Chapter 162: Love [1]
Hours passed with the couple spending time with Viola. By evening, Eloise set out with Damien to return to the manor in time for dinner.
Eloise and Damien kept to their usual routine of having dinner with Jane. Once dinner was finished, Eloise excused herself from the table, leaving Jane and Damien alone to speak.
Eloise sent Hannah off as tonight she wouldn’t need any help dressing herself.
Alone in the bedchamber, Eloise stood before the mirror and studied her reflection. She smoothed down the nightgown she had found amongst the gifts Viola had prepared for her. The thin material clung to her skin.
Dressing up for Damien hadn’t been in Eloise’s plans for the night, but remembering how much he had liked the white dress the previous evening, she thought to do it again.
The only concern was how scandalous the nightgown was.
Eloise crossed her arms over her chest. Only Viola would be so daring as to provide her with something so sheer and so exposed.
"Now I know why she told us to have fun," Eloise murmured, recalling what Viola had said during their goodbyes.
Eloise studied her reflection and slowly lowered her arms. Damien had already seen her body, so this shouldn’t be hard to do.
She let her hands fall to her sides, trying to grow accustomed to the sight of herself. "It is quite thin," she said, glancing down at the delicate material, the candlelight revealing her body beneath the garment.
Curious, Eloise pinched the material between her fingers to test whether it would tear. Before she could find out, the sound of the chamber door opening made her freeze.
Eloise clasped her hands behind her back as though she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
Damien stepped slowly into the chamber, his gaze settling on Eloise and staying there. He had not forgotten what she had asked of him this afternoon, but not once had he imagined she would dress for the occasion.
Damien’s gaze moved over the sheer nightgown that left very little to his imagination, then travelled slowly upward until it met her eyes. "Why do you look guilty?"
"I am not guilty of anything. Oh," Eloise noticed her own stance and dropped her shoulders. "I was testing to see if it would tear easily since it is so thin. It isn’t good quality."
Damien smiled, his amusement at her innocence evident in his expression. "It is made to be torn easily."
"Is it? Why- Oh," Eloise said, the realisation dawning on her. "What a waste of a good dress."
Damien moved towards her, his gaze back on the dress. "I will buy you others."
Damien settled his hands on Eloise’s hips. "You look lovely," he said softly, leaning forward to press a slow kiss to her lips, letting it linger.
"Thank you. It was amongst Viola’s gifts," Eloise replied, her hand resting lightly against his chest. Her eyes drifted to his buttons. "I’m a little afraid of opening the rest of her gifts. She told us to have fun."
"It would be wrong of us to disappoint her," Damien said, his lips leaving hers and travelling down the line of her cheek.
Eloise forgot about the gifts entirely as Damien’s lips moved warm against her skin. His hands slipped from her waist, gliding over the swell of her hips and down to hook beneath her thigh, lifting her with an ease that still surprised her.
Eloise wrapped her arms around Damien’s neck as he carried her to the bed and lowered her head, claiming his lips.
It was Eloise who deepened the kiss this time, her tongue slipping past his parted lips. Tonight, she would not hold back, nor would she hide herself. She wanted this just as much as he did, and she was done pretending otherwise.
She didn’t notice when her back met the soft blanket beneath her.
Her left hand moved across his body until her fingers found the first button of his shirt, working at it with eagerness. Her right hand threaded through his hair, pulling him closer.
"I need help with your buttons," Eloise breathed against his lips after pulling away just enough to speak. "I can’t get them open."
Damien pressed one last unhurried kiss to her mouth before sitting up. His fingers moved swiftly down the buttons, one by one, his gaze not once leaving Eloise’s face. He pulled the shirt from his shoulders and let it fall.
Damien glanced down at the waistband of his trousers.
"Wait," Eloise said, stopping him. She pushed herself up, her hair falling loose around her shoulders. "Let me," she said, her hands moving to take over.
Damien stayed still and let Eloise do as she wished.
Eloise worked the buttons free and drew his trousers down. She was left face to face with a familiar sight and did not look away.
The moment pulled her back to the night before.
Before she could suggest repeating it, Damien’s hand came to rest beneath her chin, tilting her face upward.
"Not tonight," Damien said, his plans for the night already made. "Tonight is about you," he murmured, easing back against the bed as he leaned over her.
He held himself above her, careful not to let his weight press down on her.
Damien cradled her face in his hands, taking a moment simply to look at her. Her hair spread across the bed.
Eloise welcomed what the night had in store for her.
Damien took his time with her face, memorising it, until his gaze drifted to the thin nightgown. He never thought he would see Eloise like this. She had been so careful at first, so guarded, but the more she trusted him, the less she held back.
A slow smile crossed Damien’s lips, and Eloise tilted her head at the sight of it.
"What?" The question left her softer than she intended. Did she do something wrong already?
Eloise was too afraid to ask, so she waited for Damien to share what made him smile.
"You amaze me," Damien confessed, his thumb brushing against her cheek. "I’ll do my best to make this a night you remember."
Eloise reached up and cupped his face in her hands before sliding her fingers to the back of his neck and pulling him down to meet her lips. She had no patience left for waiting.
Damien allowed Eloise to have her way, not wanting to break this newfound confidence he loved.
"It’s not all about me, Damien," Eloise said softly against his mouth. "It’s about us tonight and how we feel about each other."
