He brushed a stray lock of her hair away from her face. “Aye. Very special. A passion flowerfullof ecstasy.”
She laughed. Her laughter had its own music, and it gave Soren great pleasure. This was the way a marriage should be between a man and his wife. There should be laughter and excellent sex.
Soren reached for the edge of the counterpane beneath them and pulled as much as he could over their nakedness. Their bodies were warm together but he wanted to protect her from the night air. In doing so, he gathered the diamond-tipped pins and roses strewn over the sheets. He set them on the table and snuggled her close.
“Can it be better?” she wondered, her breath against his neck.
He grinned. Was there ever a man so fortunate? He liked her ambition, especially in this area. “Yes,” he assured her. “That was just our first try. If we practice enough, who knows how good we will become. There is a whole garden of ecstasy to discover.”
She curled into him, rubbing her legs against his. Her stockings had been kicked off in their lovemaking. He ran his toes over hers, enjoying the feeling of her bare feet. “I’d like to become very, very good. How often should we practice?” Her hand slid lower down his abdomen.
He stirred. Of course he did. What man could resist her?
Still, he had to think of what was best for his wife. He caught her wandering hand before she could stray too far. “I’ve worked you out enough for the first night. I don’t want you to be sore on the morrow.”
Her nose scrunched adorably at the idea. “I can be sore down there?”
She had so much to learn. He could not wait to teach her.
Reluctantly, he eased out from under her body and climbed out of the bed.
“Where are you going?” She moved as if to follow him.
“Rest right there. I’ll be right back.” His movements had shifted the counterpane. He tossed his share over her. “I need to take care of you.”
“You can take care of me right here.” She pouted, patting the mattress beside her. “I can see you want to.”
He did. This part of his anatomy had always had a mind of its own. “Cass, you’ve grown bold.”
“I’m receiving lessons in bold. But you aren’t paying attention.”
“Oh, I am paying attention, as you noticed. It is hard to be a man. I couldn’t fake it even if I wished. However,youcome first.” He walked to the washstand. The water was cool but it would do. He poured it into a basin.
“I like looking at you naked,” she announced, sounding almost defiant. And then she added, a touch shyly, “I liked it the other night as well.”
“Then I will never wear clothes for you.” He returned to the bed holding the basin of water and a linen cloth.
“Promise?”
Her coy response delighted him. “I promise, but I do think I will have some difficulty when I attend Parliament. They have a strict idea of how a lord should dress.” He knelt by the bed on her side, setting the basin on the mattress.
“Pity,” she said.
“Yes,” he agreed, and in the next beat, the two of them were grinning like fools at each other.
Her hand reached out to lace her fingers with his. “I’m glad I married you.”
“Because of what I can do for you on a bed?” He was only half teasing. Cass’s openness touched him. In a world swimming in chicanery, she had survived fresh and unsullied. Even with who her father was.
“I would have been miserable,” she continued, “living as an unmarried relation with Helen and her daughters. I’ve always hated their pity.”
“Why would they pity you?”
“I don’t know.” Her easiness gave way to the sort of deep reflection he knew of her. “Sometimes I was jealous of them because they knew their mother and I had lost mine. I often believed they resented my inheritance. They would always refer to me as ‘the heiress’ in a tone of voice that was not flattering. A portion of my inheritance was given to them for dowries. I did not mind, but still they were rather cold. This will sound odd, but I used to sense that I was surrounded by secrets. Did you ever feel that way?”
“No, I knew all the secrets. My grandfather lost money, my father lost money, I’m trying not to lose money. It is all right there.”
That wasn’t truly the complete truth. He did need to tell her about his son and his first marriage, but now was not the time.
