She looked delightfully irritated. Devlin frowned. How could irritation possibly be delightful? Shrugging, he chose not to ponder the issue while waiting for her to respond.
“I said, get up.”
“No,” he drawled. “Before that.”
Her lips curved ever so slightly, into what resembled a secretive smile. “You’re my husband.” She crossed her arms as if in defiance.
“No. That’s not it either.” He stood, forcing her back a step. “The part I’m interested in pertains to how you feel. I’d like to hear you say it again.”
She tilted her head at a stubborn angle. “Very well. I love you.”
Air rushed from his lungs. “Did I really have to almost die for you to realize that?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It occurred to me before the storm started. I wanted to tell you, but you were asleep by the time I returned to the cabin and when I awoke, you were gone.”
He blinked. She loved him and he…
He clasped each side of her face, holding her steady while he kissed her. “I love you too,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m just not sure I deserve you.”
Her hands worked the fastenings of his shirt while he kissed his way down her neck. “Of course you do. You’re no more to blame for what happened to Timothy than I or anyone else.” Stepping back so he was forced to halt his progress, she stared him straight in the eye. “It was an accident. I was too emotionally wrapped up in it not to find your confession jarring. But once I’d thought it all through, I regretted the way I reacted. It was wrong and you didn’t deserve it. Especially not when you were just trying to save that poor boy from dying.”
“Just because my intentions were good doesn’t mean—”
“Of course not. I know that. But you’ve carried this weight for so long, and I’d like to help free you from it.” Her hand reached up to cup his cheek. “Too many factors played a part for it to have been one man’s fault alone. And in the end, the truth is that Timothy didn’t look where he was going. I loved him. I’ll always love him. But that doesn’t mean I cannot love you as well.”
“Do you really mean that?” He dared not hope.
She nodded. Just once. “I wouldn’t say so if I didn’t.” The smile she gave him next was almost bashful. She tried to hide it by giving her attention back to his shirt, and in the next instant the garment was pulled up over his head.
Devlin watched as she shook it out and hung it on a hook behind the door. His skin was damp and he suddenly felt much colder than he had before.
“Here. This will help,” Cassandra said. She’d produced a towel and was now running the thing up and down his arms.
It was hard not to smirk. Damn him but he was exhausted, though apparently not too much for him to enjoy his wife’s ministrations. She loved him. And that made everything better. It also made him want her with a desperation that nearly stole his breath. After the day he’d just had, one would think he’d be too bloody knackered to think in such terms. But his body was clearly responding to what she was doing. And he, wicked man that he was, couldn’t help but tease her a little.
“My legs are practically frozen.” He tried to give her a pitiful look. “Perhaps you can help me remove my breeches.”
She went utterly still. The towel pressed against his chest. “I, um…” He heard her gulp and almost laughed.
“The fabric’s rather clingy,” he explained.
“A—all right.” Nibbling on her lip as if pondering some complicated equation, she stared at the buttons of his falls.
“You do understand how clothing works, do you not?”
Her expression turned into one of pure annoyance. “Of course I do.” And apparently that was all the goading she needed. Her fingers reached for the buttons, and quicker than he could adjust himself to what was about to transpire, she’d divested him of his breeches and smalls in one fell swoop.
He gaped at her.
She eyed him with smug satisfaction. “Will that be all?”
“Hell no,” he muttered.
A startled squeal was all she could manage before she was in his arms. His mouth captured hers, conveying without the need for words what was in his heart. He loved her. He would always love her. And being with her like this was utter perfection. So he deepened the kiss, held on tight, and allowed himself to believe he deserved this – that he deservedher.
She responded with fervor, kissing him back as if she would perish if she didn’t.
“My God, Cass.” He fumbled with her skirts, yanking them up until he discovered her warmth. “I need you. Right here. Right now.” The whimper she uttered when he turned and lowered himself to his bed was all the encouragement he needed. He pulled her down with him, straddling her on his lap. “Just…” He shifted her slightly, gritted his teeth, and hissed out a breath when she claimed him. He was naked, she fully clothed, and that alone drove him wild.
