The Earl's Wallflower Bride (27 page)

For a moment, she thought she was alone in
the room again, but she saw Warren, dressed in his underclothes. He
was writing something at the small desk.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He glanced up at her, and though his gaze
went to her breasts, she forced aside the urge to cover them. He
was her husband. If anyone had a right to look at her when she was
naked, it was him, and besides, it made her skin flush with
pleasure to see the spark of interest in his eyes.

He cleared his throat and gestured to the
parchment he was writing on. “I’m giving instructions to the
servants. The estate still needs to be cared for even if we’re not
going to be here.”

“Your mind is often on duty, isn’t it?”

“I like to get things in proper order.”

She smiled. “I know, and I like that about
you.”

He returned her smile then wrote down another
sentence before he stopped and turned his gaze back to her. “I just
remembered something. The morning after our wedding, I wanted to
get you a gift, and I couldn’t wait until you were awake. So I left
the townhouse early to get it. I thought I might get back before
you woke up, but unfortunately, you were already gone by the time I
returned. I also realized you never saw the note I left you.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “You left me a
note?”

He nodded and rose from the desk. “It wasn’t
anything fancy.” He walked over to the bed and sat next to her. “I
was just letting you know I went on an errand and would be back
soon. I put it on your vanity. I thought for sure you’d see
it.”

“No, I didn’t.” She decided not to tell him
she’d been too caught up in her swirling emotions to even look at
the vanity. She’d dressed in such a hurry she hadn’t even bothered
to brush her hair, let alone have her lady’s maid help her. But
that didn’t matter now. What mattered was that he had been thinking
of her the morning after their wedding night.

“I got you a gift while I was out running the
errand,” he said.

Interest piqued, she asked, “What gift?”

“It was a book on money.” With a shrug, he
added, “The book we shared the night before seemed to bring us
closer together, so I thought another one would do the same. Plus,
I hadn’t read the new one yet. We’d be able to read it for the
first time together.”

She reached for his hand and squeezed it.
“That was a lovely gesture, Warren. I didn’t realize you cared for
me so much.”

“I do. I admit I’m not good when it comes to
expressing my feelings. It’s easier to get you a gift than it is to
tell you I love you, but that’s why I got the book.”

And he even came all the way out to this
estate to get her back. “If you have a hard time saying the words,
you don’t have to. I already know how you feel.”

“I want us to have a good marriage. I don’t
want the kind of marriages my father had with my mother or my
stepmother. I want to be the kind of husband you can be happy to
have.”

“I am happy.” She traced an errant strand of
blond hair behind his ear then kissed his cheek. “I’m happier than
I’ve ever been.”

“I’ll do everything I can to always make you
feel that way.”

She made a move to kiss his cheek again, to
let him know she was thankful for him, but he turned his head so
that their lips met. Before she knew it, they were intertwined,
their arms wrapped around each other, their tongues
interlacing.

She was soon helping him out of his
undergarments, eager for the skin on skin contact she’d come to
enjoy. The assurance of his love prompted her to get on top of him.
She rubbed herself intimately against his shaft, noting the surge
of pleasure that coursed through her body. They’d done this
position before at one point during their wedding night, and the
memory of it made her ache to take him inside her. She shifted
above him, ready to take him into her, but he stopped her.

“I’d like to try something,” he whispered,
his breathing raspy. “Will you let me do something I didn’t do
before?”

As if to prompt her to say yes, he cupped one
of her breasts in his hands and traced her nipple with the pad of
his thumb. This, in turn, sent a spark of pleasure straight to her
core. Intrigued to see what he had in mind, she nodded and got off
of him.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Just lie on your back and relax.”

With a smile, she did as he requested. “All
right. It sounds easy enough.”

She caught the amusement in his eyes at her
joke. “It is. I’ll do all the work. You just need to enjoy it,” he
murmured, his hand going back to her breast, eliciting more sparks
as he continued to caress her nipple.

He lowered his head and kissed her. With a
contented sigh, she brought her hand up to his neck and pulled him
closer to her. She really had no resistance when it came to him,
and it was probably best he didn’t realize just how weak she felt
whenever he touched her.

His tongue brushed her lower lip, and she
accepted him into her mouth, this time holding back on her earlier
urgency. Yes, she ached to have him in her, but she was curious to
see what he had in mind. She was thoroughly enjoying what he was
doing so far, and she had no doubt, things would get even
better.

And she was right. After he spent
considerable time on her breast, first going to one and then the
other, he lowered his hand to her abdomen and then to the patch of
curls between her thighs. His fingers brushed her so lightly they
would have made her tickle had she not been so aroused. But since
she was aroused, the action only made her need his touch all the
more.

She groaned and spread her legs, inviting him
to touch her more intimately. And to her pleasure, he obliged. He
traced the folds of her flesh then he proceeded to dip a finger
into her. He dipped it in once. Then dipped it again. And again.
Each time he did this, his finger went in deeper. It was so
purposely slow that it made her squirm in anticipation.

“Warren,” she murmured, lifting her hips to
encourage him to go all the way in. “I need you.”

“Patience,” he whispered and kissed the skin
just beneath her ear. “It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

She had no doubt he was right. This was
probably going to be the most pleasurable thing she ever
experienced.

He proceeded to slide his finger in and out
of her, each time delving deeper than before, and when he finally
reached all the way in, he stroked a part deep within that made her
moan in pleasure. She thought he might go back to his methodical
motion of sliding in and out of her, but he slipped a second finger
into her.

And when he brought his thumb to her
sensitive nub as he continued stroking her core… Well, words
couldn’t really express how much more pleasurable that was.

She whispered his name and aided him along,
rocking her hips in rhythm to his ministrations. She had no idea
her body was capable of this kind of pleasure, and it was even
better because she was sharing this with Warren.

Soon, the rest of the world faded around
them, and she lost track of time. She was barely aware she was
crying out his name, urging him to keep going. He did as she bid,
his movements fluid and smooth, prompting her to reach the peak of
pleasure. And soon, that was exactly where she found herself. She
let out a final cry and stilled as her flesh clenched and
unclenched around him in time to the waves of pleasure sweeping
over her. He kept his fingers in her, prolonging each delicious
sensation until she was spent.

Weak, she released her grip on him, her
breathing heavy as she expressed her enjoyment over what he’d done
for her. His fingers slid out of her, and he settled between her
legs. He leaned forward and gave her a lingering kiss before he
entered her. She moaned, her flesh sensitive to his penis. Wrapping
her legs around his waist, she took him all the way in.

“You feel good,” he whispered as he began to
move inside her.

“So do you,” she murmured.

He felt so good, in fact, that she soon
became aware of the same mounting need she’d had earlier. Before
long, she was working with him, striving for the same peak she’d
experienced already. She lifted her hips in time to his thrusting,
noting the way the tip of his penis stroked that sensitive area
deep in her core. And before long, her efforts were rewarded with
another climax.

He joined her soon after, his body growing
taut as he released his seed. When he collapsed in her arms, she
held him to her, basking in the joy of being with him. He loved
her, and she had no doubt he always would. And whatever the future
brought, everything was going to be all right because they were
going to get through it together.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I
t
was a fitting day for a funeral. The sky was overcast, and it kept
threatening to rain. From time to time, there were sprinkles and a
burst of wind. It was as if the world was trying to mourn the
deaths of Warren’s stepmother and half-brother, but it couldn’t.
Warren felt the same way. Something seemed wrong about being
relieved they were no longer alive, but there was no denying he was
relieved.

He read from The Common Book of Prayer while
Iris, Opal, and the servants quietly stood around the two graves.
One day, he and Iris would be laid to rest here, along with their
son, then their grandson, and so on. The cycle of life would repeat
itself. He only hoped when his time came, he would leave a better
legacy than the one he’d grown up with.

When he finished, he closed the book and told
the servants they could return to their duties. Iris wrapped her
arm around his and leaned into him. Opal stood to Iris’ other side,
staring at the freshly dug graves as if she expected her mother and
Byron to come back.

“It’s over,” he told his sister. “You don’t
have to worry about them anymore.”

After a long moment, Opal turned her gaze to
him. “I don’t want to come back to this estate. There are too many
painful memories here. When I go to London, I want a new
start.”

“You don’t have to come back,” he assured
her. “I stay in London through the winter. And besides, soon you’ll
get married. Your place will be with your husband. Just be careful
to choose one who’s honorable in all things. It’s better to have
someone who seems boring but is morally decent than someone who
seems exciting but has no regard for decency.” He’d seen enough of
the latter type and suddenly worried his sister might be too naïve
to know the difference, so he added, “I’ll be there to chaperone,
so I’ll lead you to the right gentlemen.”

“I never thought you were boring,” Iris spoke
up, glancing at him.

“That’s probably because we share a mutual
interest in money. I assure you, the topic would put most ladies to
sleep,” he teased, and in doing so, the mood seemed to lighten
considerably between all of them.

“I think you’ll like London,” Iris told Opal.
“It’ll be a refreshing change from everything you’ve been
through.”

“We’ll take you to the theatre, to the
museum, and other notable places,” Warren promised.

“Can I get gowns like the kind the ladies
have on in the portraits that are in the manor?” Opal asked.

With a chuckle, he nodded. “Yes, you can have
gowns, but don’t expect me to take you to the seamstress. Iris will
have to do that.”

“I’d be delighted to,” Iris replied. “We’ll
go with my mother. She has an eye for fashion, and she’d been
wishing for a daughter figure she can take shopping.”

Opal seemed excited by the prospect, and
Warren was glad she had something to look forward to. She deserved
it after all she went through.

“Let’s go back inside,” he said. “We’ll get
your things packed and head out in the morning.”

“I can’t wait,” Opal replied.

She lifted the hem of her dress and walked on
ahead to the manor, leaving Warren alone with Iris.

“Warren,” Iris began, “do you think you’ll
ever come back to this estate? It is your birthright.”

“I’m sure one day I’ll return.” Then, after
he gave it more thought, he added, “We’re bound to have children,
and they need to see it, especially if one happens to be a boy. At
that time, maybe there won’t be so much tainting it.”

“There won’t be. Not with you in control of
things. You’ll make this a happy place.”

He glanced at her, grateful
for her faith in him, and said, “No. I won’t make it a happy
place.
You and I
will make it a happy place.”

She returned his smile, and they continued
the rest of the way in silence.

***

It felt awkward to step
through White’s. Warren was the same person, and yet, he wasn’t.
White’s, however, was the same. The gentlemen were engaging in the
same activities they always had. Some played games. Some read the
paper. Some read books. Some quietly talked while sipping brandy.
Then there were the more unsavory activities—the gossiping and the
gambling. Yes, it was the same place, but it felt different
because
he
was
different.