Page 25 of A Counterfeit Engagement

Sophie stiffened, though she tried not to let her disquiet show. After all the whispers among her friends in her youth and the piecemeal information from books, she would finally find out what went on between a man and a woman. It was ridiculous to be afraid. She knew Jonathan would not hurt her.

All the same, the look in his eyes made the breath catch in her throat.

It was one thing to trust him absolutely, and quite another to feel like some small creature before a prowling beast. She had opened her mouth to speak, but could not think of a single thing to say, when Jonathan gestured to the small sitting chairs and table near the giant four-poster bed.

Grateful but surprised for the reprieve, she sat.

Jonathan sat in the chair next to her and handed her two small packages. “Open the one on top first,” he instructed.

Puzzled, Sophie unknotted the string holding the package shut. It contained a small box covered in golden-brown velveteen.

“Go on,” Jonathan urged her.

Sophie opened the lid and gasped with pleasure. “Oh, Jonathan,” she said as she lifted the ruby necklace out of its silken nest. She examined it carefully, but could not even see where the damage had been. “Jonathan, it’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Let me put it on you,” he murmured. Sophie bent her head, and he took the necklace from her, fastening it around her neck.

Sophie shivered from the barest touch of his fingertips against her skin.

She wondered if he might linger, but he did not, returning instead to the chair next to hers and handing her the second package.

“The first box was only what was already yours. But this is something I want you to have – from me.”

“I see,” Sophie murmured. She slid the wrapping off to reveal a matching box of golden-brown velveteen. Slowly, she opened it.

A ruby diadem caught and held the light, reflecting it from a myriad of tiny stones. They were woven, almost hidden among a network of delicate golden strands in arches and curves that reminded Sophie of waves.

“Do you like it?” Jonathan murmured. “I wanted you to have something to go with your necklace. For occasions when you should not only be beautiful, but also magnificent.”

“I love it,” Sophie breathed out. “Jonathan, it’s hard to say.

I feel as though – “ As though you understand me.

As though you understand what I value, what I feel like inside.

“Well, I do not quite know how to say it. But it is wonderful. I could not imagine a more beautiful diadem. Or, as you said, a more magnificent one.”

Wordlessly, Jonathan held out his hand. Sophie placed the diadem in it, and Jonathan carefully arranged it in her hair. She held out her hand to him, and together, they crossed the room to the dressing table and its fine, larger mirror.

“We look well together,” Sophie murmured unconsciously.

Somehow, she did not look like her plain, sensible self next to Jonathan.

No. The woman next to him was darkly glowing, matching the radiance of the jewels around her neck and in her hair.

He, unornamented, needed nothing to complement his dark good looks.

The thick ruffled hair over his brow and his loosened cravat were ornament enough.

Slowly, Sophie took the diadem from her hair and placed it in its box, leaving it on the dressing table. The necklace soon followed it. Silently, she turned and looked up at Jonathan.

He picked up her hand and lightly kissed the knuckles. “I should like to kiss you again, my wife. This time, without interruption.”

“And I, you,” Sophie said. She raised her chin in invitation, and he stepped closer, taking her in his arms.

Then his lips met hers, and all rational thought seemed to flee.

Sophie was lost in the feeling of his mouth covering hers, his tongue slipping lightly inside.

She realised she was pressing herself against his body, and she intended to be ashamed, only Jonathan held her even closer, making it perfectly obvious that no part of her boldness displeased him.

With a low groan, Jonathan stepped away from her. He began stripping off his shirt and was reaching for the buttons of his trousers when he seemed to notice Sophie’s gaze, warm on his body.

“Are you so interested in me, wife?” Jonathan asked her teasingly.

“In everything about you,” Sophie said. She stepped towards him, tracing a single finger down the hard planes of his chest. “I have seen shirtless men now and then — workers in the fields, sailors on leave in Seaton. But this is different. You are mine.”

“Forever,” Jonathan breathed.

Looking at the fondness in his smile and the tenderness about the corners of his eyes, Sophie summoned up all her boldness. “In that case, Jonathan…will you kiss me again?”

“Gladly.” His hands brushed lightly down her back, urging her closer. Sophie went willingly. His arms crushed her against him, and he kissed her lips lightly. He stroked her lips with his tongue, asking, and she opened her mouth and let him in.

This is pleasant, Sophie remembered thinking, a last fading gasp of rationality, and then all thought dissolved in sensation.

Pleasant was not remotely the word for it.

His kiss, teasing, stroking her tongue and drawing out her response, left her trembling and almost giddy with sensation.

At last, Jonathan gently drew away from her, and Sophie was grateful he continued holding on to her by the arms. She half thought she might have fallen down otherwise.

“Jonathan?”

“Yes, Sophie?”

“I…I had no idea that being married could cause such feelings.”

He dipped a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth. “In truth, nor did I.”