Page 36 of The Make-Believe Marriage
“Oh, now you sound irritated.”
“I am not irritated.”
“And now we are fighting.”
He groaned. “We are in bed together, naked and hugging each other. This is not a fight. This is you trying to learn about trust. I know you trust me because you would not have undone so much as a button if you did not. In fact, you trust me more than you have ever trusted anyone in your entire life including yourself because…need I point out again that we are…naked?”
“No, you do not. I am quite aware.”
“Syd, your problem is not me or anyone else. Your problem is that you do not trust yourself. Nor do you trust this feeling of safety because no one in your entire life has ever made you feel safe.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You needn’t apologize to me. I am not chiding you for it. In fact, I admire you even more for accomplishing all you have done while so heavily burdened.” He caressed her cheek as she finally eased and nestled against his chest. “You have done nothing wrong.”
She emitted a ragged sigh. “Thank you, Octavian. I cherish your opinion of me. Do you mind if I look at your body now?”
He laughed. “Go ahead. Enjoy your fill. I am big and solid and quite real.”
He wanted to add that he was also hers forever, but this would only make her skittish again because it was painfully obvious she did not think of herself as loveable.
Unshed tears still glistened in her eyes, poised at the threshold and just waiting to spill. Rather than have her struggleto hold them back, he reached out and gently wiped away the few stray ones that had fallen onto her cheeks. All it took was a light running of his thumb along her cheekbones.
Safe enough.
Nothing too alarming.
“May I kiss you, Octavian?”
“Yes, Syd.” Dear heaven, he wanted that kiss. He did not care whether it was prim and meek or hot and heavy.
He would accept whatever she had it in her soul to give him.
She shifted over him for a better angle to his lips, even though he had bent his head toward hers to accommodate her. The kiss was soft, sweet.
Achingly sweet.
Happy and gentle.
Still, his entire body was in a roil because she was once again pressed against him and there was not a blasted stitch between them. They were skin to skin, hers soft as silk and his hot as blazes.
He felt the fullness of her breasts and ached to explore them.
What would they taste like on his tongue? Peaches and cream, no doubt.
“Octavian, may we get dressed now? Well, not all the way dressed because we are going to sleep soon anyway.”
“Yes, Syd.” He tamped down his disappointment and retrieved her shift.
There would be ample opportunity to explore every inch of her after they were married. After helping her don the shift, he reached for his trousers and put them back on.
She cast him a shy look. “I suppose I am not as hoydenish as you thought. All I did in the end was give you a prim kiss.”
He laughed. “Only you would look at it that way. We were naked together. Bodies in unobstructed contact. By definitionthat kiss was not prim. And you are every bit as hoydenish as I knew you would be. Also every bit as delightful, I might add.”
He took a moment to stride to the window, drawing the curtains aside in order to peer out.
The rain was still coming down in torrents. “Still bad out there.”
