Page 397 of Conveniently Wed
He released her hands, but she didn’t dare open her eyes.
The adjoining door shut with a soft click.
Her eyes popped open. What was she expected to do? Was she to freshen up and go to him? The new clothes her ma had made hung waiting in the open wardrobe across the room. The thought sent her heart kicking. She could barely breathe. Surely, he didn’t expect her to know how to proceed. How could she possibly unwind as he suggested?
She wanted out of the wedding gown, yet the thought that he might catch her half-dressed mortified her. She allowed her tired body to sink into the paisley chair. The longer she waited, the angrier she became. He should know she wouldn’t have a clue what to do.
She popped up from the chair. She would change and slip into bed. If he wanted her to fulfill her wifely duties, he could come to her.
Tears filled her eyes as her arms reached to the back. There was no way for her to get out of the dress without tearing it off. Her ma had spent at least fifteen minutes doing up the row of tiny pearl buttons that ran up the back. In an exhausted heap, she fell across the bed and stifled a cry. She bunched the soft downy quilt into her hands and around her face and wept until she had no strength left.
Her eyes grew heavy, and she drifted into that wonderful place of nothingness.
Josiah took in the sight of her, sound asleep in her beautiful gown. “Kat, you must get into bed. The fire has died down, and your room is chilly.” Josiah lifted her into his arms and pulled back the covers. “Why didn’t you get ready for bed? You don’t love the dress that much that you want to sleep in it.” He put a little laughter into his voice, trying to gentle his concern. Why had she not readied herself for bed?
She jolted awake and turned in his arms. “Set me down.” She pounded at his chest.
He gathered her fists in one hand so as to not get clobbered and lowered her to the floor. “Whoa, my little wild Kat. I’m just trying to help.”
Tears pooled in her eyes and clotted her thick black lashes. His chest constricted at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes. An urge to kiss the drops away flooded through. He clasped his hands together behind his back to stifle the urge to pull her close.
She brushed at her tears with an angry swipe.
“What is it?”
“I…can’t undo the buttons, and you left without saying anything and didn’t come back.”
His hand went to his forehead. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. It’s been way too many years since Georgina, and we had a whole lot more help back then. She had her personal maid to help her with all this finery.”
What an idiot. He should have known. That must have been what Delilah meant when she asked if she should stay to help his new bride. “I’m truly sorry.”
She turned her back to him. “Just get this thing off me already, and whatever else you’re going to do to me, get it done.”
He let out a deep breath as his large fingers fumbled with the tiny buttons. He wanted to tear the dress off, but that would scare her half to death. “Done.”
The dress slipped from her shoulders. A deep shudder ran down her small frame as she caught the front from sliding any further. “The corset stays, could you…?”
Her body shivered each time his fingers brushed the softness of her creamy flesh. His heart kicked up to an all-out gallop, and blood thrummed through his veins like a wild stallion racing across the range. Goodness, he was not prepared for being this close to her and not acting upon the very thing he desired the most.
But, no matter what his body demanded, for all the best reasons in the world, he could not force his way into her bed any more than he could force his way into her heart. His wild Katbride would have to be tamed and wooed. If she fled, then he would accept that she was never meant to be.
“Do you need any more help? I mean with these other layers.”
“No.” Her answer was swift and curt.
“I’m heading to my room, if you’re sure you’re all right.”
Nodding, she turned toward him, clutching the dress to her chest with far too much of her creamy white flesh exposed. He almost lost all good reason, but he forced his gaze upward, only to find her iridescent eyes and ripe lips no easier to resist.
He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. “I want you to know that this room is your own space. I peeked in tonight hoping to find you comfortable and fast asleep. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? This is your room and yours alone.”
Her eyes widened and lifted to his. She was a vision of trembling lips, rosy cheeks, and skin so soft one could get lost, ever so lost. Unable to help himself, he brushed a knuckle down her cheek. The sharp intake of her breath and the stiffening of her spine did not escape his notice. If not for the fear radiating from her being, he would have weakened and thrown all restraint to the wind.
“Ma said you would know what to do. What I mean is… What about…you know?”
He smiled. “You mean your end of the bargain?”
She nodded, casting her eyes to the floor. A bright red flush covered her face.
