She could lie down on top of the covers. That would be proper.
She tried it, at first fully dressed, but the light boning of her stays cut into her skin. “You are being ridiculous,” she told herself. Brenn was sleeping so soundly, he didn’t even know she was in the room.
Undressing, she put on her nightgown and then climbed back onto the bed, on top of the covers.
A chill ran through her from the early summer air and she wished she’d asked for a fire to be laid in the hearth. Of course, the temperature would be fine if she had the covers over her.
She glanced at her husband. Brenn was apparently dead to the world. She doubted if he would notice if she slipped between the sheets. Another shiver convinced her this was not only wise but prudent. It wouldn’t do if she were to catch a cold.
In a few seconds’ time, she had the covers up around her neck and, hugging the far edge of the bed, instantly fell asleep.
Tess woke in stages, all cuddly warm under the covers. The cotton sheets felt good against her skin. The damp morning air tickled her nose. Snuggling with her pillow, she stretched—and found herself pressed against something hard and unrelenting. Her husband!
Her aroused husband!
His arms cradled her close. His manhood pressed against her bottom. A large, callused hand cupped each breast. “Morning, love,” his husky voice whispered in her ear.
She started to jerk away, but Brenn’s arms around her held her close.
“Ah, Tess, I don’t want to fight.” His breath prickled her skin. “Not this morning. Never in the mornings.
Especially when you smell so good.” He drew out the syllables of the last words. His hands cupping her breasts caressed them.
She liked the feel of his hands on her this way.
His lips lowered and nibbled the sensitive skin of her neck.
It did feel good. Yes, very good. Slowly, ever so slowly, she relaxed against him.
She could almost imagine that the two of them were in a world of their own. His legs intermingled with hers. He tickled the bottom of her foot with his toe.
A giggle escaped. She started to rise.
“No, stay here,” he commanded sleepily and traced the line of her ear with his tongue.
Warm and drowsy, Tess whimpered and felt his lips curve into a smile. He bit her shoulder, a little nip, and then soothed the spot with his tongue.
She turned her head and found her lips captured by his. The doubts and questions of last night evaporated. His tongue teased hers, opening her to him. Almost timidly, she answered, copying his motion.
His response was immediate. With a low, satisfied growl, he leaned over her, the better to claim her mouth.
Once again, Tess found herself devoured by his kiss. And she was kissing him back.
The palm of his right hand ran down along the line of her abdomen. His fingers circled her belly button. It was a playful gesture and she started to laugh and he used that moment when she let her guard down to drive the kiss deeper.
Tess could kiss him like this all day and never let up. When his hand dipped lower and his fingers stroked the most intimate part of her, she parted her legs for him.
He pulled her back against his chest. “Yes, Tess, this is the way it should be. Don’t fight it, sweetling. Let me in.” He slid one finger into her body.
She gasped at the pressure. His thumb began drawing small circles even as his finger moved in and out in a steady rhythm.
“Brenn!”
“Yes,” he purred in a satisfied voice. “Let me show you how it can be.”
He touched her in places she hadn’t known existed. Tess feared she might die from the sheer pleasure of it. She tried to close her legs, afraid of feeling so vulnerable and open to him.
His lips brushed her neck. “My love, my dear, dear love,” he cooed. “Take that fierce pride of yours, Tess. Turn it to passion.”
She was slick and hot. A yearning for something more built inside of her. She struggled with this terrible wanting even as her body began pushing against his hand, urging him on.
Brenn took the nipple of her right breast in his mouth. She cried out. He licked it, matching the strokes to the movement of his hand. The warmth of his mouth went straight to her soul.
She no longer fought him. She couldn’t. Her whole world centered on him. This was good. So, so good.
She closed her eyes, letting him have his way with her.
And then he shifted. His hand left her.
She made a soft moue, disappointed, but then, her buttocks against him, he slid himself deep inside her.
This time, there was no pain. No shock.
In fact, this was much better than his hand.
He filled her. Her body stretched to accommodate him.
Brenn was whispering love words in her ear. His large hands began touching, caressing. Slowly, surely, he pulled himself back and then thrust again, going even deeper. She could feel his body reaching into hers.
The next time he did it, she moved instinctively to meet him—and he was the one to gasp in astonishment.
The sound made her feel powerful. Something feline unfurled inside of her, something that delighted in this newly discovered power.
They moved together now. He cradled her with his big body, his hands on her breasts. His voice had gone husky with desire. He whispered that she was lovely, that she felt good, that this was what she was meant for. She couldn’t speak. She was too involved in sensation.
He rested one hand against her mound, his fingers stroking with each thrust, and it was her undoing.
One second, she was searching, aching with need—and in the next, it was as if one of those Chinese fireworks had gone off inside of her. She felt it through her whole being. Hot, tingly, sparkling, shattering.
It radiated through her in ever increasing rings of passion.
Brenn must have felt it too. His arms came around her. He held her tight as he made one last deep thrust.
He called her name and then released himself inside her.
They collapsed together on the bed. Neither could move. Her heart raced and the blood pounded through her veins.
“Can we die from such a thing?” she managed to ask.
His answer was a feeble laugh. Kissing the back of her neck, he said, “I could.” He kissed her again.
Tess covered his hands, still around her, with her own. “It was incredible.”
“But was it wonderful?”
Wonderful.
The word hung in the air between them.
“Almost,” she answered.
He grunted his dissatisfaction. “I shall have to try harder.”
“Oh, I hope you might.” With a sigh of contentment, she closed her eyes.
A few hours later, Tess woke to find herself alone. She reached over to Brenn’s side of the bed. The sheets still smelled of him.
She heard the splash of water and looked up to see her husband standing in the golden sunlight of the room’s single window. He was dressed, with the exception of his dark blue jacket which was on the chair where he’d tossed it the night before. His broad shoulders stretched out the confines of the shirt and his buff leather breeches did nothing to hide the manly shape of his legs.
She’d married well.
Brenn glanced over at her as if he’d read her thoughts and grinned. “Good morning.” He cleaned the razor off in the basin and wiped the soap off his face. In two steps he was by her side on the bed. He propped his head on his hand. “Why are you smiling?”
Heat rushed up to her cheeks.
He laughed, lightly touching her nose. She liked the clean, bold scent of his soap. Then his expression turned serious. He was staring at her lips. “Do you remember earlier?”
She didn’t have to ask what he meant. Hooking her legs together at the ankle, her hands behind her head, she pretended to consider his question.
Brenn gave a sharp bark of laughter. “You’re not that good of an actress, Tess Owen.” He nuzzled her with his razor-smooth cheek. His lips brushed her ear. “Now what do you say?”
His voice vibrated through her. “I won’t ever forget it,” she whispered, wanting him to say the same.
But he didn’t, although his dark eyes flashed with pride. His lips found hers. She brought her hands up around his neck. This time when his tongue teased her, she fearlessly touched him back. She wanted him.
Already her body tightened in anticipation, so she was surprised when he was the first to break off the kiss.
He stood. “We leave in an hour. You need to be up and dressed.”
Tess let her irritation show. She wouldn’t have minded a repeat of their lovemaking. “I can’t get dressed without my maid.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I assure you, I’ve never dressed myself in my life. Last night was the first time I’d undressed alone.”
“Ah, Tess, you have a lot to learn.”
“Are you going to teach me?” She didn’t know where such cheeky words had come from. They’d just popped out of her mouth.
And she was glad she’d said them when he answered, “There are many things I want to teach you.” He kissed her again. This kiss went all the way to her toes.
Tess could barely breathe when he was finished with it.
“I’ll send your maid in,” he promised and left the room.
Tess dropped back on the bed, praying her thumping heart wouldn’t fail her. How silly of her to have avoided marriage all these years…but then she must have been waiting for Brenn.
She only wished that she had a fortune to give to him. The thought wiped the smile from her face. Neil had promised that her lack of fortune would not be a problem if she gave Brenn what he wanted.
She’d certainly done that this morning!
But was it enough?
Tess understood with a woman’s instinct that whereas she had been completely lost to passion, Brenn had maintained control. He’d enjoyed himself, but he hadn’t lost control.
That thought was sobering.
She told herself not to be a goose. In neither word nor deed had Brenn ever acted like a fortune hunter.
Besides, with a magnificent house like Erwynn Keep, he couldn’t lack for money.
But still, how could such an honest, forthright man forgive Tess for such a deception?
The question didn’t have an answer.
A moment later, Willa entered the room and Tess pushed her doubts aside. Still, last night had changed her. Brenn had changed her.
“Willa, do I have any copybooks packed in my luggage?”
The maid looked up from refilling the washbasin she’d just emptied out the window. “I don’t know, my lady. I could check.”
“Please do.” Tess slipped the nightdress over her head and tossed it on the bed. “I believe I am going to become a writer.”
Willa gasped. “You, my lady?”
“Yes, me.” She reached for a dress of periwinkle-blue kerseymere. White lace accented the low neckline and the sleeves.
“What are you going to write?” Willa asked, her expression saying much more than mere words could that such an idea was completely preposterous.
Tess fingered the lace on the dress, considering her question, and then she smiled. “I think I shall write a romance. One of those like Maria Edgeworth’s. Except this one will be my story,” she added softly.
Downstairs, in the public room, Brenn settled his bill with the innkeeper. The price of the room and the change of horses was exorbitant. He was fortunate to have Hamlin’s three hundred pounds.
He deliberated over writing another letter to Mr. Goining, urging him to swift action in getting the cash out of Tess’s investments, but discarded the idea. He didn’t want to look too anxious, even if he was, but how long would it take to receive funds from Italy?
He hated thinking about it.
A few minutes later, Tess came down the stairs to join him for breakfast. He liked her in blue. The color brought out the red in her hair and the blue of her eyes.
As she walked across the room, every full-blooded male turned and stared. But they’d noticed more than just her beauty. There was something special about her this morning. She was in love. She literally glowed with it.
Brenn recognized the signs. He could read it in her smile when she first caught sight of him and the way her expression softened into dewy-eyed hero worship.
He crossed to meet her, taking her arm and leading her to their private dining room, another expense he hadn’t anticipated.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” she replied and then blushed with perfect maidenly modesty.
“I took the liberty of ordering breakfast for both of us.”
“Oh,” she said, “I rarely eat breakfast.”
Brenn wished he’d known that. The meals in the King’s Crown were three times the price they should be
—but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he enjoyed a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausages and sent Tess’
s meal out to the posting boys.
She watched him eat, blushing whenever he looked at her. They sat so close together, his thigh brushed hers. The thought crossed his mind that now would be a good time to tell Tess the truth…but he didn’t.
He told himself it was because Tess wasn’t like most women. Her mind was keener. She would see right though his tactics.
No, it was best to let these newfound emotions season a bit. He promised himself he would confess the truth before they reached Erwynn Keep, but he wouldn’t do it any sooner than he had to…in case she didn’t take it well.
Within half an hour, they were back on the road. This time the silver chest was not between them.
“How long will it take us to arrive at Erwynn Keep?” Tess asked.
“We should be close to the border of Wales by late today. We won’t actually arrive on my land until the day after tomorrow.”
Tess nestled beside him. “That’s a long time to be cooped up in this coach.”
The heat of desire flared up in Brenn. He brought his arms around her. “I know of ways to make the time go faster.”
“How?” she asked. She was still so sweetly innocent.
He bent his head and placed a kiss on the warm skin above her collar. “You smell good.” He kissed the underside of her chin.
“My mother’s fragrance—”
He interrupted her with a kiss. She responded.