He shifted so that his weight wasn’t pressing down on her, but she wouldn’t let him withdraw from her body. He ended up half on, half off her. Her breasts, free of the weight he brought down on them, were now available for her to fondle. She did, one hand between her legs and the other on her breasts, until Payne’s big hand joined her in her exploration of her own body. Something she’d always avoided until just a few days ago, whenshe and Payne consummated their marriage and she realized that touching her body wasn’t a bad thing.
Now, all she wanted to do was explore.
Payne finally pulled out of her simply so he could move to a more comfortable position and suckle her breasts tenderly. Astria closed her eyes, feeling the pleasure of his mouth on her flesh, her hand still between her legs, touching herself where it was warm and moist. When Payne couldn’t stand being left out of it, he moved one hand between her legs and pushed his fingers into her, pleasuring her as she groaned softly. When she finally climaxed, he pushed himself up onto one elbow, gazing down at her flushed, lovely face.
“I told ye that I have duties,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “I swear tae ye that if I get punished for being late, I’ll tell them it was all yer fault.”
Her eyes opened sleepily and she grinned. “Would you really?”
“I would.”
Her arms abruptly came up, and she threw them around his neck, pulling him down to her seeking lips. Payne surrendered without a fight, but only until things started getting heated again and he forced himself away.
“Nay,” he said, leaping out of bed before she could grab him. “Ye’re a wicked, wanton woman, Lady Lismore, and I shouldna let ye seduce me.”
Astria sat up, bare-breasted, watching him grab for his breeches. “Mayhap not, but you did,” she said, smiling. “Are you truly so weak?”
He pulled his breeches over his hips, fastening the ties as he looked up at her. “For ye, I am,” he said, eyes glimmering with warmth and affection. “I never knew I could become so attached tae someone in so short a time. Now I canna remember when ye were not by my side, lass. Everything about ye consumes me.”
The smile on her face faded. “Do not say such things if you do not mean them,” she said. “You do not have to say them because you think it is what I want to hear.”
“I say it because it’s the truth,” he said. “Tell me something—have ye ever wanted yer marriage tae be more than a contract? More than marrying a stranger because yer father made a bargain with him?”
She wasn’t sure what he meant. “A marriage is supposed to be many things.”
“It’s suppose tae be happy.”
“How do you know?”
“Because my parents were happy. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“But she went to sea and left him.”
“Only out of duty tae her father,” Payne said. “My father loved her enough tae know she had tae go. And he let her.”
“And you want the same thing they had?”
He nodded before hunting around for his tunic. “I do,” he said. “I sound like a woman saying such a thing, but I reason that if I’m going tae spend my life with someone, then I want tae like them. Love them, even. I dunna think that is unreasonable.”
He found his tunic and Astria pulled the coverlet over her bare chest, thinking on what he’d said. “I do not think so either,” she said. “But it is so very rare. I do not know if I’ve ever truly seen a happy royal marriage. The people who seem happy are the ones who do not have the weight of important duties hanging around their neck. Mayhap that is what makes them the happiest of all—no great responsibilities. And their marriages are happy because they can focus on one another, not the world that demands their time and attention.”
He found his tunic, pulling it over his head. “That is astute,” he said. “And mayhap there is some truth tae it. But I like tae think that if a man and woman like each other enough, and careabout each other enough, a happy marriage will be important tae them both. Love can grow from such things.”
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned love.”
He looked at her. “Do ye think ye could love me? Just a little?”
She fought off a smile, averting her gaze shyly. “Mayhap,” she said. “You are rather handsome. And you are very kind.”
He plopped down on the bed, grabbing his boots from the floor. “That’s a start,” he said. “Do ye want tae know what I told my mother?”
“What?”
“I told her that ye and I were going tae have a love that would outlast the stars.”
Astria turned to look at him. His back was to her as he put his boots on. Crawling out from underneath the coverlet, she made her way over to him, gently putting her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think so?” she whispered.
