A Heart for Milton

A Heart for Milton - Chapter 11

He faintly nodded his assent as he attempted to ignore the beguiling images already forming in his head, and watched forlornly as she made her way up the stairs.

"If you need any assistance..." he heard himself call out to her, at once realizing with a measure of mortification how his offer should appear.

She halted at his words, and it suddenly dawned on her with a rush of anxiety that without Dixon, she would indeed need his help to get out of her wedding dress. "Yes," she stammered breathlessly, still frozen in her tracks. "I will require your assistance," she finished, her heart beginning to beat wildly as she continued up the stairs.

His heart clattered in his chest to hear her response, stunned by her request. He stood motionless for a moment as his widened eyes watched her slowly ascend to the upper floor. Stirring himself at last, he quietly followed her.

She was removing her earrings, her hands trembling nervously, as he walked through the door. She unfastened the clasp of her necklace as he stood just inside the doorway, silently scanning the room that they would share. At once pleased with its charm, he glanced at the uncluttered arrangement of simple furnishings, his gaze drawn inevitably back to the bed that was prominently placed in the center of the room.

Margaret felt his eyes follow her as she bustled across the room to the wardrobe, the rustling of her skirts and petticoats announcing their encumbering presence.

He waited patiently for her direction, not quite believing that he should be there, waiting to help her undress. He watched as she pulled a dress from the wardrobe and hung it on the open door. He felt a pang of painful compassion as he recognized her nervousness.

Finally, she turned to offer her back to him. "The fastenings are all in the back," she explained, attempting to sound composed, as if this was a normal routine and not an extraordinary occasion.

He crossed the room to her, feigning a calm demeanor which belied his apprehension. He was already unsteady at the mere thought of his task, and was uncertain of the strength of his resolve to complete it in the manner that she would expect.

He gingerly began to unfasten the small hooks at her neck, silently cursing his fingers as they began to tremble slightly. The delicate fabric fell away as he worked, exposing first her neck and then a portion of her back. As he bent lower, the air was infused with the scent of jasmine and the silken skin of her neck only inches from his face. His eyes drank in the vision before him. Unable to resist her allure any longer, he bent even lower to place a delicate kiss on the curve of her back.

She drew in her breath at the touch of his lips and closed her eyes in breathless expectation.

Sensing no resistance, he interspersed light kisses from her neck to her back, following his hands as he continued to unfasten the hooks down to her waist. Every brush of his fingers sending tingling shivers down Margaret's spine.

She began to pull at her cuffs to free her arms from the slender sleeves, and he moved to assist her, gliding his hands across her back and over the curving slope of her bare shoulders, allowing the dress to slip to her waist. The feel of her soft skin and the suggestiveness of the gesture made his heart pound with his desire to experience more of her, his resolve melting in the fervent heat caused by her loveliness.

Powerless to resist the tantalizing smoothness of her bare skin, his hands caressed her shoulders and arms as his mouth found the curve of her neck and followed the gentle slope to her shoulder.

Margaret felt her insides quiver at his touch, her pulse racing at his intimate advances. When he gently slid his hand over hers, she whirled around to face him, her eyes plaintive with longing.