“Montvieux is as far as I have been from Marnis in all my days. I should like to hear more of the greater world.” That was not the half of it. She wanted to know where he had gone, what he had experienced, and see all that he had seen. Even this tent was a marvel to her.
His smile was quick and bright. “Then I will tell you of it.”
“All of it,” Isabella insisted. “Even those details you think unsuitable for a lady’s ears.”
Amaury’s gaze warmed. “All of it,” he agreed, his voice low. “For my bold wife would know more than the pretty tales told to ladies.”
“I would know the truth.”
“And I have already vowed to share it with you.” Amaury took the step between them and claimed her hand, lifting it to his lips. His voice dropped low. “I did not think earlier to consult you and I should have done so. Please do not cease to grant me advice, Isabella.”
“I thought you meant to disregard my counsel in favor of that of your brothers.” She winced. “I was offended.”
Amaury winced and nodded. “Only reasonably so, for you all know different elements of the puzzle,” he said. She admired that he acknowledged his mistakes and strove to learn from them. There was a frown between his brows and she had the urge to smooth it away with her fingertip. “Somehow I mustcreate stability and prosperity at Montvieux, without my father’s counsel. Be my ally in this quest, Isabella, as well as my wife.”
“I should like that,” she said, for it was the truth.
“As would I.” He led her then toward the bed, bending to snuff the lantern. The tent was plunged into darkness again, until her eyes adjusted and she could discern the shadows created by the light of the moon through the silk. Amaury’s voice seemed lower and more seductive when he spoke again. “Come to bed, my lady, and let me apologize in another way.”
Isabella shivered with delight, glad he could not see her. “By conferring with me?” she teased.
Amaury chuckled. “I would please you first.”
“But…” Isabella began to protest, only to find the warmth of his lips across her own. She surrendered readily, his deepening kiss sending a wave of pleasure to her toes. Every fiber of her being seemed to rise in welcome to his touch, but she still ached a little. She might have protested, but Amaury guided her down to the bed, his hand sliding beneath the hem of her chemise.
“We cannot repeat what we have done, not so soon as this,” he murmured against her cheek. “But let me show you another path to pleasure between man and wife.” His lips trailed down her throat even as his hand swept up her thigh. She lay back when he opened her chemise and kissed her nipple, his caress drawing it to such a taut peak that she gasped aloud. His other hand meanwhile eased between her thighs, his fingertip landing upon that very sensitive spot with complete surety.
“How many women?” Isabella asked, though it was scarce the time for such confidences. She closed her eyes, cursing again her own impulsive tongue.
But Amaury did not seem to mind. “None since I left Montvieux,” he said, his words a breath against her skin that made her shiver.
“None?”
He chuckled then flicked her nipple with his tongue. “Not a one in all those years, my lady. I took a vow of chastity in Montvieux’s chapel before embarking on crusade.”
“But it was years!” She sat up a little and looked at him, noting the increasingly familiar resolve that claimed his features.
“And a vow is a vow,” Amaury replied with heat. “No matter how long it must be kept.” His gaze bored into hers. “Not one lady, perhaps the better that I might have more affection to share with you, my wife.”
Isabella could not help but smile and blush at that. “You planned to wed on your return,” she guessed.
“I did, perhaps not the first day of my arrival, but all is well in that.” He frowned then and studied her, his fingers still stroking that beguiling spot. “What of you? When did you think to wed?”
She caught her breath at the brush of his fingertip but strove to continue their conversation. “When my father so chose.”
“I might have expected that to be years ago.”
“So did I, but he changed his view often.”
“Were you betrothed?”
“Twice.” She felt her lips thin. “Both times until the man in question visited Marnis.”
“What then?”
She strove to sound indifferent, though the incidents had both stung. “They changed their view and withdrew their offers. Perhaps I was not so appealing as they had hoped.”
Amaury’s eyes flashed with outrage on her behalf, a sight that sent a different heat coursing through her. “Nay, it was a greater design, my lady. It was because we were meant for each other.” He spoke with surprising conviction and her heart warmed at the sentiment. “Ours will be an enviable match, Isabella. I vow it to you.”
