“Please do,” he said, his voice low and vulnerable.“I would like nothing more than that.”
A rush of satisfaction accompanied by a warm anticipation spread through Ana’s chest.
“Bueno.I will.”Ana shifted upward and kissed his cheek, lingering in his warmth and closeness.When she drew away, it was only just.Being so close to him, she could see every fleck of scruff on his cheeks, could trace the perfect sharpness of his jawline, could memorize the many shades of blue in his eyes—eyes which were flicking back and forth between her gaze and her lips.
“I thought this was already a calming space, but now, with you here, it is incomparably peaceful.Perhaps we could make a nice morning routine together.We could study the Bible together when we wake.It would help my Spanish and your English.”
“And we can take breakfast in bed together?”
“Of course.So long as I am allowed to remain here, close at your side, we can do whatever you wish.Although I may find it much harder to leave my rooms each morning and go about my responsibilities.”Peter chuckled and shifted, rolling onto his side so their faces were aligned, but his hands did not leave her waist.Ana was suddenly, delightfully aware of the firmness of his embrace, the heat of his gaze and his touch.
“Yo también.Me too,” she whispered without moving a single inch.Her eyes were trained on his mouth, her lips parting involuntarily.The few kisses they had shared had been delicious, incandescent.How she wished he would kiss her every day.She leaned in closer, her lips barely floating above his.
He was breathing fast now, each breath warming her face, and his hand was searing as it cupped her jaw and threaded through her hair, pulling her face to his.His lips enveloped hers in a gentle but insistent motion, each kiss further convincing her that she would never sleep without him again.Ana sighed in delight.If she had known her husband could kiss her with such passion, she would have married him much sooner.Ana began to return his kisses now, her lips slow but firm as they explored.She laced her arms around his neck, pulling herself as close to him as the rounding of her middle would allow.
But instead of melting into her embrace, Peter froze, a shadow in his eyes.Fear?Hesitation?Desire?
Then without warning, he leapt backward out of bed, tangling himself in the bedclothes and falling in a great heap onto the floor.The jug of water on his bedside table bumped against his Bible, teetered at the disturbance, and wobbled ever more uncontrollably.
“Pedro!” Ana dove for the jug but to no avail.It was already careening over the edge, landing upside down in Peter’s grasping hands, entirely dousing him with water.He sputtered and gasped, surprise written across his face.
Ana squealed with laughter as she fumbled with the covers in an effort to escape the large bed and assist her husband.She took the jug from his hands, replacing it on the bedside table.
A knock came at the door, “Mr.Ashmore, are you all right in there?”called Elena.
Ana and Peter froze simultaneously.Peter raised a finger to his lips, indicating that they remain quiet.The staff hadn’t the faintest idea that she had spent the night in his rooms.
“Hush now, he’s with his lady, you know.Leave them be,” said Mrs.Thompson in her nasally whisper.
Or apparently they did.What sort of grand teasing would they be in for today?
Ana’s side ached, her eyes still blurred from her tear-inducing laughter, as she rose to her feet.Peter stood, his night shirt plastered to his muscular form as he shook drops of water from his hair.The wetness of his shirt revealed not only the strength of his chest and arms but also a series of scars laced across his shoulder and neck.At the sight, Ana felt it incredibly difficult to breathe.
“Estás bien?”she asked, her voice abnormally, annoyingly high, and she bit her lip in some effort to calm herself.
Peter stepped forward to where Ana was bent over the side of the bed, his eyes simmering with amusement and some other emotion that made Ana feel as if she would melt completely under his gaze.Then he leaned his head toward her, barely hovering over her mouth.
“I am better than I have ever been before.”
Ana could feel his whisper against her mouth.She licked her lips and held her breath, waiting for him to fall into the bed again and warm her mouth with his.But his mouth moved away.It flipped into a teasing smile and glanced against her cheek instead.Ana groaned, collapsing backward against her pillow as Peter started for his outer clothes.
“And with that, my dear wife, I will take my leave of you.”
Chapter 23
January 22, 1814, Abbeygate, Surrey Hills, England
“Ana, dear, I’ve fetched your warmest cloak.Do come wear it.I will not have my wife catching a cold.”
There had been a blessed break in the heavy snowfall that had kept Ana cooped up for the past week, so Peter had been insistent that they take a walk about the gardens.The snow had melted and seeped away almost completely on the gravel paths, although the same could not be said for the grass fields that could take them to newer destinations.They would have to stick to the gardens for today.
Soon Ana was at his side, adorably wrapped in a ridiculous number of layers and prepared to embark as they stepped through the back door.She felt the cold much more acutely than he did, having lived in a warm coastal town for much of her life.So long as she was comfortable, Peter himself was content.
Leaving for London had been a risk.But since Peter had begun to open up about some of his concerns regarding the army and some of his difficult past, there had been a renewal of trust and openness between them.Ana in turn had hinted at a unique understanding of some of the difficult feelings he had regarding his father and his own lack of a typical upbringing.Somehow the pain of their pasts was beginning to mold them into better friends and spouses.And he hoped that the same would be true when they would become parents.
“Peter!”
He froze, impossibly stuck between feelings of bliss and terror at hearing his wife use his Christian name in English for the first time.Gone was the teasing, overdramaticPedro.She was calling him because she needed him.
