Catching Kent (22 page)

As her father went to sit with her
mother, she turned to the preacher. She listened as he began the
ceremony, acutely aware of Kent’s solid presence next to her. From
this day forward, she would belong to him and he would belong to
her. She couldn’t think of anything lovelier than that.

The vows didn’t take as long to say as
she thought they would, and before she knew it, she finished her
promise to love, honor, and obey Kent. When the preacher told Kent
to give her the ring, she had to blink a few times. The large
diamond sparkled back at her. She’d never seen a ring so
expensive.

Curious, she glanced at Kent and
whispered, “Are you sure you’re not a prince from another
country?”

Amused, his lips curled up at the
ends. “No,” he softly replied. “I’m not a prince.”

They turned their attention back to
the preacher who told Kent he could kiss her. As he leaned forward,
she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze went
to the back of the church where someone—a man—slipped out of the
building. Her eyebrows furrowed and she scanned the pews. Everyone
who’d been invited to the wedding was still there. So who was the
man and what had he been doing there? Had he watched the whole
ceremony? She didn’t recall seeing him in the foyer before she
headed down the altar.

“
Rose?” Kent
whispered.

Snapping her head back in his
direction, she offered him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I got
distracted for a moment.”

She closed her eyes and let him kiss
her. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the back of the
church. No one was there. How odd. Why would someone who wasn’t
invited come to the wedding? Unless they got the wrong wedding.
Maybe the man meant to be at another wedding. Sometimes there were
two weddings that took place on the same day. It didn’t seem likely
such was the case today, but it was possible.

“
Rose, are you alright?”
Kent asked.

“
Uh…yes.” With a laugh, she
accepted his arm. “Just nervous, that’s all.”

“
I am, too.”

“
Are you?”

“
A little bit. But mostly
excited.”

“
Me too.”

They faced the guests and the preacher
said, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Kent Ashton. What God has
joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Rose’s skin tingled with
delight.
Mrs. Kent Ashton.
What could sound lovelier than that? Thrilled to
no end to finally be Kent’s wife, she joined him in walking over to
their family and friends.

Chapter Nineteen

On their way home, Kent took Rose’s
hands in his and kissed her knuckles.

She giggled. “That
tickles.”

He lifted his head, eyebrow raised.
“It’s not supposed to tickle.”

“
I know but it does.” She
squeezed his hands and scooted closer to him. “I like it,
though.”

“
Do you?”

“
Of course, I do. I love it
when you touch and kiss me.”

“
Well, in that case…”
Smiling, he brought her into his arms and kissed her, his lips
gentle on hers.

She let out a contented sigh and
melted against him. The whole day had been so magical. She got to
walk down the aisle in a beautiful gown wearing the jewelry he’d
bought her, both of which made her feel like a princess. And now he
was taking her to his home in a white carriage covered in gold
trim. It was just like a fairytale.

His kiss deepened and she responded to
him, brushing his tongue with hers, her body tingling in pleasure.
She wanted nothing more than for him to make her his wife in every
sense of the word. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she wiggled
even closer to him, loving how her body felt as it pressed against
his. Maybe she should be showing more restraint. She was, after
all, a virgin and virgins were supposed to be shy, but she found
she was more eager to experience the joy of being vulnerable and
safe with him, as her mother had told her.

Kent’s hands lowered and cupped her
breasts, something that brought an unexpected thrill up and down
her spine. His thumbs brushed her nipples and they hardened in
response. She loved how his hands felt on her. And to think it’d be
even better once her clothes were off.

The carriage came to a stop and he
pulled away from her. Though slightly out of breath, he grinned and
quickly gave her another kiss. “For a moment, I forgot we were in
this carriage,” he admitted as he adjusted his pants.

Her gaze went to the bulge between his
legs. “Is that the thing that’ll go in me?” she whispered, pointing
to it. Before he could answer her, the footman opened the door and
she directed her attention to him. She blinked at the manor then
glanced back at Kent. “Where are we?”

He chuckled. “We’re home, silly
girl.”

“
Home?”

She returned her gaze to the large
white house. She had to step out of the carriage to see the entire
thing. She’d never seen any house this big before. Just how many
bedrooms did this thing have? She could probably fit all of her
brothers, sisters, and their children in this place.

He stood beside her and reached for
her hand. “I have a significant amount of money to my
name.”

She dumbly scanned the land
surrounding their home. From where she stood, she didn’t see
another house for miles. Her gaze settled on the stables and a
pasture where several horses nibbled on grass.

“
I thought you might like
going for rides during the day,” he said, giving her hand a gentle
squeeze.

“
All of this,” she motioned
to the house, the stables, and the iron post at the end of the
driveway that had ‘The Ashtons’ inscribed on it, “is for
us?”

“
Us,” he nodded, “and the
children we’ll have.”

“
I don’t believe
it.”

With a chuckle, he told the footman to
bring her luggage into the house and led her to the porch. She was
sure this was some elaborate dream she was having. At any moment,
she’d wake up and find herself lying in the hammock beneath the
trees by her parents’ house. She would tell Harriett how real her
dream had been, and after she described it, her sister would laugh
and say that only she could imagine all of this. But no matter how
many times she pinched herself, she didn’t wake up.

“
What are you doing?” Kent
asked her as the footman set her luggage on the porch and opened
the door for them.

“
This can’t be real,” she
insisted as she pinched herself again. “I’ve had many daydreams but
none as elaborate as this.” She peered inside the entryway and
glimpsed the chandelier and oak bench with a peach-colored cushion
on it. On the wall above the bench was a shelf with porcelain
horses on it. “Good heavens,” she whispered. “If the entryway is
this fancy, what’s the rest of the house like?”

With a grin, he picked her up in his
arms and carried her over the threshold, allowing her a view of the
formal parlor where she spied a piano, grandfather clock, and two
settees. Before she could take note of the other things in the
room, he was already carrying her up the stairs.

“
You’ll have time to
explore every room in this place,” he promised, “but for now,
you’ll have to tell me if your bedchamber is to your
liking.”

“
Bedchamber?”

He waited until they reached the top
of the stairs and set her on her feet. “Where I grew up, we had
bedchambers. In a bedchamber, there is the room you slept in, the
lounging room where you can read a book or take a nap, and another
room to dress and bathe in.”

She glanced at the footman as he took
her luggage to a nearby room. “Is that my bedchamber?” she asked,
thinking the word ‘bedchamber’ was an odd one.

“
Yes. Mine is connected to
it. Over here.” He cupped her elbow in his hand and led her to his
bedchamber. Opening the door, he encouraged her to enter. “You can
check yours out after your lady’s maid has put your things
away.”

“
Lady’s maid?”

“
Mrs. Hughes. An older
woman. She’s married to the butler. She will tend to your
needs.”

“
How many servants are
there?”

He cupped her face in his hands and
kissed her. “We can discuss this later. Right now, I’d like to get
to know you better.”

Her face warmed at his meaning. As he
closed the door to his bedchamber, she studied the room, surprised
his bed was as big as it was. The four posts almost reached the
ceiling, and he had a dark red canopy tied to the posts. The canopy
matched his sheets and the rugs that graced the hardwood floors.
Near the fireplace was a smaller room which had a desk, chair and
cabinet. She turned and saw another room where he was to dress and
bathe in. Her room would be similar, she knew, but it was strange
to think she had a bedchamber separate from his.

He placed his tie and hat on a small
table by a chair and approached her.

“
I’ve never heard of a
married couple having two separate rooms,” she said, watching as he
unbuttoned his suit.

“
It’s common where I come
from. In fact, I thought it was strange when I realized your
parents shared a bedroom.”

“
But I don’t understand.
Having a separate bedroom seems,” she shrugged,
“impersonal.”

“
Most marriages among
wealthier families were arranged out of convenience. Usually,
they’re a way to amass more wealth between families. So the
separate bedrooms were a nice thing to have. That way if you didn’t
like the person you married, you didn’t have to sleep in the same
room with them.”

“
That’s a depressing
thought,” she replied.

He closed the gap between them and ran
his hands up her arms. “You’re right. It is. But it was how things
were and still are, depending on the couple who marries.” He kissed
her and smiled. “That’s not us. I never wanted a marriage like
that. I love you, Rose.”

“
I love you,
too.”

He chuckled. “I know. You’ve made that
abundantly clear from the moment I woke up in your brothers’ room
and you were right there next to me.”

She laughed and returned his kiss.
“Well, I knew we’d be married. It was just a matter of how and
when.” She slipped her hands under his unbuttoned shirt so that she
could wrap her arms around him. He still had his undershirt on, but
the thin material allowed her a more intimate connection to him. “I
want to sleep in the same bed with you.”

“
I want that, too. I had a
bedchamber made for you so you’d have your own rooms to do with
what you will, but I had hoped you’d spend your nights with
me.”

Feeling better, she relaxed and kissed
him again, this time letting her lips linger on his. He embraced
her, his arms wonderfully protective around her, something she most
enjoyed. It was just as she imagined coming home from her wedding
would be like. Her husband would kiss her and hold her, letting her
know how much she meant to him.

She was very fortunate that her dream
had become real. And given the place her husband had brought her
to, she really was living like a princess. She hadn’t considered a
princess would have her own bedchamber, but she assumed in
fairytales, the prince and princess would be so much in love that
they’d share the same bed.

Kent ended the kiss and whispered, “If
you turn around, I’ll unbutton your gown.”

Her skin grew warm with excitement as
she obeyed him. His hands, gentle while he loosened the buttons on
her dress, made her skin tingle in excitement. Soon they’d be
touching her all over, learning her in ways no one else had before.
She bit her lower lip in anticipation. She wanted to feel his hands
on her body, to be touched intimately.

He leaned forward and kissed the side
of her neck, sending sparks of delight down her spine. She sighed
in contentment. Even if she hadn’t made love before, she knew she
was going to enjoy it. This was going to be one of her favorite
pastimes, and there was no one she’d rather share it with than
him.

He slid the gown down her body, and
she stepped out of it. She waited for him to drape the gown over
the chair before she approached him. Perhaps she should have been
shy about facing him in nothing but her undergarments, but she
wasn’t. She was much too excited about experiencing the act that
would unite them as one. Her heart raced in anticipation as she
reached for him.

He brought her into his arms and
brought his lips to hers. She gave into the thrill of kissing him,
enjoying the way his tongue brushed hers. His hands moved to her
breasts and cupped them, taking his time to explore them, his
thumbs rubbing her nipples until they hardened. She moaned, aware
of the tension building between her legs. She’d never experienced
anything like it. It made her ache, but it was a very pleasurable
ache, the kind that made her bloomers damp. He slid his hands under
her chemise and pulled it over her head before he brought his hands
back to her breasts.

“
You’re so very lovely,” he
murmured then lowered his head and kissed her, this time more
passionately.