throbbing between her legs return.
“You taste sweet, lady wife, and your eyes . . .” His voice was soothing as he gazed down upon her. He still held her wrists trapped in his hand, and she couldn’t find it in herself to care. She was safe like this, safe in his arms and his control.
“I thought . . . I thought I might fall apart and I would never be put back together again. It was frightening,” she admitted in a small voice.
His silvery eyes held hers. “That is the beauty of embracing your passion. You can fall apart, and I will always be there to hold you together.”
“Is this . . . Is this how it always feels?”
He nuzzled her cheek and kissed her forehead. “No, not always. Not for everyone. But a good man should always do his best to make his bed partner feel this way. It is only lazy men who do not.” He released her hands then and gently rubbed her wrists, massaging them. “You and I are lucky. We have something many husbands and wives do not.”
“What is that?”
“I understand your desires, what you need to ‘fall apart,’ as you call it. To reach your peak. And your needs are not like those of other women.”
“They’re not?” She attempted to move, but her legs buckled. Adam caught her and swung her up in his arms as he started back to the spot where they’d left their horses.
“You mustn’t be ashamed, lady wife. Many men and women have relations only in a certain way, the woman lying on her back and the man on top, but that is only one way. There are many ways to make love, and I plan to show you all of them.”
At this pronouncement, Letty fell silent, wondering what all those ways might be. Adam carried her to the horses and only set her down next to Lizzie long enough to help her up onto the horse. When she sat astride, his brows rose.
“I was raised to ride this way. I assure you, I am far safer seated like this.Do you wish to make me ride sidesaddle?”
“Not at all. It is indeed much safer and better for your back. I was only surprised that I hadn’t noticed it earlier.” He smiled wickedly at her. “I was focused on other things, I suppose.”
“I use my skirts to hide how I sit.” She showed him how the riding habit fell to one side, covering one of her legs and making it look as though she were sitting sidesaddle.
Adam eyed her appreciatively.“That’s a clever design.”
“Thank you.” She waited for him to mount, then grinned at him. “Race you back?”
She took off before he had a chance to respond, and she heard his laughter as he chased after her.
8
“Please, you mustn’t kill it,” Letty begged Adam.
Adam’s curved silver fishhook paused before it could pierce the wriggling worm. His wife gazed at him from the other end of the boat where they floated on the water of the moat that surrounded Chilgrave Castle.
“I fear that I must,” he chuckled. “You realize that even if I don’t hook him, he shall still be eaten by a fish?”
Letty sighed. “Then do it, but know that I am saddened.”
Adam had to work not to laugh at her adorable, childish pout. He hastily prepared the worm and then cast the line far away into the water before handing the pole to her. She accepted it, and while he focused on his hook, he could sense her studying him. He pretended not to notice.
“Why did you want to take me fishing?” she asked.
“Why?” He cast his line out parallel to hers in the moat.
“Yes. It’s not exactly the sort of thing a woman expects to do the first day she’s married.”
He leaned back comfortably in the boat, his fishing pole held in one hand.“Oh? And what did you expect?”
“I suppose I thought I’d be meeting with Mrs. Oxley, Mrs. Hadaway, Mr. Sturges, and the rest of the staff. Then I would start to familiarize myself with the account books, menus, and any other things that the mistress of an estate like Chilgrave should know.” She said this with an air of confidence, as though she thought that was exactly what she ought to be doing instead of lounging about in a boat with him. Adam knew she had been raised for those duties, but she was still rather young to have that thrust upon her.
“There is plenty of time for