The Perfect Arrangement (The Not So Saintly Sisters #4) - Annabelle Anders Page 0,32

is my command,” He dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “Should we make do with what we have, or would you like me to request something fresh?” He watched as her eyes opened, wondering if he would feel that same comfort at their warmth that he had earlier today.

He did.

He felt like any other bridegroom, he imagined, after he makes love to his wife for the first time. He did not want to think about the next step of their unlikely union. He’d always thought himself a rational sort of fellow, and yet for the moment, he was quite happy to pretend that they were a couple in love, about to embark upon a lifetime of…

Not a lifetime.

Her hand trailed along his chest. “How do you feel tonight? You are not overly tired, are you?”

She was inordinately concerned about his health—his well-being. It was unusual. Perhaps it was a feminine thing. He’d gone without his mother for over a decade now, and little sisters did not count.

“Perfectly fine. And you?”

She stretched in a manner that reminded him of a satisfied feline, and Christian couldn’t help but delight in the sight of pink-tipped breasts emerging from beneath the covers.

When she realized she was bathed in moonlight, pink flushed up her chest and into her cheeks. She did not move to cover herself, though.

“This is part of that intimacy, is it not?” Tiny lines formed on her forehead as she frowned. “I had not understood completely before. I don’t think a person can understand without experiencing it.”

He was coming to know that she liked to analyze things—him, even. But she was right. When he’d told her he’d had some experience, the number was far closer to one than it was to one hundred.

One of the women had been a barmaid at the tavern near his brother’s… near his… country estate. She’d been older than him and far more experienced. The other woman had been older than him as well, a widow who lived in Brighten.

“Does it bother you? That I bedded others?” In that moment, the desire to live a full life seemed greater than it ever had before, only this time, not for any rational reasons but because he wanted to spend as much time as possible with the woman lying beside him.

Her eyes clouded with what he could only guess was sadness.

“Your dying bothers me,” she admitted with a frown. And then she leaned forward, her hair shrouding them both, and placed her lips lovingly upon his.

The kiss started out sweet and tender, but she was naked, as was he, and they’d only just both discovered their powerful mutual passion.

Christian flipped her onto her back beside him, adjusted himself between her thighs, and thrust himself into what was soon becoming his favorite place in the world.

And, feeling her legs wind themselves around his waist, he could easily imagine that he was fast becoming her favorite guest.

Chapter 10

Newlywed

“Does it still hurt?” Lillian’s head rested on Christian’s abdomen as she traced her fingers around the jagged edges of where the tusk gored just above his knee. The sun was just now rising, sending a soft light into their chamber and neither of them was in any hurry to get out of bed and be on their way.

They were only half a day’s drive from London.

“It looks worse than it is.” His fingers threaded through her hair.

Lillian closed her eyes and allowed herself to be mesmerized by the stroking sensation. “Now I know why Horace adores you so much.” She groaned in appreciation.

“I would think you appreciated me for other reasons.” His hands reached down, and with almost no effort at all, he flipped her onto her back, pinning her hands above her head.

His strength never failed to reassure her of his health. She kept close watch over him but had stopped asking him about it outright.

It wasn’t something either of them wanted to talk about. When the time came, they’d have no choice but to face it. For now, they were enjoying this project of theirs… making a baby.

Perhaps they were enjoying it a little too much.

Having sent their servants ahead, other than John and two outriders, by silent agreement, Christian and Lillian were stretching out the return journey, stopping for picnics, shopping in quaint little villages, and on the third morning, they hadn’t even bothered to climb out of bed, delaying their arrival back in London by an entire day.

As it was, the journey home was taking twice as long as