Page 50 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

“I… I thought it was a given that I might conceive when we…” Jo was a deep red now. It had gone from a cute pink to a slightly alarming cherry color. The blush on her chest had spread down her upper arms as well.

“There are ways to prevent pregnancy if you wish to. None of them are completely foolproof…”

“Well, nothing in life is,” Jo interrupted him glumly.

“But at least they have worked so far for me,” Robert told her, knowing he had to keep a level head in this conversation.

Jo carefully placed her utensils on her plate and sat up straighter to assess him. The seriousness of the demeanor made Robert put his own silverware down and regard her with an open expression.

“Would you like to… wait?” Jo asked as she gulped.

Robert had given it little thought before. Like her, he assumed that they would start trying for a child as soon as Jo’s list told them they could consummate the marriage. His mind had only been focused on what it would feel like to be close to Jo, to finally kiss her and touch her. Wring pleasure from her body over and over again. But…

“Perhaps it would not be the worst idea,” he said hesitantly to gauge her reaction. “We could give it three months to just… become acquainted with each other, then we could… reevaluate.”

Jo was nodding along as he spoke, seemingly agreeing, then her eyes narrowed as a thought evidently occurred to her.

“Would this… give me any discomfort or pain? Because it seems that when it comes to this topic, it is always the woman who must bear the burden.” Her tone turned almost a bit angry at the end, which Robert could not fault her for.

“No discomfort or pain on your part,” he assured her with a smile.

“But on yours?” Jo asked with wide eyes, as if she could not believe he might go through either to prevent having children, if it was what she wished.

“Well, no pain, but a slight discomfort perhaps.” His eyes strayed to his plate of half-eaten food, and it was his turn to blush slightly. Heavens, he had never spoken to an innocent woman about this. It was more difficult than he thought. “I would either… withdraw or need to wear a French letter. Unless you are using a sponge, but that takes some planning and…”

Jo was blushing so much that he felt the heat radiating from her across the table.

“Perhaps…” she said in a strangled voice. “Perhaps we should revisit this, when the… ehm, when the time arises… For now…”

“For now,” Robert repeated and nodded. Right, it was not the fear of pregnancy that made her want to wait to sleep with him.

22

“Ihave always wondered why the bedroom is created in much darker colors than the other rooms in the house,” Jo babbled as she led Robert through the door.

The bedchamber had an even darker wallpaper than the lounge, in a deep wine-red and just as dark furniture and wooden panels as the other room.

She did not know why she was nervous. He had just pleasured her in the sitting room. She wished him to do it again. And she trusted him. She kept repeating as much to herself. She trusted him not to take her when she had said she did not want to. And yet she felt the nerves like tiny animals crawling under her skin.

“I believe it is to give it a more intimate feel. At least my bedroom feels a bit like a cave. It always makes me fall asleep faster,” Robert said behind her as he closed the door.

He had rung for the staff to clear the table before they entered the bedroom, which Jo appreciated. As much as Robert assured her the staff would think nothing of it, it still felt bizarre to her that they all knew. That they assumed that…

“What… what do we do now?” she asked as she turned to him.

It had been so much easier in the sitting room when she had been caught up in their kisses and touches and not thought at all.

“Whatever you like,” Robert told her earnestly as he approached her. As if he sensed that she wished for him to take control, he said: “I should very much like to see you without your dress on.”

Jo looked down at the exquisite dress. It had become a bit wrinkled from Robert’s fondling earlier. Nothing that her lady’s maid, Miss Fletcher, could not straighten, but still, it would probably be for the best.

“Should I… wear something else?” she asked and remembered how much Beatrice had talked of nightgowns – and especially ripping them. She was not ready for that though.

“If you want to,” Robert told her as he reached her. “May I?”

His hands were resting on the buttons of her back as he stood beside her. Jo took a deep breath and nodded. She wanted it, she reminded herself. Not this awkward feeling now, but the heady, all-consuming lust which would come afterwards.

Once again Robert undid the buttons and hooks of her dress and Jo removed her arms from the short sleeves. Robert helped her slide the dress down her body, holding it out so she could step out of it. She toed her slippers off at the same time. He turned to place the dress over a chair, before raising his hands to untie her corset once again.