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“Is Lady Ainsley at home?” he asked Will.
“Yes, sir. Her ladyship is in the study.”
His brother’s study was Ainsley’s preferred retreat at Kendrick House, but Royal intended to change that. With a little luck and with as much courting as was required, he planned to make his bedroom her favorite spot from now on.
Of course, the ideal venue for seduction was not a house with his brothers and grandfather knocking about. So Royal hoped to have an appropriate town house rented for his little family within the next few weeks. In her own establishment, Ainsley could relax, and he could give her the privacy she needed to feel comfortable again.
When he opened the study door, he found Ainsley tucked into one of the needlepointed armchairs by the fireplace. She glanced up from her book with a relieved smile.
“I was getting worried,” she said, rising to greet him. “You were gone for rather a long time.”
He limped over and took her hands, bending slightly to press a lingering kiss on her soft lips. She hesitated, as if surprised, then gently returned his pressure. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she gave an embarrassed little chuckle and pulled away.
“Goodness,” she said. “Whatever was that for?”
“I missed you. I wanted you to know that.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Then mission accomplished, although you’ve only been away for a few hours. Certainly not long enough to miss me.”
“You just said you were worried by my absence. That certainly sounds long enough for us to miss each other.” He gently tugged on a silky tendril of hair curving down her neck, enjoying the light scent of her perfume.
“I was worried about your leg, silly.” She adroitly sidled away to the drinks trolley to fetch a glass. “And anxious about what the doctor had to say.”
He noted her reluctance to meet his gaze. Ainsley had never been shy with him until that shattering encounter when she’d climaxed in his arms—before kneeing him in the balls. Since then, she’d swung between fussing over him as much as she did Tira, and skittering away at the first sign of romance on his part. Clearly, their initial sexual encounter had rattled her more deeply than he’d thought.
Or maybe she’d started to regret marrying him. He couldn’t blame her for that, since the road to domestic bliss had so far been fraught with peril.
At least she’s stuck with you, old son. It’s not like she can divorce you or seek an annulment.
Not surprisingly, that fact was hardly one to lift the spirits. He wanted Ainsley to love him as much as he loved her, even if that made him sound like a pompous fool.
“Is that for me?” he asked as she poured whisky into a crystal tumbler.
“Just a small one to take off the chill. Now, why don’t you sit down by that cozy fire and tell me about your visit with the doctor.”
She obviously felt the need to coddle him a bit. If that made her happy, then coddling it would be.
“Do you need a lap blanket?” she asked, handing him the glass.
Not that much coddling. “Sweetheart, I’m not in my dotage yet.”
She gave him a soothing smile that suggested she would soon be conjuring up warm glasses of milk.
He hated milk.
“Of course not,” she said. “But we don’t want you getting chilled. Your muscles will seize up.”
“If they do, you can always massage them.”
She blushed and shook her head. Still, he couldn’t help noticing the little grin that lifted the corners of her mouth.
Progress.
Ainsley settled into the opposite armchair. “Well, whatdidDr. Baker have to say about your leg? Nothing bad, I hope.”
“Just the opposite. I’m in fine trim. No need to worry about anything.”
“Royal Kendrick, that is a load of old bollocks, and you know it.”
