Page 35 of The Duke’s Second Bride (Regency Second Chances #4)

“ I want to know about Luke’s mother,” Ava said.

Once they had both been properly scrubbed of dirt, the two of them relaxed for a moment in the water, still warm and scented with lavender oil and rose soap.

She was lying with her back against Christian’s chest.

Feeling him tense up beneath her, she hurried to clarify, “I am not jealous. I just wish to know. For his sake. And to know more about you. I want to know all of you, Christian.”

Christian was silent for a moment, considering. Then he said, “It was a very different marriage, you understand,” he started.

Ava fought the urge to deflate. For all that she could protest that she ever felt any feelings of envy, she couldn’t deny that already she had begun to feel more than a little possessiveness over her new husband, particularly now that they were truly living as husband and wife.

“Of course,” she said, forcing a calm tone. “She was the mother of your child. And your first wife.”

“Yes, but…” Christian sighed. “It began as an arranged marriage, you understand. Pleasant, but nothing more. We were both committed to fulfilling our duties to each other, and to the estate.”

“Of course,” Ava said, curious.

“Once Luke was born, Isabel took to him immediately. She loved motherhood.” Ava fought back another pang of jealousy as he continued, “She was a natural at it. And Luke adored her, of course.”

“Of course.”

“With the birth of Luke,” he continued, “it gave us something to bond over. Suddenly, we had more in common than just our vows to each other, which had felt like making vows to a stranger. And so, our arrangement gradually grew to a mutual respect, and then a comfortable affection.”

“That makes sense,” Ava said.

“And then she was with child again,” he said. Ava tensed now.

Luke had no other siblings, which must have meant …

“Oh,” she said, realizing. “Oh.”

“The child did not survive the birth,” he said, so quiet she could barely hear, even pressed up against him the way she was, “and neither did Isabel. Luke was barely two years old. It is no wonder he has no memories of her.”

“Oh, Christian,” she said. She felt such a wave of sympathy break over her that she thought she would cry. Turning to face him, she saw the pain in Christian’s face, and it broke her heart. She reached up to caress the side of his face. “I am so sorry.”

He shook his head. “It was a difficult time,” he said. “I loved Luke, as I always have, but I was not a natural at parenting the way Isabel was. The way you are,” he added.

“He adores you,” Ava replied. “And it is clear you adore him.”

“Of course,” Christian said in response, “but I was so adrift at the prospect of raising him with no wife. He was so young, as was I, and suddenly I was faced with the task of raising this child on my own. And every time I saw him, it was a reminder of what I had done to her. If I hadn’t suggested we try for another child … ”

“Christian …”

He held Ava closer, then released her.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I don’t mean to dwell on the past.”

“You aren’t,” Ava said firmly. “I asked because I wished to know. And I am glad you have told me.”

“I will gladly tell you anything you wish to know,” he promised. “If anything, I imagine you would understand what it is like to lose a spouse.”

“Yes.” Ava paused, biting her lower lip. “Yes and no. It was different for William and me.”

“How so?” Christian asked.

“Like you and Isabel,” she said, speaking with some difficulty, “it began as an arranged marriage. And like you and Isabel, our relationship changed over time. But in the opposite direction.”

“I see,” he said.

“You have heard the rumors, after all.”

“Yes, but they are just rumors,” he said. “I imagine most, if not all, are false.”

“The worst ones, yes,” she said. She sighed. “But it is true that we were hardly husband and wife at all, after a time. He grew bored with the marriage and went seeking his pleasure elsewhere.”

Christian shook his head. “Bastard,” he swore under his breath.

Ava laughed. “He was not discreet either,” she agreed. “Nor was he kind. I did not know what else to do but stay home. William was a known scoundrel, but he was also vivacious and, therefore, well-liked. I never found society to be quite so easy.”

“That surprises me,” Christian said. “I have never known you to bite your tongue when talking to me.”

She couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Well, you are easy to argue with,” she said, pressing back into his embrace, and sighing with pleasure as he kissed the side of her neck.

“Yes, I am well aware of your penchant for bickering with me,” he murmured, smiling against the skin of her neck. “The more I hear about your first marriage, the more I am convinced that it is my duty to make it up to you.”

“Is that so?” she asked with a smile.

“Indeed,” he replied. “I’ll show you how a real man treats his wife.”

He nipped at the sensitive skin below her ear, and she could not help but shudder.

His hands ran across her, fingers brushing over the dusky pink peaks of her nipples, already hard where they met the cold air above the water.

One hand remained toying with her breasts while the other reached down to her center. His fingers slipped in easily. It was as though just being close to him was enough to have her feeling ready to take him in at any time.

The feeling seemed to be mutual. Against her buttocks, she felt the length of him harden, his arousal spurred on by her gasps and sighs as he worked at her with those strong, skilled fingers.

Just as he brought her to the edge, she grabbed his wrist.

“Wait,” she said, then leaned forward.

Rising to her knees, she turned around so that she could face him, straddling him in the tub with her legs to either side of his hips.

She rose just high enough to allow him to line himself up with her entrance, then lowered herself down onto him in one swift, smooth motion.

He pulled her close, so that her chest was pressed tightly to his. The slick skin brushed against her nipples, sending a shock of pleasure through her as she rode him.

Their kisses soon became open-mouthed and messy. Water lapped gently over the sides of the tub as he began to rock his hips upwards to meet hers, their thrusts becoming so desperate that there was a slapping noise as skin met skin.

They reached their climaxes simultaneously, clinging to each other as well as the slipperiness of the situation would allow.

As they both panted, they kissed again.

“Well,” Christian said, pulling back for a moment. “It looks like my bathing idea wasn’t so good, after all.”

Ava’s brows knit together. “You don’t think so?” she said. “Why not?”

Christian kissed her again. She felt him stir again inside her, and moaned into his mouth as he hardened again, and began once more to rock up into her.

“I was meant to get you clean,” he murmured, “but now it’s the last thing on my mind.”

“I don’t mind that at all,” she said, already breathless with pleasure once more.

She rolled her hips along his length. His hands flew to her waist, and he guided her movements up and down.

At one particularly strong thrust upwards from him, she threw her head back, running her hands down his chest. Her breasts bounced gently in the open air, and he ran his hands up towards them, caressing them as they moved together as one.

When they both climaxed again, they were entirely spent. She collapsed against his chest.

Christian washed her down with a cloth and then carried her out of the bath. He wrapped her in a towel and carried her to bed, where he combed her hair, before they kissed passionately until dinner was ready.

The dining room glowed with firelight and candlelight, a golden cocoon against the cool dusk outside. The silver and crystal gleamed, but the atmosphere was far from formal.

Luke was already halfway through his portion of roast chicken, eagerly telling them about what he’s lately been reading with his tutor.

“It was about the… the Romans,” he said, the faintest catch still lacing his words. His brow pinched in frustration, but he pressed on, brave. “Did you know they b-built roads so straight that you can still see them now? Even after all this time?”

Ava leaned forward, eyes bright with interest. “Truly? That is remarkable. You shall have to show me which roads when next we travel. Perhaps you can be our guide.”

Luke grinned, his shoulders squaring at the thought. Christian’s chest warmed at the sight. The boy had struggled so long to find his words, yet here he was, holding forth at his own dinner table, encouraged by a woman who knew precisely how to draw him out.

“They had, ah, baths, too,” Luke continued, his voice growing stronger. “Whole buildings for them, where people could meet and talk. Like—like coffeehouses, but with water.”

Christian chuckled. “I daresay the ton might appreciate that. At least the stench of politics might be more bearable if drowned out by soap.”

Ava laughed, the sound rippling through the room like music. “Oh, but then we should never get the gentlemen out again. They would spend all their hours lounging in steam.”

Luke giggled, and the sound was so light, so unguarded, that Christian felt a lump rise in his throat. For all his sternness, he could not keep from smiling when his son’s happiness filled the air.

They continued eating, and Luke kept sharing small discoveries: a sketch he had made in his copybook, a funny story he had overheard from the stable hands. Ava listened as if every detail were a treasure, and soon Luke’s words tumbled faster, with only the faintest of stammers lingering.

Then, between bites of pudding, he grew thoughtful. His gaze slid to Ava, curious and intent.

“Ava,” he asked, voice careful, “what was your father like?”

Christian’s fork froze in mid-air. The question seemed to drop into the room like a stone into still water.

Ava set her spoon down gently, and a softened sadness dulled her brilliant features that she quickly smoothed over.