The kiss was soft - gentle. A word Aurelia would have never used to describe Anthony Bridgerton before that night. Then again, she thought to herself, there were many things she would have never known about Anthony before that night.

She moved her hands up his face, each one resting on both of his cheeks, deepening the kiss. To avoid inflating his ego, she'd never tell him how good he was at it, she could only assume practice made perfect - and perfect he was.

He planted kisses along her jaw and down her neck, as she groaned against his ear. She felt his smirk against her skin between kisses, but she didn't want him to stop. She wanted more.

Grabbing at his clothes, she tugged at his shirt as he shifted enough for her to pull it over his head before dropping it to the floor, as he undid the back of her dress. Kneeling up, she shimmied the dress over her head and shoulders, as he removed his trousers, kicking them on the pile they had created on the ground.

She sank onto him, her lips finding his once more, the pair of them hardly breathing as she began to rock her hips against his, slow at first, but growing steadily faster. She gripped the back of the sofa, as his fingers dug into the skin of her back.

They could not break their kiss, if they did they'd make noise, and the last thing they needed was to wake Anthony's family and walk in on them. The sight alone would be enough to give Violet Bridgerton a heart attack.

It didn't take long for waves of pure joy to ripple through their bodies, one after the other, leaving the pair breathless. Neither of them spoke, in fear they would ruin the moment. For a few seconds, they stared into each other's eyes. There was a spark between them that Aurelia had never felt before, a sense of understanding, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking without the need to ask. She couldn't lie, it scared her slightly, she'd never felt anything like it before.

Athony's eyes lowered to her lips, before meeting her gaze once more. He opened his mouth to speak, but Aurelia pressed a single finger against his lips to keep him silent. Only seconds passed when moved her finger and replaced it with her lips again.

She has not had enough.

-----

Aurelia's eyes flickered open, as she stirred from her sleep. The sun flickered through the curtains, dancing on her bare skin that wasn't hidden under the blanket Anthony had pulled out from the library's trunk. Half her body rested on his, the side of her face pressed into his shoulder, as he lazily traced circles into her back with his fingers. His chin sat on her head as he stared into the distance, daydreaming.

"What time is it?" She asked him, tearing him away from his trance.

"A little after eight," He replied.

She groaned, turning her head to press her face into his shoulder. "My parents are going to kill me." They were going to do more than that if they ever found out what she'd done. Torture was a more likely punishment. Even so, she couldn't help but laugh. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very," He answered.

"Good," She smiled.

Placing a finger under her chin, Anthony tilted her head upwards and kissed her lips softly. Her whole body warmed as she shifted her body on top of him, deepening the kiss further. Every instinct in her body pushed her to continue, but she knew they had been lucky not to get caught so far, she didn't want to tempt fate.

"I should leave," She tried to manoeuvre herself off of the sofa, but Anthony tightened his grip.

"You can stay for a little while."

A smile grew wider, happy he didn't want to be rid of her so quickly, but she could not risk it. "This might not be the first place they look, but my parents will knock on your door eventually. Their imaginations will be running wild, enough. Our current situation would send my mother to an early grave."

A tiny frown cut into his forehead. "They don't know about Roman?"

"It's not part of my past I cared to share with them," She replied, shocked that he'd think it was.

Yet, that was not the most interesting part of his response. Far from it. Whether he liked it or not, distaste burned in his eyes like an envious beacon of light. "Is that jealousy I see?" She laughed, as Anthony shook his head, trying to hide it. "I'm shocked. I never thought I'd see the day Anthony Bridgerton would be jealous of another man. I wish I had my canvas and paint to capture the moment."

A devilish smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I don't have a canvas, but I'm sure Daphne keeps some paint somewhere."

She knew exactly what he was implying. "You're terrible." Another laugh nearly escaped her lips, but it was swiftly cut off by Anthony stealing another kiss. "I need to go." She attempted to insist between kisses.

"Then go," He said, knowing full well he had no intention of letting her leave so easily.

She lost herself in him once again, this time taking several seconds before she realised she'd fallen into his trap. "You are extremely difficult."

"You should try meeting yourself," He replied.

"How rude,"

-----

Aurelia was ashamed to admit how many attempts it took her to finally leave, especially since it meant she had to sneak out of the library window to avoid the attention of the now awake Bridgerton hoard.

Still, she slowly strolled home, wanting to delay meeting with her parents once again. She could already imagine the lecture that waited inside for her when she returned, she'd be lucky if it only lasted until lunch.

Sauntering through the front door, she headed towards the corridors to find her parents. It didn't take too long for her to hear Lady Bradford's voice echoing out of the living room. "I am sure she is here somewhere. She will have been walking the garden and lost track of time, she knows how important this day is. It's all she has talked about."

Who was she talking to? And why was the day important?

Curious, she opened the door to the living room and stepped inside.

"Aurelia," Her mother snapped in a panic.

"Not now, mother..." Aurelia rolled her eyes, before her sights landed on the man next to her. "Lord Harrington."

Oh no! In the midst of her all family secrets, she'd forgotten she was going riding with him today. He must be horrified by the state she was in - yesterday's clothes and unbrushed hair were not the most appealing looks on anyone.

"Miss Bradford," He politely nodded his head. Not a single muscle flinched at her appearance. In fact, he gazed at her as if she was the most beautiful person in the whole of London.

"Goodness me, is that the time?" She pretended to look at the clock. "You must forgive me. I could have sworn I'd only been out for an hour."

"There is no need to apologise," He dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "Do you want me to give you a few minutes to..." His eyes trailed down to her clothes, too gentlemanly to outright instruct her to change.

"Yes, that is very kind of you," She smiled, happy she could have a few minutes to make herself look presentable. "I won't be too long."

Quickly scurrying out of the room, she ran for the stairs to find something more suitable to wear.

Lady Bradford, of course, took this as the opportune moment to chase her down, and stopped her halfway up the stairs. "Where have you been?"

"Out," She bluntly replied.

"All night?"

"Yes."

She knew exactly what her mother was implying, she wanted to know who she spent the night with and the activities they'd got up to.

Lady Bradford narrowed her stare. "Where?"

A smirk tugged at the corner of Aurelia's mouth. "It is a secret mother."

"You can't keep any secrets from me, I am your mother,"

"There is no way to be certain of that though, is there?" Aurelia stabbed her in the chest with her harsh words. "With our family's past, you could be my aunt for all I know."

"This is not a joke, Aurelia," Her mother snarled.

"I'm not laughing." She replied, staring her mother down, something a few days ago she'd been too scared of even thinking about, never mind doing. "Now, if you'd be so kind, I need to get ready."

Lady Bradford gawked as she watched her daughter sprint up the stairs, unable to believe what had just happened. She was determined to find out where she had spent the night, and if she needed to be worried about the scandal it would cause.