“Goodness, am I not obvious? I want to be with you.” She placed a hand on his cheek. “I thought I would finish out my days as a spinster, alone and not particularly loved, since my own relatives cannot seem to abide me. So, to find you and win your heart… It is not something I could ever take for granted. I would like us to share a bedchamber, if that is all right with you.”
“More than all right.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I hope you will let me know if there is anything else you would like to put into effect. You have a very easy nature, and I can be bullheaded. I don’t want you to hesitate in telling me if something is not to your liking.”
“I think you are going to spoil me as I have never been spoiled in all my life, even by my loving parents. I will have to think hard to find something to complain about. If I do find fault, it will likely be that you spoil me too much.”
“Do not deprive me of that joy,” he said with a laugh. “I can well afford it. And do not forget that you are not the only one saved by this marriage. I never thought it would happen. Not that I blamed anyone but myself, for I am hardheaded and insufferable. I had resigned myself to living out the rest of my days alone, an old goat fumbling around a ridiculously large manor on an enormous estate. I am delighted this will not be my fate after all.”
She burrowed against him, wrapping herself in his warmth. “Oh, how wonderful! We shall be two old goats rattling about your ridiculously large estate together.”
“Unless we are blessed with children. Cherish, I meant it when I said all my rules and plans were tossed out the window once I met you. If you desire children, then we shall have them.”
She nodded against his chest. “I ache for them, especially because they will be ours. I cannot imagine anything more wonderful than having a son like you. And a daughter, too. I hope they will have your zeal for life and are fighters. I know I am too complacent.”
“I will put a little fire in you.”
She laughed. “You already have.”
“As for our children, I hope their hearts are as kind and compassionate as yours. But we shall not have any offspring if all we do is spend the night talking.” He settled over her once again.
She liked the heat of his big, roughened hands on her skin, and the light crush of his body weighing down on hers. Then his mouth pressed down on hers and he cupped one of her breasts in the palm of his hand, running his thumb lightly across the tip.
Oh my.
She was lost to all sensibility as fire swept through her veins, and she soon shattered, leaving nothing of herself but glitters of starlight.
Had she responded too quickly? Did he feel cheated?
She had not mastered this art of love yet, but Gawain did not seem to mind at all. Indeed, he attained his own release shortly after hers and had a conquering smile when he took her back in his arms.
He seemed quite pleased with the progress of this night.
As the hour grew late, Cherish thought she would have trouble falling asleep after Gawain had claimed her this second time. So much was new to her, and her senses were excited. The intensity of their coupling had opened her heart and changed how she viewed herself, no longer ignored and unwanted.
Gawain had called her a temptress and proclaimed she had wrung every last drop out of him. She thought it was the most amusing thing she had ever heard. She? A temptress? Not in this lifetime. But she was glad he thought of her in this way.
She fell asleep nestled in his arms, and must not have moved a muscle the entire night, because she awoke in the same position come morning. She smiled, trying not to wake Gawain as she slipped out of his hold and stretched the ache out of her bones.
“Now that is a sight to wake up to,” he said with an appealingly husky growl, and arched an eyebrow as he studied her.
“Oh.” She drew the sheet around her bosom, knowing it was foolish of her to blush after what the two of them had done last night. “I did not realize you were awake.”
“I’m usually up at dawn, but did not want to disturb you.” He slipped the sheet off her and sat up to kiss the swell of her breasts. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever beheld…clothed or unclothed, Cherish.”
“I suppose you have seen many.” She thought about him and Lady Albin, but was not going to mention her. She would rather undergo the labors of Hercules than ever bring up that woman’s name again. Not that she was jealous or particularly worried. After all, he had rejected his first love, as well as all the other beauties who had shared his bed in the intervening years.
“Gad, I said that awkwardly.” He shook his head and groaned. “My reputation as a hound is all in the past now. What I meant to convey, rather awkwardly, is that I am glad you are my wife. Last night was a pleasure beyond all my expectations.”
She nodded. “Same for me.”
He nudged her back into his arms. “I love you, Cherish.”
She thought he meant to couple with her again, but they quickly sat up when they heard a quiet knock at their door.
“That will be Fiona’s maid sent to attend to you.” Gawain rolled out of bed and hastily donned his shirt and trousers. “My valet is probably waiting for me in my old quarters.”
He handed Cherish her night rail and then crossed to the door, waiting a moment for her to don it before he opened up. “Your Grace, I was sent to see to Her Grace. Shall I order a bath for her?”
He nodded. “And have another sent up for me in my quarters.” He then turned back to smile at Cherish. “I’ll knock at your door within the hour. Take your time. Let Fiona’s staff spoil you.”
