Page 41

B raemer, Wolfe’s valet, paused in collecting his master’s things and glanced at the door connecting the duke’s bedchamber and suite of private rooms to the duchess’s chambers. “Should I send the new housekeeper to Her Grace to inquire if anything is amiss? That last thud seemed quite loud.”

“No, Braemer. I am sure everything is fine.” Wolfe resettled his stance, trying not to fidget as the valet assisted him in changing into his usual state of undress when lounging: a worn pair of buckskins and a shirt open at the throat.

He never wore a banyan, considering them too pretentious.

Gads alive, he and his new wife had just arrived home for the first time in their wedded bliss, and the servants behaved as if it were just another ordinary day.

He shooed the man away. “That will do, thank you.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The man tipped a formal nod, gathered Wolfe’s discarded clothing, and disappeared from the room with the silence of a shadow.

“At last.” Wolfe went to the connecting door and knocked.

A deafening chorus of barks and howls filled the air as Grace swung it open and shyly waved him in to her side of their private rooms. “Please forgive me. Pete, Moses, and Ferdinand aren’t quite settled yet, and I didn’t have the heart to put them out in the stable.

As you can see, Gastric has made himself quite at home.

I’ve left the hallway door open a little so they can go exploring if they get too fidgety.

They’ve already introduced themselves to the kitchen and found their way to Connor and Sissy’s rooms.”

All four dogs were on the bed, with Gastric commandeering the choicest spot on the pillows against the upholstered headboard.

Wolfe made a show of stroking his chin as he meandered back and forth in front of the four-poster bed with its ivory cloth hangings neatly tied back with gold cording. “There appears to be no room in your bed for you, my lady.” Which was quite perfect, in his opinion, since she belonged in his.

She ducked her head, but not before he noted the lovely, rosy blush highlighting her cheeks. “I’m sure I could wiggle in among them. They often slept with me back home.”

“This is your home now, my love,” he said ever so softly while drawing her into his arms.

She slid her hands up his chest and tenderly tapped his chin with the tip of her finger. “ You are my home, Wolfe. Wherever you are, that is where I shall be.”

He cupped her face and sampled the sweetness of her mouth. “My wife—my home.”

A soft whine came from the bed, making Grace gently pull away and turn to the dogs. “I will be in the next room. Be good lads and behave.” She picked up an armload of what appeared to be old clothes and placed them on the bed. “Here you are. Familiar smells, see? All is well.”

The dogs nosed through the garments, each of them circling through them three times before settling down and seeming to relax.

She caught hold of Wolfe’s hand, led him back into his bedchamber, and closed the door behind them.

“Thank you for your patience. I’d be so uneasy if they weren’t settled in.

” She twitched a cringing shrug. “Please don’t be jealous.

This”—she made a sweeping gesture that encompassed the room—“all this takes some getting used to for them…and me.”

He went to her, determined to put her at ease.

“I will not lie and say I’m not jealous.

” Ever so gently, he slid his fingers along her jawline, then up into her hair, smiling as he loosened and flicked away the hairpins holding her upswept curls in place.

Her tresses fell down her back in a golden waterfall.

“Your caring when it comes to your animals and for my brother and sister is one of the many things that warmed my cold, cynical heart and brought it to life once more. I never thought myself capable of love—until you captured me and pulled the blinders from my heart and mind.” He needed her to know how much he adored her.

Not just for her beauty. Or her wit. But for her unique, unconventional spirit that made her so wonderfully her.

“I love you, Gracie,” he whispered, then sealed the declaration with a more passionate kiss.

She molded herself against him, holding him as if determined to never let him go. When he lifted his head, she slowed him with a gentle touch of his cheek. “Nellie said she would help me into my fresh chemise. All I need do is call her to aid me.”

“I am unwilling to let you go even for that short amount of time.” He ran a fingertip along the neckline of her dress, smiling as she shivered. “I propose we be as unconventional as ever. Are you willing?”

With a coy tip of her head, she fiddled with the open folds of his collar, smoothing them as if they needed ironing. “I agree to nothing, Your Grace, until I know the terms in full.”

“Your rooms,” he said while brushing kisses from her temple to her earlobe, “are for your dressing, whatever necessary personal time you desire, and, of course, your beloved animals. But I shall see to your undressing.” He ran the tip of his tongue along the salty sweetness of her throat.

“And the bed in this room, our bed, will be shared every night. I want to sleep with you draped across me after we’ve loved ourselves into oblivion, then wake with you in my arms every morning so we may love each other even more. ”

Gracing him with a suitably impressed look, she nodded.

“Those terms sound most acceptable. Therefore, I shall agree to them fully. The only time my parents didn’t share their bed was when Mama was giving birth—and at the end, when she was ill.

” She untucked his shirt and slid her hands underneath it. “Oh my, you are so…”

He waited for her to finish. When she didn’t, he laughed. “I am so…what?”

“Your body ripples with hardened muscle, yet your skin is smooth and supple like velvet.” She wet her lips, bringing him to an almost painful hardness. “You’re as powerful and sleek as a prize stallion.”

Ever so gently, he swept her hair out of the way and rained kisses along her neck, then down across her shoulder, baring it even more with a tug on her dress as he turned her and deftly unfastened the buttons in the back. “You took my breath away when you joined me in the garden for our vows.”

“You did the same for me,” she said as her gown fell into a puddle around her feet. “In fact, you made it impossible for me to move, I was so taken by you.”

Still nibbling along her shoulder, he untied her stays and allowed them to join the dress on the floor. “I must say, you did give my poor old heart a bit of yank when you halted. I thought surely you were about to flee.”

She turned in his arms and gathered his shirt up to his shoulders. “Off with this, Your Grace, and tell me—if I ran, would you catch me?”

“Without a doubt, my love.” He tossed his shirt aside, then scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. “And I would never let you go.” He untied her slippers and flicked them away. Her suddenly pensive look made him pause. “Gracie? What is it?”

She chewed on her bottom lip, eyeing him as if afraid to share her thoughts.

With her ankle in his hand, he gently tapped on her stocking-covered toes. “Tell me, my love. What is wrong?”

“I have read a great many things,” she said, then wrinkled her nose. “But none were as detailed as I needed them to be.”

“Things?”

“What am I supposed to do to please you?” She folded her hands atop her stomach and nervously tapped her thumbs together.

“You treated me to unimaginable pleasure at the ravine that day, but I did nothing for you.” She frowned, worry in her eyes.

“I don’t want you wandering because I don’t make you happy in this room. ”

“Firstly, I would never wander.” He slid his hands up her leg, untied her garter, then slipped off her stocking and tossed it. “You are mine as I am yours. Never will there ever be another for either of us.”

That seemed to please her, but he still read uncertainty in her face. He made short work of her other stocking, then stepped back and stood at the side of the bed.

“What are you doing now?” She rose and propped herself on her elbows, her golden curls tumbling across the pillows and the subtle curve of her breasts teasing him through the thin material of her chemise.

“I am divesting myself of my clothes.”

“Oh.” She glanced down at her shift. “I suppose I should rid myself of this, then?”

As he unbuttoned his falls and let the buckskins drop, he held her eyes with his. “I would consider that not only an honor, my lady, but the perfect wedding present.”

Her gaze boldly raked down his body, and her eyes went wide. “Oh my—you are nothing like the statues.”

“Is that good or bad, my lady?” He climbed in next to her and gently tugged on the chemise she had yet to shed.

“Uhm…good. I suppose. Might I get back to you on that particular point, since I have no experience with such things?”

He laughed as he helped her wiggle out of her shift.

“You may, indeed, my love.” The sight of her in all her glory threatened to undo him before he even got started.

Leaning over her, he teased her with a slow, tender kiss, growling with pleasure as she pulled herself closer and pressed the length of her body against his.

“Warm silk,” he whispered against her mouth as he ran his hands across her. Never in a thousand lifetimes would he get enough of her. He kissed his way lower, reveling in the taste of her.

She arched against him as she had done at the ravine, wrapping her legs around him and squeezing. Her little noises of delight as he explored her guided him along. Every time between them needed to be special, but this first time especially needed to be perfect, properly melding their vows.

“I adore you,” he said as she cried out and clung to him, achieving the first of the many pleasures he intended to give her this evening.

It was a long time before dawn, and they had much loving to do.

He kissed his way back up to her mouth and settled his hips between her legs, gently prodding as though tenderly requesting admission to her bliss.

“Make me your wife,” she rasped, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer. “Fully and completely.”

“Gladly.” He slid in, forcing himself to go with care and grant her the time he knew she needed to adjust. Clenching his teeth, every muscle tensed, he fought the need to plunder her fully with every ounce of raging lust pulsing through him.

Her breath coming in quick little gasps, she slid her hands down his sides and gripped his buttocks. “Oh my—now I know what I needed so badly at the ravine.”

“And what I needed so badly to give you,” he answered with a groan.

With his forehead pressed to hers, he forced himself to hold.

“Was the pain terrible, my love?” He had only deflowered one other virgin, and that lady had carried on as if he had cleaved her in two with a dull sword.

He ached to move, to continue on, but refused to do so until he knew his precious wife was all right.

“The pain is still terrible,” she said in a desperate, gasping whisper. “The aching is much worse than before, and I need relief. What do we need to do?”

While he wanted to throw back his head and roar, he didn’t. He should have known his beloved, fearless Gracie would match him in passion. After all, she perfectly matched him in everything else. “We do this, my love.”

He started slow, increasing the rhythm and building the fury with every thrust. She met him each time, arching and drawing him in faster and faster. Then she split the air with a throaty shout and clung to him, pulsing with wave after wave of rapturous shudders.

Unable to maintain control any longer, he gave in to the relentless need to bury himself and release, filling her as she emptied him. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, a groan escaping him as he gasped for breath.

“That was…unimaginable,” she said, her voice ragged as she combed her fingers into his hair.

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her throat. “In a good way?”

“In a most delightful way.” She shifted and kissed his forehead. “How do people not do this all the time?”

He rumbled with laughter, unable to keep from it. “Indeed. I have often wondered that myself.” He propped himself up on his forearms and smiled down at her. “We are now one, my lady. In every sense of the word.”

She reached up and pushed his wild hair back from his face. “I can’t possibly imagine life without you.”

“Good, my love. Because I can’t possibly imagine life without you either.”