“Indeed, my lord.” Johnstone bowed slightly in her direction. “Her ladyship’s proposal is most sensible, and very welcome.”
“Her ladyship is as clever as she is kind andlovely.” Under the affectionate smile he bestowed upon her, she gulped and weakly thanked him for the compliment. Then, stammering that she needed something from her chamber, she promptly fled.
Pacing the floor of her bedroom, she berated herself for foolishness. In truth, she admitted silently, her husband’s recuperation had been the sweetest time of her marriage so far.
She felt valued as never before in her life. He seemed to enjoy her company, allowing her to cosset him, asking her to read aloud in the evenings. He even insisted on sleeping with her every night, although sleeping was all that happened in the immense oak bed. She had discovered waking up with him to be even more intimate than the intense lovemaking they had shared previously.
A dozen times, she had been on the verge of bringing up the feelings she had revealed to him. Fear had stopped her, and the conviction that he could never return them. He might rely on her good judgment and care for now, but surely he would eventually seek some woman more interesting than she was.
Instead, she enjoyed his company and wrote of each day in her journal, so she could treasure the memory of this time in the years ahead.
Finally the night came when Kieran gathered her close in his arms upon retiring, kissing her deeply. Diantha pulled back. “Is this wise?”
He could hardly pretend not to understand her with the solid jut of his manhood hardening againstherleg. “I don’t care if it’s wise or not. We haven’t made love since before Barclay shot me.”
She winced, even knowing that his cousin could never threaten them again.
He cupped her cheek with a hand and regarded her soberly. “You saved my life. Barclay planned that for months.”
She shuddered. “How can you be so calm?”
“Because I survived. I’m here in one piece, at least mostly.” Lying back down on his side of the bed, he propped himself up on an elbow. She tried to read his face. “And that’s because you refused to abandon me, and nearly got killed on my behalf.” Unnerved by the utter seriousness in his voice, she dropped her gaze to the vicinity of his chin.
“I would prefer that you not make love to me out of a sense of obligation.” It pained her to force the words out as memories of his touch burned through her body.
“Dammit, Diantha!” Startled by the exclamation, she lifted her eyes to his. Only inches away, the raw intensity radiating from the blue green depths arrested her.
“I will be profoundly thankful for your courage every day of my life.” A crooked smile tilted the corner of his mouth. “But I assure you my motivation tonight is overwhelming lust.”
She regarded him suspiciously. “Promise?”
He burst out laughing. “Promise!” Tingles ran up her arm as his fingers traced the veins on the back of her hand where it rested on the pillow between them. “Most women would have been mortally offended should their husbands have said that.”
“I’ve learned the value of a lusty husband.” Shebarely gasped out the words before he pulled her into a passionate embrace. He rained kisses on her face as one hand slipped beneath the fragile batiste of her nightgown to stroke the soft skin of her thigh.
With a groan of pleasure, she gave herself up to the liquid heat coiling through her body. Pulling him down to her, she returned his kisses almost frantically. When he buried his face in her neck to lick and nibble his way to her earlobe, her breathing turned ragged. His hand fumbled at the buttons of her nightgown, trying to unfasten them. With a rueful smile down at her, he deposited a hard peck on her lips before pulling back to use both hands. She chuckled and pushed his hands aside.
“Let me.”
He watched, riveted, as she undid the top button. “Slower,” he breathed. She arched a brow, but complied, fascinated by the way his breathing quickened as her fingers worked their way down the plaquet. He sat back on his heels as she eased the gaping neckline off her shoulders, clenching his hands where they rested on either side of the bulge in his silk pyjamas. The heat in his eyes ignited a fire in her veins and her urgency transmuted into languor.
Reaching out, he slowly exposed her breasts. Her nipples tightened under his gaze, but he did not touch her except to pull the material down her body. She ran a hand over his arm, lifting her hips as he freed her from the wispy material.
“Kieran?” She puckered her brow as he stared down at her. His hands stayed balled in her wadded up nightgown.
“I want to look at you.” The huskiness in his voice betrayed his want.
She grinned in relief. “You have looked at me on numerous occasions.” She clasped her hands behind her head, arching her back slightly. His eyes crinkled with amusement at her ploy, but he replied soberly.
“I want to take my time tonight.” She shivered as he stroked her cheek, then followed the curve of her neck, then down to linger at the hard peak of her breast before continuing down to her waist.
“I trust you’ll allow me to do the same?” Heart pounding, she sat up and loosened the tie at his waist. A surge of feminine power rushed through her as she felt his erection twitch beneath her hand. His breath rasped as she pushed him back onto the coverlet and pulled the silk down his long legs.
Completely naked, he made love to her as he never had before. He caressed every inch of her with his hands and mouth and invited her to explore his body in return. The barriers she had always sensed between them seemed to disappear as he brought her to climax with mouth and body.
Afterward, they lay silently in each other’s arms for a long time, content. On the verge of sleep, the words of their marriage ceremony came to Dina’s mind unexpectedly: “With my body I thee worship.” She wondered if this is what that felt like.
The next morning she woke up alone in her room yet again. Disappointment overwhelmed her. She had thought the freedom of their love-making the night before signaled deeper feelings on Kieran’s side. She curled into a ball and took ashaky breath. It had apparently signaled nothing more than a return to his normal routine.
