sell the Sea Pride’s arms shipment to the rebels here.”
The news pleased both the women. “But that’s good news, Matt. He’s not as averse to our cause as you led us to believe,” responded Faith.
Matt couldn’t prevent a weary laugh. “I’m afraid you’re reading nobility into this where there is none, love. Noah didn’t do it because he cared, he did it to make money. Period. He’d sell the damned weapons to the devil himself if there was a profit to be made.”
The pleasure of the moment faded before his explanation.
“Anyway,” Matt continued, “Noah just found out that someone has been following him, keeping track of his movements about town.”
“But why? Did someone find out?”
“We don’t know, but logically it fits since I am getting involved in things with Ben and we are engaged…”
“You think they’re watching Noah because of you?”
“It’s the only possibility that makes sense,” he sighed. “The arms are due in at any time now. Noah wanted me to stop seeing you and to stop attending the meetings until all the business transactions had been completed. I refused.”
Faith’s expression was troubled as she met his gaze. “I do not want to come between you and your brother.”
“You didn’t, Faith,” Matt told her firmly. “There was no reason for me to stop seeing you. Though your father was involved in the movement, you’re not in any way. I told him it was ridiculous to ask that of me, especially since we are to be married so soon, but all he was concerned with was the arms deal.” He shook his head slowly in remembrance of their conversation. “So in an effort to help him, I told him I would sever all connections between us. That way whoever was watching him would know he was not in any way involved with my activities.”
“And he didn’t argue the point?” Faith was amazed that Noah would let Matthew do this.
“I didn’t want to argue. He was trying to force me to do things his way, and while his way may work for him, it isn’t always the right way for me.” He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on Faith’s cheek. “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Tears filled her eyes as she realized that he had just sacrificed his own brother for the love of her. “Matthew…I don’t want you to do this. You love your brother…”
“It’s done, Faith, and I’ll hear no more about it.” He stood up. “Now I’d better be going. The carriage I hired is waiting outside. I’ll get in touch with you in the morning and let you know where I’m staying. Good night, Ruth.”
“Good night, Matthew. I’m sorry things have turned out so badly for you.”
“Things haven’t turned out badly,” he denied, looking down at Faith with his love for her clearly reflecting in his eyes. “Things have turned out perfectly. I love your daughter, Ruth, and she will soon be my wife. Nothing could make me happier.”
“Matthew, wait…” Faith tugged on his arm when he would have started from the room.
“What?” He frowned, wondering at her anxiety.
“There’s no reason for you to go to another inn,” she insisted, her eyes glistening with tears of love and admiration for him.
“Of course there is, and it’s getting late.”
“No. Matthew, marry me tonight. Then you can stay here with us.”
A lopsided grin quirked his lips. “Tonight?” The thought was not without appeal, for the long days until the wedding had seemed to stretch endlessly before him, barren and empty.
“Mother?” Faith turned quickly to her mother as she still clutched at Matt’s arm, refusing to let him go. “Will you care? We could go to a minister tonight and everything would be perfect…”
“But the wedding?” Ruth was bewildered by her daughter’s sudden plea.
“We could still have the party here, Mother.” She looked hopefully to her.
Understanding the poignancy of the moment, Ruth agreed with a light chuckle. “If Matthew has no objection to accepting your brazen proposal, neither do I.”
The idea, so unexpected and so welcome, filled Matt with a glow of joy. He swept Faith into his arms and spun her quickly about.
“I’d be delighted to marry you tonight, Miss Hammond,” he pledged as he gave her a quick kiss, and Faith laughed delightedly at his play.
“Mother? Do you know…?”
“Yes, dear, and I’ll give Matthew directions for the driver while you go gather up a few things to take with you,” Ruth answered in anticipation of her question.
When Faith returned to the room a short time later with a small bag packed, Matthew had already instructed the driver to bring his trunk inside and had given him the necessary directions to the minister in the country Ruth had suggested.
“We’re ready if you are, Faith,” Matthew told her.
Faith hugged her mother quickly. “Thank you.”
“Your happiness means everything to me. Now, go and be with your man,” Ruth whispered.
With stars in her eyes, Faith gave her mother one last kiss and then flew to Matt’s side.
“We’ll be back sometime tomorrow,” Matt told Ruth as he helped Faith with her cloak and then ushered her from the room.
“God bless you both,” she called out as they climbed into the waiting carriage, and she watched as the coach rumbled off down the street.
Candles flickered mellowly, casting unsteady shadows upon the walls, as the words being spoken in hushed adoration echoed in the unheated chamber. Matthew and Faith were unaware of the chill in the room, though, for they were wrapped in the fire of their love. Standing slightly apart, they repeated their vows. Their gazes were solemn upon each other, and their hearts were pounding in excited anticipation as Matt slid his signet ring upon her finger, claiming her as his for all eternity.
At that moment, for the first time, Matthew regretted the fate of the Kincade fortunes, for he would have loved to present Faith with his mother’s diamond-studded wedding band on this, their wedding night. The band, which had been in the family for generations, was to have come to him as part of his inheritance. It hurt him now that it had had to be sold to pay his father’s debts. How proud he would have been to be able to present Faith with such a fabulous token of his love…
Matthew focused on his beloved then, and though she wasn’t wearing a white lace gown or carrying a bouquet of fragrant flowers, he knew Faith had never looked lovelier to him. Her hair was down, framing her face in a soft torrent of raven curls and emphasizing the wide glory of her sparkling eyes. It was from his heart that he had pledged his life and his love to her. He longed to take her in his arms and never let her go.
Faith smiled as they were pronounced man and wife. She had never quite believed that this moment would ever happen, and she felt as if she were in a dream from which she hoped that she’d never awaken. With Matthew as her husband, her life was perfect.
As she gazed up at him, her pulse quickened. He was now and forever her husband. They were bound to each other for the rest of their lives. The thought brought comfort as well as excitement. He was so strong and so handsome, and she loved him so much. Surely, as long as they had each other, they would be happy.
Tenderly, unable to resist another moment, Matthew bent to Faith and kissed her with gentle promise as he murmured in a low tone just for her, “I love you…”
The thrill of knowing that they would soon be man and wife in more than name only left Faith breathless. It seemed an eternity to her before the papers were all signed and their business finally concluded. When at last Matt whisked her from the small chapel and back into the coach, he drew her across his lap and held her close.
“We’ll be at the inn soon,” he promised, kissing her softly.
“I know,” Faith returned, looping her arms about his neck and hugging him tightly.
Suddenly serious, Matt loosened the loving grip she had on him and held her slightly away. “Faith?”
“What?” She was surprised by his move.
“You’re not sorry, are you?” His eyes were dark with the worry that was besieging him.
“Sorry? About what?”
“Sorry about not having a proper wedding…sorry about having to run off like this…” His gaze searched hers for the answer.
“Matthew!” she scolded lovingly, reaching up to caress the leanness of his cheek. “If you’ll remember, this was my idea. I was the one who proposed it. I love you, and I couldn’t bear for us to be apart another minute.”
“Ah, Faith!” He turned to press a kiss to the palm of her hand and then growled as he crushed her to him. “I love you so much.”
His lips sought the sweetness of hers in a fervent kiss of love and need, and Faith gave a low purr of satisfaction deep in her throat in knowing that he did love her. That was all that mattered.
It was long after midnight when at last they drew up in front of an inn. After one last heart-stirring embrace, Matt tore himself away from Faith to secure them lodging for the night, leaving her safely ensconced in the carriage while he tended to it. At first the innkeeper, a bony scarecrow of a man named Carson, was not overly pleased to be roused at such a late hour, but when he discovered that his customer was an English lord, he immediately hurried to see to his needs. While not the fanciest of inns, it was clean, and Matthew chose the best room the tavern had to offer. He directed that a hot meal be sent up to them as soon as possible, along with a bath for his wife. After paying for the room, he went back out to escort Faith inside.
The room on the second floor was spacious. By the time Matt and Faith entered, a small fire had already been set in the fireplace and several lamps lighted for their convenience. Brightly colored scatter rugs adorned the dark, highly polished hardwood floor, and the bed had been turned down, its wide softness beckoning the lovers to test of its comfort.
“Matthew, the room…It’s lovely.” Faith murmured her approval of the cozy interior. A faint blush pinkened her cheeks as her gaze lingered on the bed and she tried to imagine the intimacy of sharing it with Matthew this night.
Matt smiled warmly as he noticed the direction of her gaze and read her thoughts. He was about to take her into his arms for a passionate kiss when a knock at the door interrupted him. His smile twisted to a wry grin as he called out, “What is it?”
“Your meal, m’lord” came the innkeeper’s answer, and Matt regretfully moved away from Faith to open the door to admit him.
A table was set for them, and the finest fare the tavern had to offer was served along with a bottle of its best wine.
“I’ll have the bath up directly,” Carson related as he scurried from the room.
“That will be fine.” Matthew couldn’t wait for him to be gone, and he closed and locked the door with great relish. “Now, my sweet…”
Faith saw the flame of desire in Matt’s eyes, and she didn’t hesitate to go to him, wrapping her arms about him and nestling against the warm width of his chest. “I love you, Matthew Kincade. I always have and I always will.”
Matt stood still, cradling her against him, content for the time to just cherish the closeness and lightness of the embrace.
“Let’s dine before the food grows cold,” he suggested as he felt his senses begin to stir. There was nothing Matt wanted more than to make love to Faith, but he wanted their first time to be perfect. He deliberately postponed the ultimate, knowing that anticipation always heightened the satisfaction.
With all the gallantry of a gentleman at court, Matt seated her at the table and poured a glass of wine for her before taking his own chair. They said little as they sampled of the inn’s fare, each eating sparingly, for their thoughts were far from food. It was not food they craved, but a far more important nourishment-the nourishment of the soul from love’s embrace. Across the narrow width of the small table their eyes met and held, and Matthew lifted his wineglass in toast to his bride.
“May we be this happy always.” He spoke in a low, intimate tone that sent a shiver of expectation through Faith. There was something innately sensual about the way Matthew lifted the glass to his lips. Faith suddenly wished his lips were tasting of hers instead of the full-bodied wine.
Faith remembered every touch and kiss they’d ever shared, and she longed to experience the fullness of his passion. His body was a mystery to her, and she was eager to learn everything she could about pleasing him. Her mother had told her very little of what to expect on her wedding night beyond that there might be some pain. In spite of that, she was to submit completely to her husband’s will. Faith smiled to herself, for submitting was hardly the word to describe what she was feeling in giving herself to Matthew. She wanted him. Her body craved closeness with him in the instinctive way that had existed since the beginning of time. Her need was a deep, heart-stirring drive for possession that eclipsed every other emotion she’d ever experienced.
Again Carson’s knock at the door shattered the mood. They exchanged heated, knowing smiles as they silently acknowledged that this would be their very last interruption.
“Your bath awaits, my lady,” he told her with flourish when at last they were alone again, the bath having been readied behind a privacy screen.
“You truly thought of everything, Matthew.” She regarded him with open enchantment. “Thank you…”
“I only wish it could have been more, love.” Matt grew solemn again as he thought of the past and the beauty of Kincade Hall.
Faith rose from the table and slipped her arms about his waist, resting her head against his heart. “I don’t want more, Matthew. I have everything I could possibly want right now. I have you.” Her gaze lifted to his and he could see the truth of her words. “Nothing else is important…not the past, not the future… Only this moment matters.”
Overcome by the heartfelt sentiment, Matt could not reply; instead, he lifted her into his arms. Their lips met in a gentle exploration as Matt slowly made his way to the bed and lowered her to its comfort, the bath suddenly completely forgotten.
“Matthew…” She whispered his name in a worshipful whisper as he broke off the kiss.
With impatience, Matt tugged off his coat. Turning slightly away, he tossed it negligently aside as he quickly untied his cravat. Faith watched his movements in sensual fascination, noticing how perfectly his snowy white shirt fit across his broad shoulders and how his dark pants clung like a second skin to his slim hips. It was as he turned back toward her that she noticed the unmistakable evidence of his growing desire, and she lifted her arms to him in ready welcome.
Matt could delay no longer and he lay down beside her, drawing her full-length against him, his hips pressing with breathtaking familiarity to hers. “It seems I’ve waited forever for this moment.”
“We don’t have to wait any longer…” Faith drew his head down to her for an ardent kiss that told him of her own needs.
The quiet privacy of the moment, the intimacy of their position, and the heady sweetness of the wine they’d drunk all enhanced their senses. What began as only a kiss spiraled into a whirlwind of no longer forbidden desire. Their mouths met and parted only to meet again, as if unable to taste enough of the nectar of each other.
With tempered boldness, Matt worked at the buttons of her bodice. He remembered the sight of her naked loveliness, and he longed to touch those silken orbs. The memory of her bared breasts had haunted him all this time. When he finally pushed the material of her gown aside and unlaced her chemise, he lowered his lips to caress the satiny splendor of their creamy fullness.
Faith had never experienced the ecstasy of a lover’s knowing touch before. Her breath caught in her throat at the rapture that flooded through her as Matthew pressed kiss after heated kiss upon her sensitive flesh. Waves of heat pulsed in her veins as his lips explored the peaks and valleys of her bosom. Her eyes widened in a mixture of delight and fear at the feverish feeling that was overpowering her.
“Matthew…” she gasped, frightened by the strength of her newly discovered desire.
Hearing the edge of panic in her voice and afraid that he might have hurt her in some way, Matt drew back. His eyes were dark with concern as he gazed down at her flushed features. “Faith? Did I hurt you?”
“Hurt me…? Oh no, Matthew. You didn’t hurt me… It’s just that I…I…” She was suddenly too shy to put all she was feeling into words. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” He frowned, growing even more perplexed.
Knowing that she was botching the whole moment, she caressed his cheek. “It just felt so strange…so wonderful…I was almost frightened of the beauty of it all.”
The tension that had been building within him drained away at her words and he smiled tenderly. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ll go more slowly for you. It’s just that I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“So have I, love,” she told him seriously. “Shall we start again?”
“There’s no reason to start again.” He took her hand and held it over his heart so she could feel the heavy pounding of its excited rhythm beneath her palm.
“But…” Faith started to protest, for she thought he meant not to make love to her that night.
Matt saw her confusion and smiled tenderly. “There’s no reason to start over, because we never quit. Our talking is just as important as our touching. I want to know that I please you in more ways than just the physical, sweetheart.”
“Oh, you do, Matthew. You do.” She took his hand then and drew it to her breast. “Please…”
His gaze was filled with adoration as he cupped one pale mound and teased the pink tip to pertness. “Did you like it when I kissed you there?”
Again Faith blushed, but she didn’t hesitate to answer, “I think I must have, for I’ve never felt anything so…so…”
He bent to her breast and kissed the peak before lifting his head to supply the word. “Exciting?”
“Ummm…” she murmured, her eyes closing as he laved the taut crest with maddeningly arousing caresses.
With the utmost of care, he initiated her to the ecstasy of his touch, fondling and teasing her until she was clinging to him, weak with desire. Needing to be nearer, he left her embrace to strip off his shirt, and Faith looked up at him accusingly when he moved away.
“I want us to be closer…” he explained quickly as he tore at the buttons on his shirt in his eagerness to shed his clothing.
“I do, too,” she agreed, surprising him as she sat up and pushed her gown off her shoulders. “Help me?”
The invitation was innocently put, yet Matt knew the urge that sometimes drove men to rip gowns from women’s bodies. There was nothing he wanted more than Faith naked beneath him, and had she an ample wardrobe, he might just have given in to his most primitive urge. As it was, he contained himself with an effort, and after divesting himself of everything save his pants, he hurried to help her remove her gown. Taking her hand, he helped her up from the bed. With as much restraint as he could manage, he finished loosening the gown and slipped it completely off her.
Faith had been quietly observing Matthew’s expression as he helped her undress. When at last she stood before him clad only in her chemise, stockings, and shoes, she knew the ultimate glory of being a woman. His concentration on her was complete, and reflected in his expression was all his driving male need for her. It filled her with a sense of feminine power and emboldened her to bend forward and seductively remove her stockings and shoes. She had never fancied herself to be particularly sexy or beautiful, but the look on Matt’s face made her feel that way, and she wanted to do all she could to heighten his pleasure in the moment.
“Will you help me with the chemise?” she asked softly.
Matt swallowed nervously at the thought that one last gesture would remove the final barrier protecting her and make her his…totally. Then, as if in a trance, he took a step forward and pushed the chemise down her arms. He had untied the garment earlier in their play, and it had been gaping open, revealing just the swelling curve of the sides of her breasts as she stood there. Now, as the soft material slid lower, it clung with tantalizing distraction to the taut peaks. Forced to touch her again in order to free the chemise so it could complete its descent, Matthew reached out with shaking hands and parted the garment. It fell the rest of the way to the floor unnoticed as he remained unmoving before her, his blue-eyed gaze aflame as he stared at her unclad loveliness.
Faith was more beautiful than he had remembered, and Matt hesitated for only an instant before crushing her to him in his most possessive embrace. She was his! Never before in his life had he experienced such a depth of emotion. He held her tightly in his arms, feeling how perfectly she fit against him. They had been made for each other. No one and nothing else mattered-only their love and need existed.
Together, without speaking, they moved to the bed and lay upon it, mindless to all but their desire to be one in love’s most binding caress. Hands sought, lips met, and limbs intertwined as they explored the limits of pleasure together. With infinite care, he sought her most secret place. Though Faith balked at his first careful, questing touch, she soon gave herself over to his expertise, learning more of her body from Matthew than she had ever known before. His hands gentled her, readying her for his fullest possession. Faith felt herself growing more and more alive with his every rhythmic touch, and she could only wonder at the wonderful tension he was building deep within her.
It was when his lips sought her breasts again that the answer became known to her. She went rigid with delight as his knowing caress took her to unexpected heights of ecstasy. She cried out her rapture as the exhilarating sensations washed through her. Faith was so caught up in the throbbing pleasure of it all that she barely noticed when Matt shifted slightly away to shed his pants.
It seemed the most natural, most perfect thing in the world for Matthew to fit himself so intimately between her thighs. She welcomed him with a languid, sensual smile, wrapping her arms about him and pulling him down. The pain of their consummate melding was brief, but not blinding, and Faith went stiff only because of the newness of it as he first breached her virginal tightness.
“Oh, love,” Matthew groaned, locked in the heat of her body; his instincts were screaming at him to move, to seek his own release, but he held himself back, unwilling to lose the soul-stirring enthrallment of the moment. “You are so perfect.”
“We’re perfect together, Matthew,” she whispered, her hands drifting down his back toward his hips in a slow exploration that was silently driving him out of his mind.
“I always knew it would be this way,” he told her as he kissed her deeply. “You feel so wonderful to me…”
As her hands reached lower, innocently trailing fire wherever she touched, he could no longer control the driving urge to take her, and he began to move.
“Matthew?” Faith was surprised, having had no idea quite what to expect.
“Move with me, Faith,” he urged, thrusting hungrily within her.
Faith moved experimentally at first, unsure of how best to please him. Matthew sensed her hesitancy, and he slipped his hands beneath her hips to help guide and instruct her movements. She understood then as he tutored her and she matched his motion excitedly, wanting to give to him as much joy as he’d given to her.
Matt had wanted to hold back, to prevent his passions from running away with him, but her eager sweetness drove him beyond all control and he sought his release deep in the hot velvet center of her body. He gasped her name as he peaked in triumphant splendor, and he clasped her to him as he collapsed against her.
Faith sensed that she had pleased him and she pressed a gentle kiss to his shoulder as she lay beneath him. He was her husband and she had satisfied him. She felt very content.
Together they drifted in the soft silence of love’s aftermath. Their joining had been everything they’d expected and more. They were perfect together and they knew without question that the future could hold nothing but happiness for them. Sleep stole over them as they lay still joined in that most intimate embrace, and they rested, filled with peace and love.