Page 33 of Moonstone Angel
She thought he was jesting, but his wicked grin revealed he was quite serious.
Warmth flooded through her body.
Well, she was not completely ignorant of what took place in the bedchamber. Not that she’d ever had any experience herself. But this was the countryside, and she’d seen the local animals in mating season.
She had also gotten an eyeful of Rowan when he took his morning swim.
Heavens, the man stirred her most wanton thoughts.
Now that she was his wife, she would have free rein to run her hands along his magnificent body and explore it quite thoroughly.
He closed the door after them once they entered his chamber and set the candle on the night table beside the bed they would now share. “I love you, Cara.”
He drew her into his arms.
She closed her eyes as a ripple of delight ran through her. “I love you, too. I’m so sorry our—”
“Don’t apologize to me for any of what happened. It was mostly my fault. Those sisters of mine are malicious beyond belief, and I will see to them and Lady Yvonne shortly. But tonight is for us alone, for the promise of what our marriage will bring.”
“It will be a beautiful marriage, I know it will.”
They spoke no more as he began to undress her, his hands unfastening her ties with surprising ease. But she supposed he was adept with such matters from experience.
Her inexperience extended to matters beyond the bed. She never expected to be a duchess and had no idea what it entailed.
Questions whirled in her mind as he caressed her shoulders and rained soft kisses on each spot of skin he bared. She closed her eyes to absorb his touch, loving the feel of his hands and lips and looking forward to the intimate promise of this night.
But she knew the nobility lived differently from commoners.
Would she always share his bed?
She wanted their marriage to be true in every sense.
“Cara,” he said gently, pausing as he was about to remove her shift. He had already removed the rest of her clothing and unpinned her hair so that it fell in a cascade down her back. “Here I am trying to seduce you, and your thoughts are elsewhere. I must be losing my touch.”
He’d said the last in good humor, so she knew he was jesting.
Even though her mind was awhirl, her body was quite aware of him and already responding.
“What is on your mind, love?”
“Will this…us together…will it only be for tonight?”
His eyes darkened. “Do you want it to be?”
“No, I would like us to be in each other’s arms every night if you will permit it. One bed for us, no separate quarters. But I’ve seen grand houses and know this is not how it is done. Dukes and duchesses each have their own quarters. Often, they lead separate lives. Everything was so hurried this morning, we had no time to sort any of this out.”
She pointed to the bed her parents had shared all of their married lives. “This is what I would like. Us together.”
He seemed to ease. “Then this is what it shall be. It is what I hoped for as well. Cara, I may look like a rogue, but at heart, I am not. I did not think it possible to find one woman to love and with whom I would grow old. But this is what I’ve always wanted. I am much like my grandfather in this way. You should have seen him around my grandmother. No matter the time of day or how horrid the weather, it was as though the sun always shone when she was beside him.”
She drew in a breath. “Do you think we could have this?”
“Yes, love. I already feel this way about you.”
“Truly?”
“From the moment I set eyes on you.” He cast her a rakish grin. “Do you think we can get to the fun part now?”
