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She was so enraptured, she couldn’t answer fast enough for him. He nipped at her nipple again, and she moaned, wrapping her legs around him and moving against his hot, hardened flesh.

“Christ,” he swore as his eyes squeezed shut and a shudder shook him from head to toe.

“I’m ready. I want you inside me. I want to be your true bride. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please make me yours.”

“Yes,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

Reaching between them, he stroked her as he nudged at her entrance.

He slid in an inch, then another inch, giving her body time to adjust. She was not accustomed to such fullness, but she hungered for more.

With a gentle rocking motion, he pulled out, then pressed a bit farther.

It was unlike anything she’d ever felt. He continued to stroke her, coating himself in her dew so that he slid in and out easily, progressing a bit farther each time until…

She sucked in a breath as he their hips met, and he was fully sheathed. There had been a momentary twinge she hardly noticed, but theirs was now a marriage in truth. They were husband and wife for as long as they both shall live. The thought made her clench and tremble.

“We’re married,” she whispered, awestruck.

“We’re married,” he said, panting and straining to hold still. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

“May I move now?”

“Yes.” No sooner was the word out of her mouth than he pulled out slightly and thrust, making her see stars. And he did it again. She hadn’t thought her body could take anymore, but he was proving her wrong as the slow, steady rhythm of his strokes made pleasure build once again.

But she didn’t want him to be slow and steady. She wanted to undo him just as he undid her. So she began rocking her hips to meet each thrust. The sensation was so much deeper, shaking her to her core. It was as if she was a bell, reverberating with each stroke.

“God’s bones, Isabella.” His lips found hers, and their tongues entwined in a rhythm echoing their coupling.

She moaned into his mouth, and his movements quickened. Each beat brought her closer to fruition. Each thrust seemed to bring him closer to the brink beyond which he would lose control. She wanted to see that, wanted to feel him wild and reckless within her, around her.

Scratching her fingernails down his back did the trick. At that little twinge of pain, he unleashed himself upon her, and she responded in kind. They scratched and nipped as their frenzied movement grew faster and faster.

It was too much. She was tipping over the edge. And then she was floating once again as he let out a yell in her ear, and she was barely aware as his whole body tensed and jerked above her. Hot liquid spilled out of her and dripped down her leg, and he collapsed on top of her, beathing heavily.

As awareness of the world around her returned, he pulled out slowly and rolled to the side, folding her into his arms so that her head rested on his heaving chest.

For several minutes, all they could do was lie there and breathe. Then he kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair tenderly. “How do you feel? Did I hurt you?”

She assessed the state of her body. Lethargy had spread to every limb.

She wasn’t sure she could lift a single finger at the moment.

There was a modest, throbbing ache between her legs but no pain to speak of.

“I feel as if I never want to move again, but otherwise I feel fine. Wonderful, actually.”

She kissed his chest and traced the curves of his muscular arm.

“I’m glad. I lost control a bit at the end. I meant to be gentle the first time.”

Tracing along his chest, she flicked his nipple, and he gasped. So she did it again. “I wanted you to lose control. I liked it when you were wild.”

He put his hand over hers, staying her motion. “Keep doing that, and I’m going to pounce on you again.”

She looked down at his cock, slightly smeared with blood and even more sticky liquid, and sure enough it stirred. “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

“ Mmm .” He turned toward her, his legs tangling with hers. “Much as I would like that, I should leave you in peace for at least a day. I don’t want to make you sore.”

“And after a day?” she asked, resting her forehead against his.

“I am at your disposal to give you unspeakable bliss as often as you’ll have me.”

She kissed him lazily, nipping at his lower lip.

“Temptress,” he chided, pulling away.

“Tease.”

“Tigress.”

“Troublemaker.”

“T—” He was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s Elsa,” answered a timid voice. “Adelaide’s healer.”

Fear gripped Isabella’s chest as she sat up. “What is it?” she called out. “Tell me now.”

“I wanted to let you know that Adelaide’s fever has broken. She’s through the worst of it and should recover quickly with proper care. I’m sorry if I interrupted anything, but I thought you would want to know.”

Relief flooded Isabella, and she wrapped her arms around Martin. “She’s safe,” she whispered, gripping him tight.

He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m so glad.”

Wrapping a blanket around her, she got out of the bed and went to the door and opened it a crack. “Thank you so much for telling us. I’ll come by Adelaide’s room shortly to check in on her. Just give me a moment.”

“Yes, my lady.” The healer didn’t look at her as she gave a curtsy and hurried away.

She dressed swiftly, hardly daring to look at Martin for fear she would climb back into bed with him.

When she was ready, she turned to him. He was beaming at her with a look of complete adoration.

Unable to help herself, she stepped over and kissed him, and just like that heat flared up between them again.

Pulling away reluctantly, she said, “I won’t be gone long. Don’t go anywhere.”

“I can’t. Not with this foot. Go see your sister. I’ll just be lying here, thinking of you,” he said, pushing her playfully toward the door. “Naked,” he added just as she was about to leave.

She rushed out the door and closed it rather forcefully behind her, leaning against it for a moment to compose herself. Coxcomb . He knew exactly how much his parting word would fluster her.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened her spine and thought of her mother’s icy bedchamber.

That put an immediate damper on her ardor.

She grinned at the thought that she never had to see that awful place again.

It was hard to believe, but her fortunes had turned at last. For the first time since she was a child, she was filled with hope, and the future was full of promise.

She could hardly wait to get to Winchelsea to start her new life.