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He tried not to be preoccupied with such gloomy thoughts, at least not on Lady Amelia’s first night here as his wife. The thought suddenly sounded so appealing. She was his wife, and she was to join him for dinner. He wondered if she remembered. He remembered all of her conditions and rules.
He sighed then got up from his leather chair in which he had been nestled cozily for the past several hours. He wondered if he should change for dinner. He stopped mid-step, shaking his head at himself. Why on earth would he change? This washishome.
It is her home as well,a little voice inside reminded him. Although he assured himself that nothing would change, this was an impossible feat. The very presence of someone else in his household demanded certain changes. Perhaps, changes might be a good thing. Those were the thoughts he had when he entered the dining room, only to see that the table was set up for two, but there was no one else there yet.
Arthur lifted his gaze to meet Mrs. Collins’. She acknowledged him with an explanation. “I do believe Lady Amelia is still in her chamber.”
“Has she come out?” he wondered.
“No,” she shook her head. “She only expressed a desire to do some redecorating and needs my help, but I told her that we would need to discuss it with you first, Your Grace.”
“Redecorate?” he echoed. He couldn’t remember the last time someone wanted to change anything about this place. It had become a ruin. He feared that his mother must be rolling over in her grave, the poor soul, at the mere sight of what her once loving home had now turned into.
“Yes,” Mrs. Collins confirmed.
“Of course, she can redecorate,” he allowed. “I do believe it’s high time someone did something about this place, and it surely won’t be me.”
She seemed to like his response, but she only nodded, smiling more to herself than to him as if she were privy to some secret information he was yet to find out.
“All right then,” he said, rubbing his two hands together slightly nervously. “I shall go fetch Lady… my wife, so we can have dinner together.”
Without waiting for Mrs. Collins to reply, he turned around and hastily headed towards the chambers he had destined to be hers now. He reached the door quickly, almost regretting that he had scarcely enough time to prepare what to say. As if there was something specific that needed to be said. The invitation had already been issued. What more was needed?
Perhaps she had forgotten. With all the commotion of the wedding and all, it was possible. Instantly, he remembered how absolutely ethereal she looked in that gown that seemed out of current fashion, yet it looked as if it were made especially for her, accentuating her body to painful perfection. He doubted he had ever seen a more captivating woman in his entire life. The moment their hands united and they were made to be one family and one name, he felt a surge of electricity course throughout his body, awakening his every sense. He had to remind himself that he was a man, not an animal, and as such, more than capable of controlling his most basic urges.
He knocked on the door three times. A few moments passed, and there was no reply. Then finally, the door opened only a little, revealing just half of Lady Amelia’s face. He tried to refrain from looking down at her bare feet and noticed the fact that she was wearing nothing more than a nightgown. At that very moment, a wandering gush of wind from some nearby window which must have been left open found them both, and instantly, her nipple pebbled under the thin, satin fabric of her nightgown.
He swallowed heavily, immediately reverting his gaze back up to her eyes, adamantly reminding himself that he couldn’t look down again. Ever again.
“Your Grace,” she greeted him, sounding impassive. There was no joy in seeing him nor was there any displeasure. She was merely indifferent.
As for him, there was nothing indifferent about the way he felt right this very instant, so he endeavored to think of the most displeasing images to soothe both his mind and his hunger, only not for food.
“We are married now,” he reminded her although he was certain that such a reminder was unnecessary for either of them. “Please, refer to me by my name.”
“Arthur,” she said it immediately. It sounded like the choir of little cherubs sang it in his ear.
“Amelia,” he echoed back, enjoying the familiar, almost intimate note of her own name on his lips. “Dinner is served,” he announced. He wasn’t displeased with the fact that she had obviously forgotten and got ready for bed. He couldn’t hold it against her. This was a long day for them all.
“Oh,” she exclaimed, her eyes widening in embarrassment. “I had forgotten.”
It was then that she looked down and remembered that she was indecent. Hastily, she slid to the side, hiding the rest of her body from his gaze, leaving only a part of her face visible.
“I shall be ready in five minutes,” she told him, sounding remorseful. “I apologize for the oversight.”
“It’s all right,” he replied, still feeling that pang of desire upon seeing her in her nightgown. “I shall wait for you in the dining room.”
“Thank you,” she nodded. She hesitated to close the door at first then did so, leaving him alone in the corridor.
Arthur inhaled deeply in an effort to banish the sight from his mind. Only, that was impossible. All he managed to do was increase the desire to have her beneath him. Amelia looked even more bewitching in her nightgown with that delicately tender nipple trying to break free of the silky constraints it was in. The wedding gown made her appear angelic and sweet, but this sight proved to him that her form was feminine enough to tempt even a saint which he most certainly was not.
He had not had a woman in quite a while, and he believed that he was better at controlling himself, at controlling his own thoughts. But the need to have her by his side almost won over as his physical ache was starting to swell in his pants. Fortunately, she closed the door before she could see anything.
It was merely the reaction any man would have upon seeing such a beautiful woman so scantily clad. It had nothing to do with them and most certainly nothing to do with anything deeper developing between them. His animalistic lust for her won over for that one brief moment. It only proved one thing. He would simply need to be in more control of himself.
However, that would prove to be harder than he thought.
CHAPTER7
