The world

The party is all that I expected it to be. In a way, it is the most Benedict place I have ever visited. There is drinking and smoking as he promised, there are grand paintings and ornate decorations and it is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. The place is busy, it is bustling as I have seen the streets of London bustling on market day. "Ah! Lord Granville, I bought a guest. I hope you do not mind... may we find ourselves a drink?"

I have never met Lord Granville before but I have heard of him. He is a poised and elegant man who is just as grand as his home is. "You need not ask, Mr Bridgerton. Surely that is something you have learnt by now." He offers me a small smile, regarding me for a moment. "And who might this guest be, Benedict? Is this the young lady you have spoken so highly of over the past few weeks?" I do not know as to whether he tells me this because he wishes to embarrass Benedict or not but I shall certainly use them to embarrass him either way.

"Oh, you are speaking of me, are you, Bennie? I am Delilah, Lord Granville. It is wonderful to meet you." I laugh a little as he rolls his eyes and places a drink into my hand. "And what is it that he has said of me? Only the most wonderful things, I hope?"

"There are only wonderful things for me to say." He kisses the top of my head. "Now if you shall excuse us, Lord Granville, Lady Basset has a dress that I should very much like to remove."

I squeak with a giggle as he wraps an arm around my waist, and he attempts to lift me from my feet. "Oh, no no! You said we shall paint and smoke and drink, you did not say anything about the removal of any items of clothing, Mr Bridgerton."

"I thought it should be implied, my lady. Alas, we shall do whatever my lady wishes to do."

"I should like to see you paint." I smile and he does not hesitate to guide me towards a studio room, where there are paints and canvases and sketches dotted around, closing the door behind him.

"Sit here, I shall show you." He pulls a chair for me to sit on and I do, watching as he unbuttons his sleeves and rolls them up. He takes his own seat, sitting with his legs apart so that he can get as close as possible to the canvas. His eyes narrow slightly as he furrows his brow, the look of concentration on his face is intense, deep and profound as he grips the pencil to sketch. As I watch him, I find my heart beating slightly faster, struggling to direct my attention on anything over than his forearms and the way that they move with the pencil between his fingers. He continues for a moment, before I cannot take it any longer, standing and pushing the canvas from his reach. "You hated it that much?"

"No, not at all. It is not that I dislike the drawing, it is that I like the way you draw all too much." I place a grip on his upper thigh, moving myself do I am closer to him, pressing my body against his arm.

"Oh." He grins and tilts his head towards me so that his lips are inches from mine. "It is about to become my lucky day, is it not?"

"It might be." I keep my face from his, enjoying the way that his breath hitches ever so slightly as I slide my hand further up his thigh. He makes his movements with haste from here, and I find myself covered in those roaming hands he so warned me of, his lips pressing against mine, his chest rising and falling with desperation as he begins to fumble with my dress. He is lucky that I have decided against wearing a corset today, which means that he does not have so much work to do when it comes to getting me out of my clothes. "It must be your turn now, you cannot take this all from me and not return the favour!"

"I shall, I shall, I just wish to see you first." He whispers softly, leaning in and kissing my jawline once, twice, three times, before trailing across to my lips. He kisses me, and I lean forward and into him, finding myself pressed against the back of the chair firmly as his lips continue to move against mine. One hand remains on my jaw, holding it as he kisses me, the other pulls one of the pins from my hair so that it falls all over the place, before stroking up and down my bare stomach as he pulls the dress to hang round my waist. "You look even more stunning when your hair is like that."

"You may compliment me all you like, Bennie, but you must remove your clothes before anything more can happen!" I find myself giggling, enjoying the attention he gives me as he continues to kiss me time and time again, before he lifts me from the chair so that he may move the dress from around me and completely stripping me of it. "Do not force me to use your full name."

"Fine. Fine. I shall, I shall." Benedict is a little breathless as he moves away from me, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. I cannot help but just lean back and watch, biting my lip gently as he does. That is when he stands and his suspenders clatter as he removes his trousers, before he practically launches himself back at me, his hands cupping my chest. "You are the most wonderful woman I have ever encountered... the most beautiful, wonderful, ravishing woman I have ever seen." With each word, he places a kiss on my jawline.

"You are too much, I shall blush to the point where I shall not recover!"

"That is what you deserve. You do not deserve someone such as Anthony having fooled you around, my dear... you deserve the sun and the moon and the stars and all of the world, Delilah. You deserve and I wish only for the chance to give you the world." His voice is low and quiet, intimate as he whispers closely into my ear. "Allow me to give you the world."