Page 104 of Crash Landing
Trajan did notrush Florence through their meal, but noted she had hardly eaten anything. Well, it had been an upheaval of a day for her. But also a good day, and so much had been accomplished. She was his wife now, and he felt such great contentment knowing she would be his from this day forward, his with which to share hopes and confidences, and always give him honest answers.
A beautiful confidante.
He hoped to be the same for her, the one in whom she chose to confide her deepest yearnings.
She looked up from her plate and cast him a breathtaking smile. “Trajan,” she said in wonder, “can you believe it? We are now husband and wife.”
He took a sip of his wine and nodded. “How does it feel to be my duchess?”
“Oh, it feels nicest to be your wife. The duchess part will take a bit of learning on my part. I’ll seek Fiona’s help, or that of Mrs. Blake, if ever I am uncertain. Fiona was born to the role, don’t you think? She always handles everything so effortlessly. Did you see how happy she and Durham were together? Have you ever seen smiles so filled with love?”
“Yes, it was the first thing I noticed. This is what I hope for us.”
She poked her fork around the remains of a potato. “I think I am there already. My heart swells to bursting whenever I am near you.”
He chuckled. “Florence, that sounds like a dangerous, adverse reaction to me.”
“All right, then I’ll merely say that my heart swells with happiness. No bursting or rupturing.”
“Much better. Mutual, my love.”
She smiled and set down her fork. “I’ll never tire of hearing your endearments.”
He took her hand in his. “Then you shall hear them often from me, for you are quite easy to love.”
Her smile faltered. “Am I?”
Ah, her childhood deprivation rearing its ugly head again. “Yes, and this is among the things we will address in the upcoming days. But not tonight. Tonight is about us, and if I am very lucky, lots of naked sex.”
She gasped and then laughed. “Oh, I think you shall be a most lucky fellow.”
He grinned, but then sobered. “Never more than you are comfortable doing, all right?”
She cast him an impish smile. “My goal is to makeyouhowl. I just haven’t figured out how to do that yet.”
He leaned back in his chair and groaned. Gad, if she only knew how easily it would be accomplished. Had he not been irresistibly drawn to her from the very first?
“Are you done? Shall I have the dinner cart taken away? And do you want a maid to assist you in preparing for bed?” he asked.
“Yes to both, I think. Do you mind?”
“That you prefer a maid to me?” He grinned. “No, I’ll patiently wait my turn. Just knock on our interior door whenever you are ready.”
He had his routine as well. And an eager valet inherited from his granduncle waiting to assist him.
This would likely be their routine from this night on, so why notkeep to it now? The only thing he did not wish to compromise on was sharing a bed. He did not care which bed he and Florence shared, so long as they remained together.
He had just donned his banyan and dismissed his valet, who strode off happily with an armload of clothes to refresh and his boots for polishing, when he heard a soft knock at their shared door.
He opened it to find Florence in her ever-practical nightgown and robe, her silky hair long and loose, and her emerald eyes wide and sparkling.
Buying her a new wardrobe was also an item on his list of things to address—certainly the addition of a few silk nightgowns was warranted, even if he would be slipping them off her the moment they got under the sheets. “Ready, love?”
She nodded.
He lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bed.
“Trajan, your arm! The stitches! The doctor said not to lift more than a teapot for this first week.”
