“You didn’t exactly give me time to be frightened,” she admitted, warming with another blush.
“And now that you know what it’s all about?”
“I believe I feel a faint coming on.”
He burst into laughter, but coughed it down as the door opened and a stoic-faced Dobson stared out at them. Roslynn was a trifle disappointed that the fellow could look so blasé, as if he were quite accustomed to finding his employer at the door with a woman in his arms. But she was mollified a moment later as they passed him and she caught Dobson’s unguarded expression. That was more like it, astonishment in the extreme. She hid her smile against Anthony’s shoulder.
But watching the butler, she missed seeing James Malory just stepping into the hall, a drink in hand. Ifhe was surprised, he didn’t show it. The voice that drew Roslynn’s attention to him was bland as well.
“I don’t suppose I should be witnessing this.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t,” Anthony retorted without breaking his stride toward the stairs. “But since you have, you may as well know I married the girl.”
“The devil you say!”
“He really did.” Roslynn chuckled, delighted with this reaction even more than with Dobson’s. “You don’t think I’d allow just anyone to carry me over the threshold, do you?”
Anthony stopped short, rather amazed himself that he had managed to discompose this particular brother. “Good God, James, I’ve waited a lifetime to see you at a loss for words. But you’ll understand if I don’t wait around for you to recover, won’t you?” And he didn’t, continuing on his way.
At the top of the stairs, Roslynn whispered, laughter in her voice, “That was naughty of us, don’t you think?”
“Not a-tall, dear girl,” he promptly disagreed. “If I’m to have you to myself for a while, rendering my brother speechless was not only necessary but priceless. We will be bombarded with the family’s good wishes and endless questions soon enough.” Inside his room, he leaned back against the door with a sigh. “Alone at last.”
Before Roslynn could say anything, he let her legs drop, turning her toward him at the same time. She ended up practically lying on him, a position they both savored for several long moments while he teased her lips with soft nibbles.
The backs of his fingers caressed her cheek, bringing her eyes slowly open. His own were grown darkand heavy-lidded with passion. And his voice was a caress too, his breath warm against her lips.
“Did you ever stop to think that this is the one night of your life when everyone knows you intend to make love? Ah, sweetheart, I love it when you blush for me.”
“It’s something I’ve been doing only recently—since I met you.”
For some reason, her husky reply savaged Anthony’s senses. He set her away from him, his hands trembling, a soft groan in his throat.
“I was a bloody fool to wait this long. I’ll give you five minutes to do whatever you have to, but for God’s sake, take pity on me, Roslynn, and be in bed when I return.”
“Wearing something sheer and sexy?”
“Good God, no!” he exclaimed. “I don’t think I could bear it now.”
With that he disappeared into his dressing room, leaving Roslynn with a silly smile on her lips and a warmth of anticipation churning in her belly. Had she done that to him, made him lose control like that? Extraordinary. But she wasn’t too composed herself. Knowing what was going to happen was a lot different from not knowing. It made it easier. There was an eagerness. But she was still too inexperienced not to be a trifle nervous too.
Her fingers were rather clumsy in stripping off her clothes, though she made quick work of it. Her heart was pumping at an abnormal rate. Her ears were attuned to the door as she waited to hear it open. Climbing into the bed, she was undecided whether to pull the sheet over her completely or to leave it only partially draped. Modesty won out, for now. She wondered if frequency would help, if she might eventually manage a certain detachment. With Anthony, she doubted it. This was more likely to become habit-forming.
He was wearing a long robe of crimson velvet when he finally returned. With acute embarrassment, Roslynn realized that she hadn’t even thought to put on a nightgown. Not that it would have stayed on for long, but wasn’t it unseemly for a wife to wait naked in bed for her husband? Perhaps not—at least not tonight. And Anthony’s appreciative smile as he approached the bed said he certainly approved.
“May I?” He sat down next to her and began removing the pins from her hair.
She touched a red-gold lock that fell onto her shoulder. “I forgot.”
“I’m glad.”
He was. He loved her hair, loved touching it and running his fingers through it. Setting the pins aside, he massaged her scalp until her eyes closed and a dreamy smile appeared on her lips.
“That’s nice,” she breathed softly.
“Is it? And what about this?”
His lips pressed to her temple, moving down, stopping at her mouth for a long, deep kiss before continuing down her neck in a path that led to her breasts. Ripples of warmth shot along her nerves, making her toes curl.
