A Penny's Worth of Affection novel Chapter 34

Feverish Romance

Penny woke with a start, bolting up from the bed, clutching the sheets tightly to her body, heart pounding though she did not know what had woken her. It took a minute for her to come fully to her senses and realize where she was. She blinked, but the darkness that surrounded her vision did not lift, and neither did the strange rasping sound that seemed to fill the entire room. It sounded as though someone was in the room with her and was struggling to take a breath. She shook her head to clear her sleep-dulled senses and groped about till her fingers brushed the little bedside table, hoping to find an unlit candle and a tinderbox. The sound turned into a rasping cough, and Penny realized with a jolt that Phillip was in the room with her. Was he the one making those distressed noises? she wondered, even as her fingers thankfully felt the tinderbox.

She carefully struck the match, the brief flare of light illuminating the room, and she reached for the candle and lit it, then pushed off from the bed, sucking a breath as her bare feet came in contact with the cold floor. Penny walked over to where Phillip lay and held the candle up to examine him.

He was still asleep, judging from his shut eyes, but even in the dim light, his face appeared blue and flushed. The covers had been flung aside in fitful tossing, and he lay curled up tightly, shivers racking his body, and she could make out the rapid rise and fall of his bare chest.

Setting the candle on the floor carefully on the floor, she knelt down and placed her hand on his forehead, gasping in dismay when she realized how feverish he was. The cold rain and exhaustion must have affected him terribly, Penny noted, rising hurriedly to retrieve the jug of icy washing water the maid had left the night before. She leaned down and with quick fingers, ripped off the hem of her shift, the delicate material easily giving way. She then hastened to apply the wet cloth to his forehead. He batted it away weakly and murmured something unintelligible.

"Phillip?" she called softly, gently shaking him, but he did not stir, so she applied a bit more pressure. He groaned, and his eyes shot open, glazed with fever and unfocused. He squinted at her for a minute then relaxed and smiled.

"Penny," his words came out in a whisper, slurred from sleep and fever. "Beautiful..."

"You have taken ill, Your Grace," Penny said gently, removing the now warm washcloth and dipping it in fresh water. "You should not have stayed out in the rain too long." She wrung out the cloth and placed it on his head, gasping when his hand shot out to grip her own, his grip firm and strong despite his condition.

"Ah, Penelope, my sweet one" Phillip muttered, his mouth so close to her ears, sending involuntary shivers running down her spine. His mouth captured her earlobe, sucking it into its hot depths. "So sweet..." he murmured again, moving lower to kiss the base of her throat gently.

"Oh Lord!" Penny caught herself moaning, his mouth doing the most deliciously sinful things to her body, and she ceased her struggles, shutting her eyes at the flood of desire that flowed within. His mouth moved up again to her ear, then to her shoulder, trailing hot kisses along its length, while his hands squeezed her bottom, melding her to him in the most scandalous way. She raised her hands to bury her fingers in his thick, luxurious hair, revelling in the silky feel of it as it slipped between her fingers. He moaned approval, and his mouth sought hers, delving and consuming her, breaking the last vestiges of her resistance, and she gave herself completely to his passion.

Suddenly, he moved, and the next thing she knew, she was pinned under him, his legs between her spread legs, his hands roaming all over her body passionately, cupping her breasts, eliciting a loud moan that Penny scarcely recognized as her voice. His hands caressed her bare thighs, sending her into a quivering mass of need, her own hands exploring every inch of him hungrily.

With a sigh, Phillip lowered his head and took her nipple into his hot mouth, sucking her through the thin shift, his tongue making bold strokes on her sensitive flesh, sending her spinning out of control. His other hand travelled down her body, caressing her bare thighs where the shift had ridden up, stroking her heated skin, creeping upwards inch by agonisingly sweet inch towards the place where she burned for him.