Page 38 of I Never Forget a Duke (The Night Fire Club #1)

T he wedding breakfast and subsequent party had been a lot.

Adele had felt obligated to entertain her guests.

Then, finally, mercifully, as the sun sank in the sky, Hugh walked over and told her he sensed she was tired, and really the only thing keeping all these people in the house was the happy couple’s presence in the Swynford ballroom.

He invited her to retire while he kicked everyone out of the house.

Now that she was up in Hugh’s bedroom—their bedroom, she reminded herself—and Daisy was taking the pins out of her hair, Adele was nervous.

Would Hugh be upset she’d wanted to end the party early?

More than that, it was now their wedding night.

In a way, she was glad they’d spent a night together already because she knew what to expect.

But something about this being their wedding night made it more important.

She’d been given a gift. She didn’t care about the title or the relation to the king or the fancy house.

What she cared about was that she’d married a good man and soon they might have a child.

She’d been telling herself for the last couple of years that a child wasn’t something she would ever have, and she’d made her peace with that, but from the moment Hugh had proposed, she’d been thinking about it.

Her main duty as a duchess was to give Hugh an heir, and in all honesty, she wanted that more than anything in the world.

Hugh had taken her life in an entirely new direction, and though she wasn’t too keen on the title and all that, now she could have the family she’d always longed for.

Daisy helped Adele out of her gown and into a loose nightgown and a pale-pink dressing gown that had been a gift from Hugh a few days before. She dismissed Daisy and moved to lie on the bed.

She looked around the room. It was well-kept and masculine.

The large canopy bed had a green damask bedspread that matched the fabric hanging from the posts above.

In a way, the bed felt a bit like its own little world, like they could undo the ties on the fabric curtains and hide in here, away from everyone else in the house, everyone else in London.

After a day of smiling at near strangers, it was something that had a certain appeal.

She closed her eyes, relaxing. Then her stomach growled.

Had she eaten at the party thrown in her favor? There’d certainly been a lot of food there, but Adele couldn’t say that much had made it into her body.

Hugh walked in then, and he had a tray in his hand.

“Hello, my love,” he said. “Sorry that took so long. A few of our guests were pretty deep in their cups. Also, I don’t know how you feel, but I’m famished. I hardly ate a thing. So I’ve commandeered some of the leftovers from the party.”

“Bless you,” she said, pushing herself into the sitting position so she could see what he’d brought.

He placed the tray on a table near the bed, then sat beside her. He smiled. “Do you feel completely overwhelmed?”

“Not completely .”

Hugh chuckled. Then his expression became more serious. He touched the ends of her hair. “I love your hair loose around your shoulders like this. You never wear it this way.”

“I always just wanted my hair out of my face. I didn’t much care for fashionable styles.

My lady’s maid has been playing around with doing my hair in different ways, so I will look like some of the other gentlewomen of London.

And I suppose if I keep shopping at Madame Auguste’s, I shall compete with them. ”

Hugh smiled. “You are so beautiful, Adele. You could set your own fashions if you wanted.”

Adele felt heat flood her face and looked down. “I am plain.”

“No. When I saw you coming down the aisle today, I thought that there has never been a more beautiful woman.”

“That is because I had on an expensive gown and the emeralds you gave me and Daisy did my hair.”

“No. I thought you were beautiful from the first moment we met. When I woke up in the Sweeneys’ house and didn’t know who I was, I thought it might be all right because you were taking care of me.”

“Beauty and ability to care for someone have no relation to each other. I could have been a monster.” Adele smiled.

“You aren’t, though.” Hugh ran his hands through Adele’s hair. “You know what else I realized today?”

“What?”

“That I am completely, irrevocably in love with you. I saw you walking down that aisle and I just knew.”

Adele’s heart felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed. “Oh, Hugh…”

“You don’t need to say it back right now. I just wanted you to know that in these last weeks, you’ve come to mean a lot to me. I truly treasure you. I didn’t even know how much until today.”

Adele stared at Hugh in disbelief. She’d been so focused all day on just getting through the day that she hadn’t stopped to look at him.

He was still dressed from the wedding in a black formal coat and breeches, with a crisp white cravat at his neck, a white shirt, and a white waistcoat.

He’d combed his brown hair forward, as was fashionable, and his blue eyes sparkled as he gazed at her.

He looked exceedingly handsome. Why hadn’t she taken the time to notice that today?

In his formal clothes, he looked very much like the powerful, wealthy duke he was, but the expression on his face was earnest and… vulnerable.

He did love her. She’d wondered in the last few weeks.

His reasons for marrying her had seemed at times like a way to help her out of a bad situation, but he’d repeated over and over that he wanted to marry her, that he couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else, and Adele had taken that to heart.

She’d thought they might grow to love each other in time, as many couples did.

She hadn’t expected him to make a declaration like that on their wedding night.

Did she love him? Yes, she did. She smiled and touched his hair, running her hand through its short strands. She couldn’t seem to make her voice work, though.

Hugh leaned forward and kissed her.

She’d had enough friends who had been married who had feared their wedding nights.

Who’d been told by their mothers that “marital relations” were something to be endured, not enjoyed.

But Adele had the advantage of knowledge.

She’d already spent a blissful night with Hugh, who’d told her even then to never feel shame about herself or her body.

So she knew this would be good, and as Hugh licked into her mouth, she felt heat spreading through her body.

She pulled Hugh back so that he was laying on top of her on the bed. She put her arms around him and kissed him.

He loved her. He’d proclaimed it plain as day. A thrill went through her.

Had she ever been this happy? She didn’t think so.

She reached for the lapels of Hugh’s jacket, and a thought occurred to her. “Will your valet be coming to help you undress?”

“No, I gave him the night off. Told him I could manage to take off my own clothes. I’m sure he will give me an earful tomorrow about proper care of my clothing, but I don’t care right now.

My hands don’t seem to want to leave your body.

” Indeed, Hugh had one hand on her hip and another near her shoulder.

“They may need to, but just for a brief moment.”

Adele pushed his jacket off his shoulders then started undoing the buttons on his shirt.

He sat up, straddling her hips, and helped her with the rest. He tossed his cravat aside and she watched it flutter to the floor as she laughed.

Ventnor definitely would have something to say about how Hugh dealt with his clothing.

Hugh took off his jacket, waistcoat, and shirt and threw them at a nearby chair. The shirt missed and landed on the floor, but Hugh waved his hand dismissively.

Adele ran her hands up Hugh’s chest and met his gaze. “Is this all right?”

“Yes. Please touch me. Touch as much as you want. I am yours to do with as you will.”

Adele felt powerful suddenly. She shimmied out from under Hugh and moved to take off her dressing gown. Hugh reached over and helped her.

“This was an excellent purchase,” Hugh said. “I love how the silk lays on your body. Doesn’t leave much to the imagination. But now I mean to toss it aside.”

Adele felt heat come to her face, but she felt gratified, too.

Hugh thought she was beautiful, found her attractive, and as was plain from the front of his breeches, he wanted her badly.

Adele hadn’t known she could have such power.

As Hugh slipped her nightgown from her shoulders, she watched his face.

The astonishment in his eyes as he revealed her breasts was like that of a child opening a Christmas present.

She would have laughed if she hadn’t felt so aroused.

She felt brave and bold with him.

“You’re so beautiful,” Hugh said. “And no one will ever know how beautiful you are because only I get to see you this way.”

Adele kissed him and reached for his breeches. She worked at the buttons there but found her fingers suddenly tangled and ineffective. He broke the kiss long enough to help her.

Minutes later, they were both naked and tangled with each other on the bed. “Recall what I told you about no shame, my lady. Be open and expressive. If you want me to do something tell me. If you want me to stop, tell me. But, God, love me. Love me with this beautiful body of yours.”

“Yes,” said Adele. “Touch me everywhere. I am yours, too.”

Hugh lifted his head and grinned at her before he dropped again and took one of her nipples into his mouth.

Adele found it hard to look at him without feeling like she might explode, but she moaned and thrust her fingers into his hair. She was surprised when he tailed kisses down her belly and then settled in between her legs.

She thought at first, No, he wouldn’t… why would he?