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Iris had done her best impression of a pouting child, and he had laughed, kissing her again, more softly this time, until she relented and kissed him back.
“Very well. But Leon… I want you to know… you said that we would do nothing more than kisses, until I was ready…”
“Yes?”
His voice was deeper than usual when he said that one word, and what she had seen in his eyes gave her hope for the future.
“I think that I am ready. I want… I want to at least begin to explore what ‘more than kisses’ would be like, between us – and I want to do so this week, while we are here, and I feel…” she hesitated, unwilling to say the word ‘safe’ although it almost palpably hung between them, “…sure that we won’t be interrupted.”
Her heart had pounded in her chest, and she had waited for his response, feeling strange, and wanton, even knowing that such things should be normal between husband and wife. He had not rejected her request, as she had feared he might, but had, instead, groaned softly before kissing her again, very deeply.
The words he had spoken when they finally drew apart, breathing hard, would stay with her forever.
“Iris, if that is what you wish, I will be more than happy to do as you ask – for you are beautiful, and I have desired you from the first moment that I saw you. But, for me at least, once we take that step, every day will be torture, for when we return to Greenleigh Park, I will wish to continue – and to resist that, when you stand before me, temptation incarnate, will be near impossible.”
Those words had made her shiver, as fire and ice ran through her veins. To be so desired….
It was more than she had hoped for, that raw honesty in his voice, that heat in his eyes, and she had licked her lips, unsure what to say in response.
He had cupped her cheek, and smiled wryly before speaking again.
“But no matter how much we may both desire it, now is not the right time – your first time should be a thing of joy, a time when you have my full attention – and right now we are both exhausted. Let us hold this intent until tomorrow night, and make sure that we retire early then…”
She had sighed, turning her head to place a kiss into his palm, then nodded.
“You are right, Leon, we should sleep.”
Without further words, he had led her to the bed and, once they lay beneath the covers, had curled his body around hers, and held her as they drifted into sleep.
Now, as she regarded him across the breakfast table, the memory of it brought heat to her core. He smiled at her – a conspiratorial smile, as if he knew what she was thinking, and she felt a blush colour her cheeks.
What might the day ahead bring?
>>>
Leon looked up from his plate to see Iris watching him. He smiled, remembering her words of the night before, remembering the feel of her, lying beside him in the bed.
She would tempt a saint.
It still astounded him that she was his wife, and his determination to have a true marriage with her had redoubled in the last few days, as they had simply spent time with each other, and with some of her family. He liked her family, unreservedly – which was a relief – one intense dislike was enough to deal with, and Maggie’s dislike of Iris was on a scale beyond anything he ever wished to have to deal with again.
“Ah… I know that we have promised to visit your sister Camellia late this afternoon, but our day has just become somewhat more complicated. A message arrived while you were dressing, from my grandmother.”
“Lady Neelsham?”
“Yes – she asks that we call on her at two today. And while it is phrased as asking, I know that she will regard it as a summons, and expect our compliance.”
Iris paused, her expression uncertain for a moment, then she straightened her shoulders.
“I suppose then, that we must comply. Lady Neelsham is redoubtable, and I would not wish to have her dislike me – any more than she probably already does.”
Leon laughed, and Iris looked rather shocked at his response.
“I would not think that, if I were you. I rather suspect that she likes you. I seem to remember her being impressed by your courage in the midst of our ‘moment of compromise’. She does an excellent impression of ferocity, but underneath it, I have always found her to be of a far kinder character.”
“If that is how she shows her liking, then I would not wish to see her genuinely angry…”
He laughed again.
