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A single brow lifted, and the man bowed low. “It is my pleasure to serve you, Madam.”
She nodded in response. There was so much blood in her face and ears she wondered if there was any left anywhere else in her body.
“My lord, shall I have a bath readied?”
Eden’s heart fluttered as her husband looked at her with burning eyes. Oh, yes. There was blood elsewhere in her body, throbbing in all the places she wanted him to touch. Wanton indeed.
“Not just now, Seamus,” was Percy’s reply as he gestured for her to go ahead of him up the stairs. “We’ll want hot water and something to eat in precisely an hour and a half, but you will send for my solicitor at once and tell him to bring all he needs in order to draw up legal documents.”
“But my lord, it is—”
“I know the hour,” snapped her husband. “I don’t care if he must be dragged from his bed by the ankles. He is to come here at once. I pay the man to be at my disposal whenever I need him, and I need him now. You will fetch me the moment he arrives.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“In the morning, should I manage to get any sleep this night, I am to be awakened at the sixth hour. I have an early appointment. Lay out the dark blue jacket, and be sure the driver is ready to leave when I am.”
So little time!
The thought that Percy might be taken from her in the morning lent urgency to Eden’s steps. She vowed this night would live perfectly preserved in both their memories until death took them, whether it was tomorrow or fifty years from now. She prayed it would be the latter.
Their lovemaking was both tender and tempestuous. Already liberated of her maidenhead, Eden felt no reticence, no inhibition. She gave her passion free reign, denying him and herself nothing. She declined no pleasure offered, but reveled in each new sensation. Nothing was forbidden her now.
As she lay gasping for breath after again being brought to climax by her husband’s skilled tongue, she reflected that rakes did indeed make the best husbands. The stray thought wrung unexpected laughter from her.
Percy rose up to plant himself between her thighs and lifted a brow in inquiry.
“I was just thinking how very naïve I was when we first met,” she said, blushing yet again.
“You’re still quite naïve, but I’ll soon remedy that,” he teased, grasping her hips. “Now—no more thinking.”
She moaned as he slid into her slick passage in one long, slow stroke. Every inch of her husband was delicious, especially the ones buried deep inside her.
It was the last coherent thought he permitted her.
…
Percy woke with a groan, blinking at the light held up by his valet. “Bloody hell, Seamus,” he muttered. “Is it time already?”
“’Tis, my lord,” affirmed the man, setting the lamp down on the table beside the bed.
Thanks to vigorous lovemaking followed by the tedious preparation of legal documents securing both Eden’s future and that of her irksome family, Percy had gotten only a few hours’ rest. It would have to do. Careful not to wake Eden, he swung his legs over and stood.
Looking down at his wife, he strove to memorize every detail of her face. The lamp cast a warm glow over her still form, illuminating features become so dear to him as to inspire tender pain on sight. She was innocent in many ways, yet had taken to bed sport with absolute abandon as he’d known she would from the first time he’d kissed her.
My wife. His gaze lit upon her naked hand, which lay curled beside her head on the pillow. His ring, too large by far for her delicate fingers, lay on the bedside table where she’d left it the night before. Going to his armoire, he quietly took out the sapphire-and-diamond ring he’d purchased at Hennell’s and brought it back. Bending, he brushed a lock of lustrous golden hair away from her face.
Her lashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes to look up at him. “You are leaving?”
“Yes. With luck, I should be back here before breakfast is on the table.” He sat beside her and took up her hand to kiss it. As he lowered it, he slid the ring onto her finger. “Much better,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been waiting to give it to you for weeks.”
Clutching the sheet to her bosom, she pulled herself into a sitting position and for a moment admired the shining symbol of her wedded state. “It’s beautiful.”
“When I return, I shall take you to find fitting accompaniments for it,” he promised.
Her eyes misted at the reminder of what lay between now and that happy event. “I will not say I shan’t fret,” she told him. “I shall be unable to rest until you are safe in my arms again.” Leaning up, she laid a palm against his cheek and kissed him softly. “Do what you must and then return to me.”
“I will.” It was a vow he intended to keep. Unabashed by his nakedness, he walked to the dressing room and proceeded to prepare for his confrontation with Ravenwood—and Wells. He tried to relax as Seamus shaved him, but despite having declined coffee he still felt jittery.
