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She cautiously waved one hand between them. “Decorum. You know, a polite respect for each other’s sensibilities?”
“No. I didn’t know.” He rubbed his hand across his mouth. Elizabeth had a sneaky suspicion he was hiding a grin. She set her chin a bit higher. She fully intended to hang onto her dignity and, the sooner he accepted it, the better.
He removed his hand from his mouth and rubbed it on his thigh. “Let me get this straight. You want me to perform my ‘duty’ fully clothed, holding onto my modesty and yours, and remembering my manners all at the same time?”
“You needn’t make it sound so implausible.”
“Darlin’, when a man sets to pleasuring a woman, he’s got enough to chew without adding more to his plate.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That’s clear enough.”
She ignored his interjection. “But I’m sure we can get through this with our dignity intact if we concentrate on the necessities.”
“I’m thinking our ideas of what’s necessary are about as far apart as a body can get.”
“I don’t think so. We both want this ranch. Like you, I’d like children.” She hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. She needed to keep the upper hand and she hadn’t a prayer if she came off as namby-pamby. She cleared her throat and continued. “At Miss Penelope’s Academy for Young Women, the subject of marital duty was discussed.”
“This Miss Penelope’s Academy is a school?”
“Yes.”
“And this is where you got the notion that a man and woman bring their manners to their wedding bed?”
“You needn’t scoff, Mr. MacIntyre. The Academy is very respected. All the best families send their daughters there with complete confidence that, when they graduate, they’ll take their place in society as the wives of respected men. Why are you laughing?”
“Was this Miss Penelope a dried-up prune of a woman?”
“I always thought of her as properly reserved.” She recalled Miss Penelope’s impeccable dress, upswept hair, and modulated voice. “Dignified.”
The corn husks rustled louder as Asa shifted closer. “I hate to upset your apple cart, darlin’, but, if I aim to pleasure you, that dignity you’re so fond of is going straight out the window.”
His hand gliding around her waist dislodged the quilt. No matter how she widened her elbows, she couldn’t halt its descent. His fingers brushed the side of her breast. His calluses dragged across her flesh. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her as he nudged the edge of her camisole off her nipple. She closed her eyes.
“Mr. MacIntyre…”
“Damn, you’re as pretty as a wildflower.”
“Mr. MacIntyre.”
Amusement colored the rough tones of his drawl. “Seeing as I’m looking at your charms, don’t you think you could call me by my first name?”
“Asa!” His name ended on a high note as his finger traced a circle on her bosom.
“Right here, darlin’”
“Surely this isn’t necessary!”
“If by ‘this’, you mean my touching you, nothing could be more necessary.”
She caught his wandering hand by the wrist. When she opened her eyes, his face was inches from hers. For all the amusement in his voice, his expression was intense. Intimidating, but she clutched her conviction like a lifeline. “I don’t believe you.”
His resistance to her tugging halted. “You calling me a liar?”
She’d never be so idiotic as to call a man a liar to his face. “I believe you’re laboring under a misconception.”
“Want to lay it out a little clearer?”
“I don’t feel it’s necessary for you to touch me so intimately in order to perform your duty.”
“You don’t?”
The incredulity in his voice sparked her anger. “You tell me. Is it necessary for you to touch me so intimately in order to…complete the act?”
“Not for me—”
She cut him off. “Then I’d appreciate getting it over with.”
“It won’t be nice for you if I just ‘get it over with’.”
“It’s not supposed to be nice,” she muttered. Her bravado giving out, she redirected her gaze to the oil lamp. “It’s a duty, like any other chore, and I intend to get through it the same way I get through the wash.”
“Shi—I mean, shoot. I don’t think I want to hear this, but just how do you plan on getting through it?”
“At Miss Penelope’s, they suggested occupying our minds during monotonous chores by designing a new dress or planning a party.”
“And this Miss Penelope is an expert on the duty between a husband and wife?”
She heard the doubt in his voice. How dare he scoff at her education! The man had probably never attended school a day in his life. She gritted her teeth. “Miss Penelope would never lie. She’s a very responsible woman, dedicated to the education of the young women at her school.”
“And you’re dead set on sticking to her teachings?”
She met his gaze and that slightly raised eyebrow defiantly. “Nothing to date has made me question my education.”
