“You are not angry that he used me to threaten you? Or that I am the cause he did so in the first place?” she asked.
To her surprise, Adrian chuckled as he trailed his fingertips up and down the back of her yellow silk dress.
“The only time I became angry was when he insulted you,” Adrian replied. “But now, I am wondering if I should go after him and thank him.”
Shocked, Bridget pulled back from Adrian’s embrace, and sure enough, there was a sparkle of mirth in his piercing blue eyes.
“Thank him? Why?”
“He gave me the opportunity to passionately declare that you were mine and I am yours,” Adrian replied, stroking his hand over her cheek. Heat erupted everywhere he touched, making Bridget’s breath catch in her throat. “And it reminded me that there is one more thing I need to do to seal that union,” he purred into her ear.
Bridget’s heart began to beat faster as Adrian’s thumb caressed over her lips, leaving a streak of fire from her mouth, down her chin, and to her throat, where his touch trailed.
“What is that?” she whispered.
Adrian’s eyes dipped down her figure, a smile tugging at his lips.
“I believe, darling Bridget, that it is time that you and I consummate our marriage once and for all,” he replied, his deep voice growing thick with desire as he picked her up and carried her toward the stairs without another word.
It was not fear, but excitement that sparked through Bridget’s veins as Adrian spoke of consummating their marriage. He had taken great care to ease her into the pleasures of the flesh, and as she reached for that anxious state she had been in with Warren on their first night, she realized there was nothing of the sort to grab onto.
“Are you ready, Bridget?” Adrian whispered, his hands making soothing circles over the nape of her neck and around her throat. “Are you ready to finally be mine, in body as well as mind?”
“Yes,” she breathed, feeling her legs tremble as Adrian pulled her closer. “Yes, I am ready.”
A deliciously masculine groan erupted from Adrian’s chest only a moment before he lowered her head and kissed her deeply. She whimpered as she slid her fingers into the locks of his raven hair, holding him to her as tightly as he held her to him.
“Oh, Bridget,” Adrian whispered when he pulled her into his arms again. He kissed her lips tenderly this time, as if showing her how the night was going to unfold. “My sweet, sweet, Bridget,” he rasped, tracing his kisses down her throat as his hands began to untie the strings of her gown.
Goosebumps erupted down the flesh of her back as he slowly worked at ridding her of her gown. She wanted him to feel her desire for him, too, so she reached for his black cravat with trembling fingers.
Adrian’s fingers left the stays of her dress to capture her hands.
“Patience, love,” he whispered, kissing her fingers as his gaze burned into her own. “Tonight we tread softly. Slowly.”
He lowered her hands, then trailed his fingertips up her arms until they once more met her stays.
“Turn around,” he whispered, and without thought, she obeyed.
Adrian slipped the loosened fabric from her shoulders, his lips leaving a trail of fire over every expanse of flesh he freed.
“So beautiful,” he breathed once her yellow silk gown puddled at her feet. “My wife.”
Bridget’s nerves began to dance as he worked on the strings of her corset next. He pulled them loose in a painstakingly slow fashion until they dropped to the ground to join her dress.
“These marks on your back,” Adrian murmured, tracing his fingertips over the expanse of flesh that tingled whenever she removed the strict constraints of the corset. “Do you get them every day?”
Bridget turned her head to glance back at him, suddenly feeling shy about them.
“Every day since I have been told to wear a corset,” she answered.
“Monstrous,” Adrian murmured.
Shame coursed through Bridget’s veins as she hugged her breasts and tried to turn.
“I am sorry you do not like it, but—”
“No, Bridget, that is not what I mean,” Adrian insisted, stopping her. He drew her back to his chest and wrapped an arm aroundher shoulders, pinning her close to him. He grazed a kiss over the shell of her ear. “What I meant is that it is monstrous that you must feel such discomfort every day. I find it sinful to mar such perfect flesh.”
