Green Dress (MM Satisfied - Regency AU)
Green Dress
She sat on a wooden bench, her eyes closed against the rays of the morning sun, its warmth a joy to feel on her skin. Oh how she had missed the sun's presence in the winter. Winter brought with it its own special pleasures, Lily would not tire easily from an evening reading before a big crackling fire, but to be outside and be warmed by the sun was a wonderful feeling.
"Are you avoiding me?" a deep voice asked.
Her breath hitched, she'd not heard him approach, she'd not heard much other than birdsong and leaves rushing in the breeze. A shiver ran down her spine, unreasonably she felt caught, as if she did not have every right to sit here.
"My Lord, I am merely ensuring that my attire is appropriate for the Queen's tea party this afternoon," she answered, not in as steady a voice as she would have liked. "Since you would like nothing better than to raise a breeze, I thought it wise to spend some time alone."
"This is your opinion of me?" his voice dropped impossibly lower.
Lily pressed her legs together. She took a deep breath then turned to face him. He was close, she could touch him without even standing up. Her face turned up, and up, and up. The man looked every bit the dashing gentleman his station required, his untameable curls and a pair of crooked glasses the only signs of his sinful rakishness. Well, those and his smirk. It all added to her inopportune attraction to him.
"You know very well my opinion of you, my Lord," she said, as he lowered himself so she wasn't blinded by the sun looking up anymore. "You've completely ruined me for everyone else."
His hand, ungloved, reached and carefully tucked a stray strand of her auburn hair behind her ear, brushing the shell so lightly it might have been accidental, but Lily doubted it very much.
Her body responded with heat, flames flared low in her belly, and her eyes flicked to his sinful lips.
So, yes, she had been hiding from him, as the prospect of meeting the Queen and her court made her nervous, she worried she would be out of place there, as she never felt like a proper lady. The last thing she needed was showing up in a disheveled state.
But he'd found her anyway, her attempt to not give in to the desire that Lord Potter inspired futile.
Lord Potter, who she had misjudged when she first met him. She'd believed him a rake, arrogant, haughty and uncaring. Thankfully, she had come to know him better. Much better in fact.
She had come to see his character in a different light, in the light of his actions instead of the fudges of a sensationalist society and the bandy words of a jealous and lousy man.
He always ensured that his attentions more than satisfied her, to the extent that by now she felt quite addicted to him. Fortunately, they had married as soon as the special license had allowed.
Her husband who shone down all other men, now regarded her with a knowing and mischievous smile. "Lily, you seem nervous, please let me distract you from what troubles you and ease your mind?"
Damn it, Lily thought, she'd be wearing a green dress to today's party after all. The twitch of his lips was enough to let her know that was exactly what her husband had planned.