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He parted the curtains slightly and spied his wife speaking to a chambermaid. It appeared that she was supervising the filling of a tub near the fire. He smelled bacon. His stomach rumbled. He waited until the maid left and Belle had bolted the door before throwing back the curtain and rising from the bed.
“I take it the bath is for me.” She had already dressed in a fashionable carriage dress of Bishop’s Blue.
She spun around. “You are awake.”
He did not think she needed an answer.
She didn’t. “I have already had my bath.”
He felt keen disappointment that he had not been able to watch his wife bathe. Ah well, they had a lifetime of such pleasures.
“I do not know which you would prefer first, your breakfast or your bath. I fear your breakfast will grow cold if you bathe first and the bath if you eat first.” She chewed on her lower lip as if the problem were insurmountable.
“Perhaps you could feed me while I bathe.”
Her eyes lit up. “That is just the thing.”
He laughed. “’Twas merely a jest, Belle. I dinna expect you to feed me.”
“I think, yes, I think I would like to feed my naked husband in the bath. It would be a novel experience.” She looked like she was contemplating some new delicacy.
He wanted to laugh again, but could not. The idea was too tempting. He shrugged.
“If you like.”
She smiled radiantly at him. “I think I shall like it very much.” She tapped her chin, as if in thought. “I believe I should like a promise that you will do the same for me in the future.”
The picture of his wife’s luscious body in the bath caused a stirring below his waist.
“Aye, you have my word.”
She clasped her hands. “Well?”
He quirked his brow. “What?”
“Shouldn’t you get in the tub?”
His wife had little inhibition about his naked body. He amended that thought as it struck him that although she conversed freely with him, she had kept her eyes firmly fixed on his face. She was full of contradictions.
God willing, he would have a lifetime to figure her out. He walked over to the tub and stepped into the steaming water. He sank down and groaned with pleasure at the feel of the hot water on his lower limbs.
Belle moved a chair next to the tub and sat with a plate of breakfast. They said a quick blessing and then Ian began to wash. She fed him a strip of bacon, sharing it with him. He took a bite and then she took one. Every time he bit down on the bacon, he remembered that Belle’s lips had just touched the same spot. It was one of the most erotic experiences he had ever had. By the time she had shared three strips of bacon and a piece of toast with him, he was hard and throbbing.
“I dinna think I can take any more, lass.” He almost strangled on the words as his wife licked some butter from her lips.
“Are you full? I must admit that I am ravenous this morning.”
“I am hungry, wife, but not for food.”
Her eyes finally traveled his body and he felt pure male satisfaction at the look of wonder on her face. “Oh. I believe we will have to forego the rest of your breakfast until after your bath.”
She jumped up and scurried over to look out the window. His laughter followed her.
He finished bathing in quick time. Without the temptation of his wife, his body settled down. She kept her face averted while he dressed.
It made him want to laugh again. “’Tis all right to look at your husband, Belle.” She nodded, but did not turn around. “Yes, of course, Ian.” He finished tying his cravat. “You can turn around now.” She did so and the look of warmth in her eyes as they met his almost sent him to his knees. He had gone to London to find a woman to meet the requirements of his stepfather’s will. He had found far more. He had found a treasure.
“Shall we go? I have already instructed the innkeeper to prepare our carriage.”
She certainly was not shy about taking charge. “You have?”
“Yes. I am eager to reach home. There are still several days left in our journey. I did not wish to waste this one hanging about the inn.” He liked the fact that she already saw Graenfrae as her home. “Then let us be off.” She asked, “How long until we get to Lansing Hall, Ian?” His gut clenched. He would have to tell Belle about Jenna and his brother, the current Earl of Lansing. “We should reach there in three days time.” Three days to unlock the silence that had lasted for two years. He hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Twenty
Annabelle worried her lip.
Ian’s posture on the seat opposite resembled the Elgin Marbles. He behaved nothing like the man who had spent the three previous days teasing her, talking to her and kissing her in the carriage as they traveled north.
She had tried several times to draw him into conversation, but he would not be drawn. Even her attempts at flirting had fallen flat. True, she had little experience in the matter, but it should not be so difficult to get the attention of a man who had been unable to keep his hands off of her for three solid days.
Should it?
Feelings of insecurity plagued her. Could he be bored with her already? She sighed.
“Are we near Lansing Hall?”
His eyes narrowed with irritation. “’Tis the third time you have asked that, lass.” She lifted her shoulders and let them fall in a delicate shrug. “I will probably ask several more times until we get there. It appears to be the only question you deign to answer and I grow weary of the silence.”
“I dinna ken you expected to be entertained every moment.” He crossed his legs, his calf brushing hers. Despite her annoyance with him, her body reacted immediately. Gooseflesh rushed up her legs. She had to stop herself from rubbing her calf against his. He appeared oblivious to the touch.
“I do not expect to be ignored.”
“I told ye before, Belle, I dinna want to spend my time catering to a woman’s whims.
Surely ye can stand a few hours of silence in a carriage.” Stung by his words, the insecurity she felt intensified.
He had said that, but for the last three days he had treated her with nothing but consideration. It made her angry. Marriage to Ian had been a risk. She had taken it willingly.
She loved him.
How dare he tire of her after only three days of married life? She was his wife, not a nuisance. She gave him a fulminating stare.
“I can tolerate any amount of silence necessary.” She spoke with dignity and then whispered under her breath. “It is a great improvement over conversing with a faithless and stubborn husband who treats me as a nuisance.” She had not whispered quietly enough.
“Faithless?” His roar deafened her. “In what way am I faithless, wife?” He made the term “wife” sound like an insult and right now she felt like it was.
“Fickle, then.”
He glared at her. “What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?” She glared right back. “Do not curse at me.” She would not be intimidated when her heart was busy breaking. “I mean exactly what I say. You cannot keep your affections fixed on one woman for more than three days of married life.” His body tensed as like a coil, ready to spring.
She ignored his anger and pressed on. “Had I known you were so easily bored, I would never have married you.”
His first reaction had been mild compared to the look of fury that suffused his features now. “Ye regret marrying me?”
Without any warning, he lunged across the carriage seat and pulled her into his arms.
“That is too bloody bad. We are married and ’tis for life.” He then settled his mouth on hers in a punishing kiss. She struggled against him, but he held her too tightly to break away. His mouth demanded a response and she was helpless to withhold it.
She berated herself even as she softened against him. Sliding her arms around his neck, she kissed him back. The moment her hands touched him, he gentled the kiss. He moved his lips over her cheek and down her
neck. Shivers of sensation shot through her.
“Ye belong to me, Belle, now and forever.”
