Pedro dried her tears. "I shall love you when you are beautiful as you are now, and I shall love you when you are gray, and I shall love you when you are innocent, and I shall love you when you are not. I shall love you forever, Anne. I'm not asking you to be my Inês."
Pedro reached into his collar and pulled the chain with his mother's ring. He slid the band over her finger, and the diamond scattered the sunlight into tiny rainbows over her skin. "I'm asking you to be my angel, my wife. Ana for me, and Lady Daun, Countess of Almoster, for everybody else."
Chapter 51
Three months later…
"Gotosleep,countess.After weeks of toiling to restore Salgueiro's ballroom, you don't want to sport shadows under your eyes at your grand reception tomorrow." Pedro shifted to his back on their four-poster bed and tucked Anne into his side.
He was right, of course. They would open Quinta do Salgueiro's doors to friends and family. Anne had prepared a lavish ball, the first since Pedro's mother had died. Anne closed her eyes, picturing Pedro leading her in a waltz under the light of thousands of candles, and she cuddled closer to his chest. His warmth was better than any fantasy she could conjure. Her skin came alive, and sleep waved as elusive as the soft sights of the cicadas singing outside.
Pedro was still, and his breathing was even, but she knew he was awake. He always waited for her to sleep first, no matter how tired he was. Smiling, Anne traced circles on the golden skin of his chest. His breath caught, scarcely loud enough to be heard. Encouraged, Anne drew arabesques down his torso, aiming for the trail of golden hair below his navel.
He grabbed her hand, placed a chaste kiss on her palm, and held it. She tugged, but his grip had the give of shackles.
She chanced a peek at his face. His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes casting playful shadows over his cheeks. Anne kissed his puckered nipple.
His chest rumbled. "Sleep."
Anne smiled against his skin. "I would rather do other things."
"Just close your eyes," he said gruffly.
Anne wiggled her toes over his calves, but the insufferable man blocked that too by placing his knees atop both of her thighs. Anne huffed and shimmied her legs, but his limbs seemed made of iron. Winded, she laid back on the pillow and blew hair from her forehead.
His chest shook suspiciously. He chuckled!
Measuring her breaths, she relaxed, pretending defeat. One heartbeat, two, and then ten. When his hold slackened, she pulled free and climbed atop him.
"Ha!" Laughing, she placed her hands on both sides of his face, her hair cascading down his torso.
Their breath mingled. Atop Pedro's chest, she could fight any battle, discover new countries, or, better yet, conquer a recalcitrant count. While gloating, she missed how the light changed in his eyes. Before she could catch her breath, Pedro splayed his hands over her thighs and, holding her tight, switched their positions, rolling on top of her.
He kept his weight on his arms, caging her with his male bulk. She tried to wiggle free, but he was as movable as a Grecian column.
But even naked, she still had a card up her sleeve. Grinning, she brought her hands up as if asking for mercy, but at the last moment, she tickled his armpits.
One second, she was lying beneath him on her back. The next, she was flipped to her stomach, an unwieldy male pressed against her.
Anne huffed, trying to buck his weight from her back. After succeeding only in getting herself breathless, she gave up. "Have you no soft spot on your body? No vulnerabilities?"
He pushed closer, his furry chest tickling her nude spine, and breathed the words near her neck, raising goosebumps over her arms. "I have."
"And what, pray tell, is it?"
"You."
Anne shuddered, and with a sigh, she turned her face to the side to receive his open-mouthed kiss.
Too soon, he released her tongue and fluttered kisses down her shoulder blades, following the arch of her back. His lips were warm on her overheated skin, and everywhere he touched her, he branded her.
She held her breath when he arrived at the base of her spine. With the ease of one who knew his welcome, he hooked her leg up, opening her to him. When his fingers found her entrance, a shiver of pleasure raced through her body, making her toes curl. He chuckled at her desire, no doubt ecstatic with male pride. But instead of shyness, she felt only the truth of their bonding.
When he placed his tongue where his hands had just been, she widened her eyes, but he was too skillful a lover to be denied, and she gave in to his blissful kiss.
He pulled his mouth away. Incoherent thoughts flew to her mind, and Anne blubbered a protest at his absence, but it did not last. He soared above her and, chest pressed to her spine, plunged inside her. Slowly, deeply, devotedly, his thrusts stoked her desire to a fevered pitch. She thought she couldn't take anymore when he burrowed his hands beneath her, caressing her breasts. Anne released her weight on the mattress as Pedro took them to new pleasure heights.
Chapter 52
