Page 431 of From Rakes to Riches

She nodded. “It was…wondrous.”

“There can be so much more.”

Then he rolled over on top of her, parting her thighs and settling between them. The hard length of him rode against her newly tender flesh, and it felt good. He propped himself up on his arms above her.

“Sweetheart, I’ve tried to prepare you, but the first time a woman will often feel a small amount of pain. It’s just once, then never again.”

“I understand.”

“Then bend your knees.”

She did, and he settled even more intimately against her. His smiles were gone, and his face bore an intensity she’d never seen in him before. She felt the hardness of him probing her, and even as she stiffened, he leaned down to kiss her. His mouth was captivating, distracting, but still she felt him trying to inch inside her bit by bit, stretching her to fullness, not quite pain.

“Easy,” he murmured against her lips, “easy.”

Then with a single thrust he settled deep inside her. There was only a momentary pain, then the most wonderful feeling of satisfaction. She was his wife in every way.

And then he started moving, and her body seemed to know just what to do. It came to life again, bliss rising in ever increasing waves. She clasped him with her arms, with her thighs, holding as if she need never let him go. This was the intimacy hinted at in poetry, two people moving as if one. It was beautiful, and she felt tears slide down her cheeks that she could experience these wonderful feelings.

He rounded his back to reach her with a kiss, then used one hand to pull her knee higher. The shift made her quiver, made the wild feelings climax within her again. And as he groaned, she knew that he joined her, for he shuddered and seemed to pour himself inside her. She thought it was his seed.

As she held him hard against her, felt his breathing settle back to normal, she prayed to have his baby, so that their love would go on.

21

David came up on his elbows and stared down at Victoria, all pink with passion, her eyes sleepy and satisfied.

“Am I too heavy for you?” he asked.

“Never,” she whispered.

He lowered himself fully, and she gave a strangled gasp before he rose up again.

“I can be too heavy,” he insisted.

She smiled. “Maybe.”

He slid off her and watched as her eyes blinked slowly, so slowly.

“Thank you for taking your time with me,” she whispered.

She nuzzled her head against his arm, getting comfortable.

“You’re welcome.”

She was asleep almost immediately, naked on top of the bed. He pulled down the blankets on his half, then slid her within and covered her right to her chin—as if not looking at her would somehow stop this obsession for her that seemed uncomfortably large.

He didn’t want to recognize the feelings that fought within him—he didn’t want to consider them, to think how his marriage had changed.

Then why did it feel as if everything in his life now revolved around Victoria, instead of his own meticulous plans?

He quietly picked up her garments and laid them over the chaise, then gathered his own clothes and took them to his room. His bed was cold and lonely, but…safe.

Victoria feltthe sun before she even opened her eyes. She stretched with blissful contentment, then turned her head to say good morning to her husband.

But David wasn’t there.

He had his own bedroom, of course. Her parents had slept in separate rooms. But somehow she’d hoped her marriage might be different.

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