Her heart pounded. The impeccable aristocrat had disappeared, replaced by this feral man who awakened shameful, wonderful, primitive desires in her body.
“Scream for me, darling.” He whispered the words before suckling on the bud where her body’s pleasure centered. She tried to resist, but then the explosion hit. Losing all control, she cried his name as wave after wave of ecstasy thundered through her body.
No sooner had she caught her breath than he levered himself over her. Grasping her hips, he sheathed himself inside her with one deep thrust. Groaning, he repeated the motion again and again, in an ever-increasing tempo. Not wanting to lose him, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
That small move sent him over the edge. Bracinghimself on stiffened arms, he drove his thick staff into her repeatedly as his back arched and he threw his head to the rear. She joined his wordless moans at the glorious sensation and reveled in the release of his hot seed deep inside her.
Panting, he collapsed on top of her. As he pressed kisses onto her neck, her collarbone, her face, she stroked his sweat-slicked back until her own breath returned. “Will you stay with me tonight?”
Without a word, he moved onto his side and gathered her close. Her eyes drooped and she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
Chapter 10
At some point during the night, Diantha roused, vaguely aware of a sweet kiss and a tender whisper before Kieran left her bed. By the time Florette’s entrance woke her up fully the next morning, the rumpled sheets on his side of the bed had grown cold. “Good morning, milady. I trust you slept well.” As the maid opened the drapes to admit the morning light, the younger woman stretched her feet toward the bottom of the bed, seeking her nightgown. Brushing her foot against some lace, she grasped with her toes and stealthily bent her leg to bring it within reach of her hand.
“Very well indeed, thank you.” Gripping the bedclothes firmly around her naked body, she grabbed the cambric and pondered how to pull it over her head before she had to leave the bed. The mussed sheets proclaimed her husband’s presence in her room last night as surely as if she shouted it from the rooftops, but protocol demanded that even married women maintain the polite fiction that they never indulged in conjugal romps.
The ever-tactful maid solved her dilemma. “I shall personally oversee the heating of milady’s bathwater.” A twinkle in her gray eyes belied the stiff formality of the words.
Lips quivering, Diantha nodded her head graciously. “Thank you, that would be most appreciated.”
After their playacting, the maid pulled out a muslin bed jacket and placed it on the bed. Curtseying, she disclosed the information that the family ate breakfast in the north back parlor. “Chef says that the aunt orders that only milord’s mother is permitted to take breakfast in her room, but that he awaits your directions.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Convey my thanks to—?”
“MacAdam, milady.” Florette grimaced. “A Scot, of all things. At least he studied in France.”
When she finally located the north back parlor, she discovered both Uptons ensconced at the breakfast table. Barclay instantly rose and begged her to allow him to prepare a plate for her, while his mother delivered a look which conveyed a poor opinion of females who slept until the shocking hour of nine o’clock.
Diantha had given some thought to dealing with Kieran’s aunt as she sat in her hip bath earlier. It would not do to divide the household into armed camps, but she had settled on a few small steps to start with.
“Good morning, Cousin. Good morning, Aunt.” She ignored the indignant muttering from Iona’s end of the breakfast table. Declining Barclay’s offerof assistance, she strolled over to inspect the dishes on the sideboard.
Seeing the offerings, she understood the reason behind the family’s choice of chef. Certainly the temperamental individuals who ruled her mother’s kitchens would have resigned before preparing porridge with cream, bannocks, or venison pasty.
Her cousin by marriage pulled out a chair for her. “I heartily recommend the fried trout; it’s fresh from our own loch. The venison is ours as well.”
Odd that one who claimed to feel like a stranger here referred to each thing asours. Making her selections, she moved to the table and smiled her thanks.
Kieran breezed into the room just then. Dressed in a riding habit, hair blown into waves, he exuded vitality. Watching his muscles bunch under the tight breeches, she swallowed.
Aunt Iona frowned. “I am quite sure we have sufficient servants to ring for a bath before coming to breakfast in all your dirt, Nephew.”
He waved her objections aside. “I’ve eaten already, Aunt. I shall only have a cup of tea.” Helping himself to tea, two rolls, and marmalade, he bent to kiss Diantha’s cheek before seating himself. Barclay’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline and Iona looked ill.
As he sipped his tea, his eyes twinkled at her over the rim of the cup. “What a delightful dress, my dear. You look every inch the lady of the manor—this morning.” He lowered his voice on the last two words, conjuring a memory of just how unladylike she had appeared and sounded last night.
She darted a glare at him, then bent to her meal until the heat faded from her face and neck.
In a faintly disapproving tone, Barclay asked her unrepentant spouse where he had ridden. They fell into a discussion about estate problems, relieving her of the necessity of speaking.
When they concluded, Kieran turned to her. “Diantha, have you formulated any plans for the day yet?”
Her blushes under control, she placed her knife and fork on her plate. “I hoped you might be able to take me over the house today. I would enjoy a closer look at it.”
His face clouded. “I’m so sorry; I have months of paperwork to catch up on in my study.” A sharp sense of disappointment filled her. “I’d offer Barclay’s services, but he’s going to be working with me. However, I’m sure Aunt Iona will be able to answer any questions you have.”
Her heart plummeted. The company of a woman who despised her would ruin any pleasure in examining her new home.
