Page 23 of The Captain's Midwinter Bride
Annalise reeled at his confession. She had never dreamed it was Phillip who had initiated the idea of their marriage. She’d long believed old Mr. Dalton had initiated the match. But Phillip said he had noticed her from the beginning.
If only she had noticed him.
“Your father, like any businessman worth his salt, had hoped to see his daughter married into the peerage. Maybe to a second or third son.” His lips quirked, and she longed to kiss them. “I remember thinking you were deserving of an earl. Or a title even grander.”
Emotions she hadn’t anticipated threatened to strangle her.
“And instead of some famed match, you found yourself with me. A man who couldn’t even protect you or keep you safe from lechers, predators, or his own damn family.”
“Stop that!”
They stared into each other’s eyes for several long moments. Apparently, she had surprised him just as much as she had surprised herself.
Licking her lips, she plowed ahead. “I’d ask you not to insult my husband. I find myself rather protective of him.”
Something stirred in the blue depths of his gaze. “Protective? Of me? Why would you ever feel the need to protect me?”
“Because someone has taught you that to be a man means you need to be invincible. Omniscient. And that’s simply ridiculous. You are the bravest and kindest man I know.” Her swallow was difficult. “I don’t regret marrying you. Not for one moment. I didn’t need dukes and earls when I could have a dashing navy captain.”
Phillip rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he grumbled.
She didn’t give him an opportunity to say more before she reached up and pressed her lips against his.
All the thoughts racing around in her head abruptly went quiet, as if she’d shoved them into a room and slammed the door shut. The only thing that mattered was the feel of Phillip’s mouth against hers. The exquisite taste of him. His delectable scent. The soft hum in the back of his throat that was like a caress to her ears. Every one of her senses was trained on him and him alone. As he released her lips to kiss along her jaw and nip at her lobe, Annalise knew the whole room could go up in flames and she would be oblivious to it.
In truth, she might be the reason the room incinerated, for her skin felt hot, burning under his touch. Shifting under him, Annalise reached down to grab the hem of her shift, suddenly desperate to be free of the cumbersome garment. She needed to feel him against her flesh. She had missed him.
Pulling back, Phillip watched with a hooded gaze as she ripped the shift up and over her head, depositing it with a careless toss onto the floor. She lay before him bare, and it occurred to her it may have been the first time he had ever seen her thus. In the past, their lovemaking had been conducted in the dark or in a dimly lit room. And while she had always enjoyed their past encounters, she hadn’t always been an active participant, allowing him to take the lead out of embarrassment or uncertainty.
But Annalise was done being impassive. She was a woman of two-and-forty years who had raised a son and a daughter almost on her own. The time had come for her to live life for herself, and making love to her husband, a man she longed to touch and explore in all the ways he had always done with her, was a luxury she had been deprived of.
So she lifted her chin and watched as his eyes traveled up her body and boldly met his gaze. “Don’t you think it time to remove this?” she said, grasping the open collar of his shirt and pulling.
With a grunt, Phillip yanked the linen garment from his shoulders and tossed it behind him without a backwards glance. Holding her gaze, he settled above her once again, and her eyes traced over his vast shoulders and the expanse of his firm chest. He was so strong, and yet he had never used his strength against her. As she watched, he slowly, ever so slowly, leaned down to press his mouth against hers.
But his soft touch wasn’t enough. Annalise neededmore. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled until his body was flush with hers and she sighed against his lips. She ran her toes along his leg before hitching her foot behind his calf, creating a cradle for which his body to rest. The heavy ridge of his arousal settled against her sensitive place, and she moaned into their kiss, rubbing herself against him.
Phillip seemed to snap, for he went still and pulled back to look down at her. Annalise was certain she looked a wreck, with her hair in disarray and her lips swollen from his kisses. But rather than recoiling at her, he smiled ever so slightly.
“I’ve never seen you this way.”
She forced herself not to squirm. “I…I…”
“I like it.” He brushed hair back from her face and nuzzled her cheek. “I like it more than you know.”
Skimming his fingers along her collarbone and down to the rise of her breasts, he murmured, “I want you to want this as much as I do. I have longed to touch you. To taste you. To discover if your skin is as soft as I remember. But knowing youwantme to touch you and taste you is enough to drive me damn near out of my mind.”
And with that, his mouth crashed down onto hers. Annalise eagerly responded, running her fingers through his hair and pulling taut on the ends. When he growled, she did it again.
“Have a care, Lise. It’s been too long since I’ve had you last, and I’m not certain I can be gentle.”
It had been too long. Over a year, at least. The heat simmering in her core flared hot, and she clenched her eyes closed. “I suspect I’ve outgrown gentle,” she whispered hoarsely.
Phillip paused for only a heartbeat before his lips descended down her neck. “Let us see then, shall we?” His breath tickled her nipple, which hardened under the assault. “But remember, if you are ever uncomfortable with anything I do, tell me to stop and I will. I take pleasure in giving you pleasure, not fear or pain.”
When she nodded, he grinned for a brief moment before his tongue shot out to flick her nipple.
Annalise gasped, surprise and delight streaking through her limbs. But when he sucked the sensitive peak into his mouth, she arched her back and groaned.
