“Yes?”It came out like a squeak.Nervous as well as shy, he thought.
“I’ve never been good at expressing myself.”He cleared his throat.“I was thinking about how we were as children.Back then, you said and did whatever you wanted, without worrying about what I might think.And sometimes I was a little bit shocked—well, we were brought up differently.But knowing I didn’t always approve never stopped you.Do you remember?”
“Yes.”She nodded but looked a little wary.
“That’s how I want you to be.”
Even in the dim light he could see her face fall.
“You want me to act like a little girl?”
“No!Of course not!”he said, horrified.“You’re not that little girl anymore—neither of us is a child now.No, I want you to be like yourself!However that is.Saying and doing whatever you—we—want.And if the other is unhappy about something, they should speak up and we will sort it out.Together.”
There was a short silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire.Her expression was still faintly troubled.
He groped for the words to explain.“I know you vowed to obey me, Tessa, but you don’t have to—that’s what I meant by not wanting a dutiful wife.When we were children we were friends, equals, and that’s how I want it to be now, as adults and as husband and wife.”
“You mean we really should be honest with each other?Totally frank?”
“Exactly.”
“And if I should say that I didn’t want to lie with you tonight?Or any night?”
His heart sank.“As I said, I would respect that.”
She looked thoughtful.“And if I said I wanted to slip out at night and explore the woods?”
“You could.Though I would probably ask to come with you.But it would be your choice.”
There was another long silence as she thought it over.“So you’re really saying I’m free to do whatever I want?”
He devoutly hoped he was doing the right thing.‘Whatever I want’was risky.But he had to get her to trust him.And he needed to trust her in return.“Within reason, yes.And if I’m unhappy about something—or you are—we would talk things over and hopefully reach a compromise.”He took a deep breath.“When you were a child, you were full of exuberance and, and life.Somewhere along the way you’ve lost that, but I would be very happy if it returned.Though not as a little girl and not if you feigned it to please me.”
“I see,” she said slowly after another thoughtful silence.“Then in that case ...
He held his breath.
She slipped out of bed and came to him.“In that case, dear Marcus, I agree.And I would be happy to consummate this marriage tonight.”She reached up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned his head and captured her mouth instead.Briefly.Just a taste.Because she was trembling.
His own hands were also shaking slightly.He drew her closer and cupped her face gently.Her skin was like warm silk.He slipped his fingers into her cool, soft curls, and tipped her chin up with his other hand.Despite her apparent willingness, she was tense, strung tight.A pulse fluttered just below her jawline.
He took a deep breath and eased back slightly, and that was when he noticed what she was wearing.Or barely wearing.Silhouetted against the firelight, every slender curve showed.The nightgown was practically transparent, a froth of silky shadows tantalizing in what they almost but not quite concealed.Her nipples peaked, and the shadowed triangle at the base of her stomach enticed.
His eyes devoured her and he rubbed the silky stuff between his fingers.“What is this?”
“A gift from Daisy Chance.”
“Remind me to thank her,” he murmured and bent to kiss her again.
Her eyes, reflecting sparks from the firelight, darkened.A man could drown in those eyes.He stroked his thumb lightly, lingeringly over her lower lip, warm and full and satin-soft.
Her breath hitched.She moistened her mouth with her tongue and waited, gazing up at him expectantly, her lips slightly parted.How could a twice-married woman look so deliciously, deceptively innocent?
He bent and brushed his mouth over hers, lightly, barely touching, and he felt her sigh and soften against him, just a little.He was desperate to take her now, make her his, but he knew he had to take things slowly, to make it good for her.
He was, after all, a civilized man.
Coals settled in the grate.Outside the wind stirred the leaves in the trees.Her eyes fluttered.
