“Yes.” She glanced down but then took a deep breath and looked up again. “But I told him you and I married, that you did so in order to protect Amelia… and me.”
“And because I loved you,” Luke said. He never wanted her to doubt the motivation behind his proposal. Of course, he would have protected her child and her reputation, but he’d meant every word he’d said in that tiny church when he’d married her. “I’ve been in love with you since before we met. Did you know that?” He nuzzled his lips along her delicate jaw. “Before I’d even finagled an introduction, I overheard you laughing. It was the most joyful, delightful sound I’d ever heard. When I turned and caught sight of you for the first time, I was ruined. Utterly ruined for all other women.”
Naomi tilted her head back, allowing his lips to trail kisses down her neck. “I didn’t know.”
Luke groaned. “Never doubt my love.”
“I won’t,” she promised. Tasting her, holding her, was like coming home. Her hand grazed the material covering his thighs. “You are not wearing your uniform.”
Luke inhaled a cleansing breath. “I am no longer Major Lucas Cockfield.”
“Simply Lord Lucas, again?”
“To match my Lady Lucas.” Luke liked the sound of that.
“What did Blackheart say about it?”
“My brother... simply asked what was needed from him to fix up my estate. He wishes us well.” Luke swallowed the emotion that welled at the mention of that conversation. “Said he was proud of me.”
“He is a good man.”
Luke closed his eyes. “He is.”
As much as Luke esteemed his brother, he didn’t wish to speak of Blackheart in this moment. Not when he had Naomi in his arms. He’d waited a lifetime to have her.
He slid his hands down her arms, embracing her from behind. “God, Naomi, I missed you.” First, they had been friends, then they’d become lovers, and for a brief moment, they had stood in a church together as man and wife.
And then… nothing. He’d gone away and, on his return, had hardly even been allowed to acknowledge her.
He’d been unable to bask in her smile, to talk with her privately, to listen to her laugh. It had been impossible to touch his lips to hers or openly show her affection in any way.
And he hadn’t made love to her in nearly ten months.
It was time, and he would reveal the depths of his emotions to her in the best way he knew how—the way he’d ached to. It had been so long for both of them. Too long.
She made a mewling sound, one he remembered from sharing her bed, and burrowed into him. “There is nothing between us now,” she murmured.
“Nothing.”
But he was surprised when she giggled. “I mean…” She drew one of his hands lower, to her midsection. “No little cantaloupe.”
He hadn’t even noticed the difference. But now, the joyful ring of her laughter had him chuckling. He had craved her voice, her touch, her smile—he had cravedthis joy. Awed, he opened his hand and covered her belly. Not at all as he remembered from before. Slightly rounded though, and soft. He palmed hisway upward and cradled the weight of her breast. Heavier. Her uniquely feminine flesh filled his hand, giving him all sorts of carnal ideas. “I have the opportunity to learn your body all over again.”
As he watched her neck and cheeks flush a pretty pink, blood surged to his groin.
Ten monthshad passed since he’d made love to her.Ten monthsof waiting, of worrying.
Of wanting.
The thought of being with her again sent his heart racing. “Are you still nervous?”
“No.” And then, “A little.”
Luke dropped his legs and lifted her onto his lap sideways. “I believe then, Lady Lucas, that we must reacquaint ourselves with one another.”
Staring into his eyes, she nodded. “I am being silly.”
“You are being honest.” She never need hide anything from him. “Your feelings aren’t silly, love. They are yours, your truth. Never apologize for sharing them with me, never.”
