“Do you truly believe this is the case?” he asked softly.
She couldn’t figure out if he was appalled or thrilled by the news. “I do,” she acknowledged. “My cycle has not come since that day, either. I am therefore fairly certain.”
That bit of information seemed to seal his thoughts. He pulled her towards him, kissing her mouth with gentle passion. His hands were on her face, in her hair, as he gently and tenderly kissed her.
“I honestly do not know what to say to all of this,” he whispered against her lips. “I had not imagined that we would be so soon blessed.”
Her eyes were open, watching him as he kissed her. “Are you pleased, then?”
He stopped kissing her, fixing her in the eye with his intense gaze. For a long moment, he didn’t answer her. He just stared at her.
“Aye,” he finally whispered. “I am utterly overjoyed. Stunned, but overjoyed.”
“Truly?”
“Truly.”
She offered him a timid smile and he resumed his kisses, now more passionate and lusty. In little time, his hands were fondling her breasts and she flinched. He froze in his onslaught.
“Did I hurt you?” he demanded softly, looking at his hand still covering her breast. “I did not mean to.”
She put her small hands on his face and kissed his cheek. “I am a bit tender,” she admitted.
“You did not say anything two days ago when I disrupted your bath.”
“That is because the tenderness is bearable.”
He watched her expression a moment just to make sure she was telling the truth. Then a slow smile spread across his face.
“That is good,” he pointed out. “You should know that I do not intend to keep my hands off you for the next several months. It would be an impossible task.”
She giggled softly, not knowing what to say to his bold declaration. She was still too new to love games to concoct a smooth reply. He saw her uncertainty and laughed softly.
“But I will leave you to your rest if I must,” he said softly, his eyes drifting over her lovely face. “I should not want to do anything to jeopardize the health of my son. Even as I say it, I still cannot believe it.”
She lifted her eyebrows. “Nor can I,” she admitted. “I am sorry I did not tell you sooner. I suppose I have suspected for some time now but I did not want to admit it.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged, averting her gaze, watching his enormous hands caress her arms. “Must you truly ask that?” she murmured. “Until a few days ago, I was bound to a marriage I did not want and to a man I did not….”
She trailed off, unwilling to risk upsetting him, but he knew that. He smiled faintly, his grip on her tightening. “I know,” he whispered. “I was beastly and selfish. I have tried to right things with us. I hope that I have at least made some progress.”
She met his gaze again, smiling gratefully. “You have made a world of progress,” she said. “And I am deeply appreciative for all you have done.”
He eyed her; it was his turn to avert his gaze, looking pensive as he studied the shape of her neck and shoulders. “I will make you a promise, Devereux,” he said softly, sincerely. “I will do my very best to make an excellent husband and father. I want to do this very much.”
She squeezed his big fingers. “You are well on your way.”
He glanced at her, grinning reluctantly. “Am I?”
She nodded with certainty. “Aye,” she replied. “You do not seem like the same man I married in Thetford.”
He wriggled his eyebrows sheepishly. “I am the same man,” he assured her. “But perhaps… perhaps that man has matured a bit. Perhaps he realized that the lovely woman he married was the path to something in life he never imagined to exist.”
She smiled, cocking her head sweetly. “And what is that?”
He lifted his big shoulders. “Heaven and happiness,” he said frankly, grinning when their eyes met. “I cannot explain it any more than that.”
