I squeezed my muscles where I was clasping him, and he groaned. Then he flipped us over so he was on top.
“You are wicked, wife.”
I smiled shyly up at him. “That is a good thing, is it not? If I’m to keep the interest of a Legend.”
He didn’t reply, but he did kiss me, and before long, he was moving inside me, and I could feel that familiar heat building again, rising, cresting. Then it exploded a second time, even more glorious than the first because he was inside me. With a shout, he stilled, and I could feel his hot seed filling me.
We stared at one another, then he collapsed next to me and gathered me into his arms.
“We are well and truly married now,” I said.
He stared at me. “Yes. No one is going to take you away now.”
I closed my eyes and smiled. “I’m glad.”
Exhaustion from the last few days settled over me, pulling heavily at my limbs. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to open my eyes again, but we were safe here now, and I could sleep. Surely Clifton needed rest as well.
“Getting into your carriage was the best birthday present I could have ever given myself,” I said before sleep claimed me.
CHAPTER 20
CLIFTON
As wakefulness tugged at my senses, my first thought was that this was the best night’s sleep I’d had in some time. My second was surprise when I realized a woman was in bed with me. I’d never kept a mistress and didn’t normally spend the entire night in a woman’s bed.
Then memories of everything that had happened over the past few days flooded over me. I lay there, waiting for regret to hit. Instead, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment.
I turned onto my side and opened my eyes to watch Diana. Her hair spilled about her, and I smiled as I remembered the way it had draped over us when I’d pulled her on top of me.
I was married, and the most shocking part was that I didn’t regret it. I was never going to hear the end of this from the others. Especially Moreland and Kendrick, who’d become smug since finding their wives.
Granted, theirs had been love matches. My marriage, on the other hand, had been born out of a need to protect Diana. I couldn’t ignore the obligation I felt because of my mother’s friendship with hers.
But even as I tried to convince myself that there was nothing more to it, I knew I was lying. I wasn’t doing this for my mother, who would be heartbroken to learn that Diana had been so unhappy with the Tuttlefords. And she’d be even more distraught if my suspicions proved to be true and the baron had been responsible for her friend’s death.
I leaned forward to kiss Diana’s cheek. She was lying on her stomach, her face turned toward me. At my touch, her eyes sprang open. We stared at one another for several seconds, then she sighed.
“I don’t think I ever want to leave this bed again.”
I raised a brow. “I will take that as a compliment.”
She laughed and rolled onto her side. “I don’t have any complaints in that department. But I was referring to the fact that it’s been several days since I’ve had a good night’s sleep.” Her gaze went to the windows. It was now dark outside. “We slept the entire day.”
She started to rise, but when she realized that she wasn’t wearing any clothing, she grabbed for the bed linens and drew it up under her arms.
I didn’t bother hiding my amusement, and she let out a soft huff.
“You might be used to parading about without any clothing in front of members of the opposite sex, but it is still a new occurrence for me, my lord.”
“We’re back to that? I thought you were calling me husband. And I didn’t mind it when you called me Clifton.”
She shook her head. “I still can’t believe we’re married. I half expected to find that I was dreaming.”
“It was a very pleasant dream,” I said, tugging the fabric away from her.
She tried valiantly to keep hold on it, but finally she collapsed on top of me with a laugh. “You are incorrigible.”
“What I am is entranced by my wife.”
