“They are, but I don’t plan to use them tonight.”
At his mere words, an ache deep inside her started. Revealing the viscount and all the pain that he’d hidden, though difficult, how well been worth it. “I do not think it wise to participate in any extraneous activity. You need to heal. The wisest course of action would be to wait until our wedding night.”
His brow rose quickly, before he chuckled. “Already acting the lady of the house I see. As the lord, I see no reason why you cannot ride tonight. I can simply lie here on my back.” Sliding from the bed, he pulled the sling from over his shoulder.
He tugged on his sash and shrugged the dressing gown off his right shoulder before carefully extracting his left arm from the sleeve. Then he lifted the glass by the bed and toasted. “To our long life, health and happiness.” He threw back the drink before whipping the quilt from her.
She squealed, then covered her mouth over her own laughter.
Marcus lay down upon the bed next to her, unabashed by his nudity. “Do you need help with your shift?”
Though she had been naked with him before, she felt a certain shyness at his request. “I think I would need a sip of whatever you had in your glass to give me the courage.”
“That won’t give you courage. That was merely lemon water.”
“Lemon water? You were drinking water?”
He reached up and took the opportunity to untie the top of her shift. “Yes, dear Mariel, water with a bit of lemon squeezed in. Cook brought it from Ravenridge. I haven’t sipped liquor since I left the continent, and I have no plans to do so in the future.”
At his statement, she crinkled her nose. “Oh, you are just as odd as the rest of us.”
“So I am.” His chuckle warmed her right down to her toes. “Now, what do you say to removing your shift? I allow no clothed riders.”
Meeting his gaze she could see his love for her, but beyond that was a hunger only she could fulfill. The ache inside her turned to need, and she lifted her shift over her head, letting it fall to the floor. Then leaning forward, she kissed him.
As his hand came up to cup her breast, she leaned into his touch. “I have always loved you.”
His hand moved upward and he touched the garnet lying against her bare skin. “I know. And I’ve always loved you.” He dropped his hand to the bed. “Now make love to me, Elle.”
Her heart filled, knowing everything was as it should be. She moved over him and lowered her head to kiss one of her new favorite parts of her viscount.
His gasp made her smile before she took them on a ride to love fulfilled.
Epilogue
Blackmore House
One month later
Marcus handed theduke his scotch then returned to the sideboard in his study to pour himself lemon water. Mariel’s first dinner party with her sisters and their husbands was going well. Now he simply needed to host her brothers-in-law for a drink or two and return them to their wives.
Sommerset, dressed in a brown tailcoat, stood at the cold fireplace admiring the new painting his wife had painted, his drink on the mantel.
After filling his own glass, Marcus approached. “You must thank Lady Sommerset again for me. She captured not simply Mariel’s image but who she is inside as well.” He shook his head. “I have no idea how she did it.”
The younger man smirked. “She caught your likeness exactly, too. Did you know you usually stand more on your right leg?”
He sat in the chair next to the duke before the fireplace and studied the painting. “I hadn’t thought about it, but it makes sense. When I recovered after the war, I couldn’t put weight on my left leg for what seemed like months.”
The duke, having taken a sip of scotch, motioned toward the painting with his glass. “Was it necessary to have all those horses in the background?”
He smiled at the memory of trying, and failing, to keep Hector away while Merlin and Zephyrus stared each other down. “Yes, it was.” Mariel just didn’t have the heart to lock Hector in his stall. He turned from the painting and faced the duke. “You have your books and we have our horses.”
The man gave an accepting abbreviated nod then set his glass on the small table between them. “Has Lord Wakefield requested time with you to explain your experiences during the war?”
“He has.” He grimaced, not looking forward to it. “I’ve been able to put him off until next month. Duties of a newly married man and all that.” That and he was nervous how discussing it would affect his new found peace.
“You need not worry. Our father-in-law will not wish to know personal details. He is far too curious about the mechanism of war from the actual weapons, to combat, to formations, to the tents the foot soldiers used.”
