“She isn’t scandalous at all.” Isabella helped him clean up Hero.
“We’re talking about my grandmother.” He pointed at Hero’s feet. “Bare ankles, bare calves, and suggestive curves. Too much.”
She chuckled, and he would do anything to hear her laugh again.
“There’s a pool!” She pointed to the other side of the garden.
“A natural pool, a small inlet.”
She giggled when he helped her down the barely visible path to the cove. White stones formed a circle around a pool of turquoise water so limpid the bottom was crystal clear. The weather had smoothed and rounded the rocks around the edge.
“It’s beautiful.” She crouched to dip her hand into the water. “It’s not too cold. Where does the water come from?”
“No idea. An underground connection, but the sea is right around this cliff.”
She touched a few purple flowers around the edge. “There are small bushes of cistus here. They’ve been choked by weeds almost completely.”
“My grandmother isn’t fond of this garden. I think she’s never been here, and after Grandpapa died, she asked the gardeners to ignore this place. She was angry with him for selling Maiden Hill.”
“We should restore this garden to its original beauty.”
He’d counted on her to say that. “I agree. I’ll ask the gardeners to help clean it up.”
She gazed around at the other statues before staring at him. “You know exactly how to make me feel better.”
“No. But I try.” He dipped his head. “I think I deserve a kiss for that.”
She took his face before kissing him.
Holding her by the waist, he swept her off her feet and twirled her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck. When he put her down, her cheeks were deliciously flushed, and even her lips were a deep pink. He kissed her again, but this time, he couldn’t contain his passion.
She opened her mouth and slid her tongue past his lips. And the kiss turned wild in a second. They kissed with their mouths open and their tongues stroking each other. It was a kiss that made him forget about who he was and where he was, and it was fantastic. Her hands wandered over his chest. Each contact with her palms and fingers shot desire through him. As if he didn't have enough of it.
He ran a hand from her waist up to her breast to cup it, tearing a gasp from her. He rubbed her nipple through the fabric of her shirt with more strength than the first time he’d touched her. Her reply was to graze his lips with her teeth. He pinched her nipple, and she bit his bottom lip, setting his blood on fire.
“Wicked,” he whispered against her lips.
She smiled. “Only a little.”
She was his wife, and he wanted to take her properly, but at the same time, he wanted to woo her.
She took deep breaths as he fondled her breast. “I like it when you touch me. And no,” she added when he was about to say something. “It’s not duty. It’s not. So please don’t stop now. I mean it.”
She could read his mind because he’d been about to say just that.
Holding her with one arm, he unbuttoned her shirt. The more buttons he undid, the faster she breathed. Impatience won, and he opened her shirt, ripping a few buttons.
When her creamy skin was uncovered, he stared at the top of her breasts for a long moment. The corset pushed them up in the most enticing way. He unfastened the first hooks, just a few, to let the corset open. Underneath, only the thin chemise covered her. He tugged its hem down to bare her breast.
“Are you still sensitive?” he asked, brushing it lightly.
“Not anymore.”
Still, he would be gentle.
He brushed his thumb over her pink nipple, watching it harden to a peak. She panted as he pinched it and rolled it between his fingers. When she sagged against him, he dipped his head to close his mouth around her nipple and suck slowly.
Her moan of pleasure was a sound he’d cherish forever. He tongued her breast until she squeezed her thighs together and breathed hard.
