“You are frowning,” Tulip remarked as he stood in front of her.
“Just a little distracted, that’s all.Turn around, love.”
Her eyes lit up and she cast him a devastatingly beautiful smile.
Oh, gad.
He had been calling her ‘love’ ever since their wedding night, accidentally having it slip out a time or two because it felt so natural and appropriate.
She was taking to it like a kitten given a bowl of sweet cream.
And now, she smiled every time he used the endearment.
Well, she was becoming his ‘love’ wasn’t she?
“Stop tempting me and turn around,” he said with a chuckle, kissing her on the nose and then taking her by the shoulders to turn her away from him.
He gave her a hot kiss on the neck because he simply could not resist.
She giggled as he tied her laces and took his time about it.“Alex!Are you lacing me up or undressing me?”
His knuckles kept grazing sensitive spots on her body, but who could blame him when she looked so delicious and he genuinely adored being married to her?He readily admitted to working at cross purposes in getting her dressed.
Finally, with a silent chiding to himself, he tied the last of her laces.“There.”
“You are very good at this, Alex.”
“Am I?”He was not about to comment further since he refused to discuss his previous intimate experiences.
He had gained this skill by assisting other ladies back into their clothing after romantic assignations, often in the dark, and when all due haste was required.
There had been nothing romantic about those encounters.
They were merely convenient releases of lust for both participants because he did not choose ladies of sterling character.
They were usually married, unhappily so.
Or widows who enjoyed their independence and intended never to remarry.
These were casual liaisons.
Nothing permanent and certainly no hearts involved.
But that was before he’d met Tulip.
He had not been with another woman since setting eyes on her because there was nothing casual about his feelings for her.
He wantedher.
No one else would ever do.
“Mr.Carver will be along soon,” he said, giving her a softer kiss on the neck before releasing her.
She donned her walking boots, grabbed her bonnet and a shawl, and walked downstairs with him just as a clock in the hall bonged the eight o’clock hour.
Alex was pleased to find their breakfast salvers set out in the winter dining room.
Tulip inhaled deeply.“Oh, my.That’s heavenly.”
