Page 60 of Claimed By the Duke of Ice

“What say you, Your Grace?” Grace asked coyly. “Are you truly going to help me finish getting ready?”

Nathaniel’s smile widened as he pulled her to him and kissed her lips.

“I have become quite good at getting you out of your dresses, dear wife. Surely, I can figure out how to get you into them.”

Arousal coursed through Grace as Nathaniel lowered her robe from her shoulder, and his lips trailed softly over the naked flesh.

“You must stop,” Grace gasped, not meaning a word of it as she pressed her body further into his. “Our company will be arriving any moment.”

Nathaniel chuckled darkly as he untied the robe and pushed it away from her, letting the peach silk pool on the floor.

“Ah, but this event shall last all night long,” he replied, running his bare hands over her. “Surely you’ll permit me to get one last look before such torture begins.”

“Damn your logic,” Grace replied, leaning into the feel of his fingertips trailing down her naked breasts and abdomen.

“Mmm, damn indeed,” Nathaniel murmured, lowering his head so he could pull her right breast into his mouth. Grace gasped as he did so and clung to him tightly. Thoughts of the night began to fade as a new urgency took over, and she began to reach for Nathaniel’s jacket.

With a groan, Nathaniel pulled back from her and held her hands at a distance.

“Ah, but you are right,” he sighed, taking one last, long look at her. “We must be ready for our guests.”

“You are an awful tease,” Grace pouted as he turned to pick up her shift and corset.

“Yes, but you love me,” Nathaniel countered, helping her into them. With quick hands, he laced up her corset then went to his knees to help her with her stockings. As he did so, he kissed each knee before drawing them on, making Grace shiver. When he finished, he picked up her dress, newly delivered from the modiste, and helped her into it.

“With every breath I have,” Grace admitted as he tightened her stays and adjusted the blue silk fabric.

He had designed the dress specifically for her. Baby blue, it seemed, was Nathaniel’s favorite color on her, and he had ordered many dresses to be made with it. This one, though, was by far the most elegant. Sapphires and diamonds were sewn into the fabric to make a delicate starburst that spread across the torso. Then lines of crushed diamonds flowed down the skirt to resemble shooting stars.

“There you are,” he stated once finished.

“Will it do?” Grace asked in a teasing fashion.

“Almost,” Nathaniel replied, reaching into his jacket. Curious, Grace drew close to him as he produced a box and opened it. She gasped when she saw the delicate choker of sapphires and diamonds with matching earrings. She’d never once worn anything that glittered so fabulously.

“I believe these will bring your ensemble together quite nicely,” Nathaniel explained, lifting the necklace out of the box.

“Nathaniel, it’s too much,” Grace whispered, her eyes on the valuable pieces.

“Nonsense,” he replied matter-of-factly. “If anything, it is long overdue. Now, if you’ll permit me?”

Nathaniel waited for Grace to turn around, and once she had, he fastened the necklace securely around her graceful neck. When he finished, he clipped the earrings to her lobes then turned her around once more so he could take a final look at her.

“Perfection,” he breathed, his eyes slowly looking her up and down. “Absolute perfection.”

His eyes rose back to hers, and they looked at each other with pure love before he leaned in once more and kissed her.

“Now come,” he urged, taking her hand, “let us go and be ready to receive our guests. For if I wait one more moment alone in here with you, I shall lose my resolve and strip you bare all over again.”

Grace laughed as she let her husband pull her toward the door, not at all sure what would make her happier.

* * *

“Mama, Papa, I’m so glad you made it!” Grace exclaimed as she met her parents’ carriage out front.

Aaron and Susan Rowley, draped in the finest fabrics and designs, stepped out of the carriage together and went straight for their daughter. Following closely behind them came Letitia, wearing a new gown made of the finest orange silk.

“Look how lovely you all are!” Grace exclaimed, throwing her arms around all of them affectionately one by one.

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