She exhaled loudly. “I appreciate that protecting a wife is part of a husband’s duty.” Her fingers tapped words out on both hands. “Where wild boars are concerned, or murderous highwaymen. But there is no need to protect me from… everyday unpleasantness—even from the occasional tragedy.”
Her words hovered between them.
“Then what is it that you want from me?” He rubbed the back of his neck for the umpteenth time that evening.
She turned her back on him. “It’s not fair for me to ask since you didn’t choose to marry me.”
He couldn’t deny that. But… “If I can provide it, I would like to try. But if I don’t know what it is then I’ve already failed.” And by God, he wanted to do what he could to keep her happy. It was what husbands did, wasn’t it?
He swallowed hard. “I care for you, Bethany.”
She jerked around to stare at him. “You don’t have to say that.”
“I know.” He held out the cheroot and she took it—this time, with shaking hands. “What do you want, Bethany?”
Finally, she nodded. “I’d like to know what you think about when you wake up in the morning—your favorite foods, your favorite color. Little things, but also big things—matters in your heart.” She spoke the words clearly and then wrapped her lips around the paper where his lips had been moments before. Sharing his vice with her was oddly intimate—a secret kiss.
Almost as though gravity pulled him to do so, he stepped across the distance separating the two of them and placed his hands on her hips.
“How does one go about doing that?” He asked. “Sharing one’s heart and all that?”
Her mouth mesmerized him as she exhaled a wispy river of smoke.
When had Bethany become sexy? He squeezed the flesh just above her hipbones.
“We won’t be needing this.” He removed the cigar from her fingers. It was over half burned so he dropped it onto the path and ground it beneath his heel.
“They talk to one another.” Her voice hitched even as she raised her hands and rested them on his chest.
“Go on.” He tugged her closer, his cock already hard.
Her figure softened against him. Ah, yes, she wasn’t unaware of his arousal.
“They share their fears, and their hopes.”
Chase bent down and grazed his teeth along the soft skin of her shoulders. “What else do they share?” He rather approved of this particular fashion she’d been wearing—sleeves that allowed him to lower the bodice of her gown without fussing with buttons or ties. He hungrily caressed the tops of her breasts with his gaze. Beautiful and full, nearly spilling out of her stays.
“They share their bodies.” Her pulse fluttered at the base of her throat.
“I am amenable to all of this.” He grazed his face along her neck and then dipped his chin and mouth into her cleavage, all the while walking her backward, off the path and onto an adjacent patch of clover.
Not ideal but good enough. He wasn’t willing to wait any longer. He’d waited all day.
I’ve waited a lifetime.
Dipping low, he slid his arm beneath her knees and before she could protest, he had her laying in the clover.
Her lips were full and parted, and her hair splayed on the verdant greenery. Bracketed by his knees, her satin skirts ensured she was trapped beneath him.
He loved the decadence of her womanly body. The merest tug and dusty rose nipples slipped out of her stays. Chase leaned down and suckled. He’d thought he was a leg man, and then an arse man, but with the moonlight casting pale light on her alabaster skin, he’d rethink his preferences again.
But for now…
The tip pebbled into tight ridges when he clamped down and her groan vibrated beneath him.
Taking his time, he ran his tongue around the turgid skin and sucked harder.
Greedy hands clutched the back of his head.She wants more.
