Page 54

He shook his head at her and ran a hand slowly, teasingly through her hair. “Do I appear drunk, Arianne?”
He didn’t. She studied his keen, clear gray eyes, the healthy but not high color in his handsome face. There was no slurring of his words and, she realized, relaxing slightly in his arms as the rush of anger ebbed, his step was as sure and strong as ever.
“N-no,” she replied cautiously, searching his face.
“In truth, it would take much more than the time I spent with those ruffians to make me forget that I have such a sweet and lovely bride waiting for me. A bride whose charms I wish to admire all night long—unhindered by the numbing effects of spirits.”
He suddenly scooped her up without warning and carried her to the bed. By the time he set her down, their kisses were deep and more intoxicating than any wine or ale.
“But I’m angry with you,” Arianne said, trying not to laugh as they drew apart only by inches. “I’ve resolved to leave this room—to make you regret that you left me for even a moment.”
“Then I’ll have to change your mind, won’t I?” Nicholas grinned, pushing her back against the pillows and pressing a trail of slow kisses down her throat, making her quiver and burn.
“But I…never change my mind,” she whispered, her arms already snaked around his neck. She drank kisses from the warmth of his lips.
“This time you will.”
He reached out and grasped the satin ribbons adorning the bodice of her shift, tugging until they parted and revealed the sweet nakedness of her form. “I am an expert in many kinds of persuasion.”
Arianne gulped a deep breath as his gleaming eyes gazed into hers. “Show me,” she whispered on a breath of laughter and drew him down to her.
As Nicholas clasped her close and rained kisses down upon her eyelids, he spoke again. This time his voice was hoarse with emotion. “My sweet, I’ll spend the rest of my life persuading you to love me always as you do tonight. I never thought to have a home, my title, my father’s respect, or a wife. Now I have them all.”
She held him close to her, and her fingers stroked lovingly across the hard, scarred planes of his face.
“And I have you, my beloved Nicholas,” she whispered on a crest of love so rich and powerful it brought tears to her eyes. “Surely no woman was ever so fortunate, or ever loved her husband as much as I love you. And will for all time.”
“For all time,” he repeated, catching her close again and claiming her mouth in a fierce and tender kiss.
As the night sky beyond the window bloomed with purple darkness and starlight, the duke and duchess in their castle chamber celebrated their wedding night and all the days and nights to come.