the ground and pulled her into his lap.
He nuzzled her neck. “That was the most amazing thing. Well, not quite as amazing as being inside you, but the very next best thing. You are a wonder, my wife.”
And in that moment she dared to believe that they’d be all right. That their fragile union could be repaired and that perhaps one day he’d love her.
…
“Will you come to my bed?” he asked. “Let me hold you all night?”
She looked up at him with those wide green eyes of hers and nodded.
He lifted her off his lap and grabbed his coat off the ground before leading them out of the maze and back inside the house. Neither of them spoke as they climbed the stairs and walked directly to his bedchamber. He’d just released himself down her throat and yet he found himself growing hard again.
He closed the door behind them and immediately began unbuttoning her dress. “I am insatiable for you, wife.” He spread the fabric open at her back and peeled the dress off her shoulders.
Loose tendrils of her cinnamon-colored hair tickled at the pale, freckled skin at her nape. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her sensitive flesh. She shuddered at his touch, gooseflesh rising. That is all it took for his cock to harden the rest of the way within his breeches. Damnation, would he ever get enough of her?
He removed the rest of her clothing, then his own, her eyes heating as she watched him. Then she was upon him, sliding her hands over his chest and kissing him. Her lips and tongue were eager and hot. He met her kiss passion for passion. Lips, tongues, teeth. He reached around her body and grabbed on to her bottom, squeezing gently.
She broke free of their kiss, looking up at him with a wide grin.
He pulled her flush against him. She was so beautiful when she smiled like that, her eyes bright as if lit from within and her lips parted, revealing that adorable gap between her front teeth. His heart tightened as he looked upon her. He knew, in that moment, he’d give her anything. Whatever she asked, it would be hers.
“What?” she asked.
“You are so lovely.”
She draped her arms around his neck, pressing her bare breasts to his chest. Her pebbled nipples slid against him. Would he ever be satiated where she was concerned? He doubted that was possible.
She squirmed against him.
He tightened his grip on her bottom and in one motion lifted her up so her legs wrapped around his waist. He walked them to the wall and braced her against the door. She moved herself against him, rubbing the hot wetness of her core across his hard length. He groaned.
“Did you need something, my wife?”
One perfectly sculpted brow arched over her green eyes. “I should think that would be obvious, husband.” She reached between them and gripped his cock.
He swore. “Freckles, you will be the death of me.”
“It is a lovely way to die. Now get yourself inside me. Please.” Again, she rubbed herself against him and moaned as her wet folds slid against him.
He wasted no time in doing as she said. Instead, he lifted her slightly and then lowered her onto him. She was so hot, so wet, so tight. He clinched his eyes shut and breathed deeply to avoid spending himself too early. Then he pulled back, almost withdrawing from her completely before thrusting back inside.
Her cries were immediate, and she arched against his chest, ensuring her nipples dragged against his skin. Could there be a more perfect woman for him? He seriously doubted it. She fit him in every way.
Over and over, he plunged into her and then she was clenching tightly around him and calling out his name, her head flung back. He bent his head slightly and sucked a nipple into his mouth as he rode out his own climax.
Then, after he had cleaned them both up, they lay together, him curled behind her body.
“It is a wonder married couples ever leave their bedchambers,” she said.
He chuckled. “Why is that?”
“Because that”—she nodded to the door—“is rather pleasant.”
“Merely pleasant?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do, but you should know it is not always like that. What we have, how we are together…” He pulled her tight against him, his hand rubbing absently across the smooth skin of her stomach. “We are good together, Freckles.”
“I suppose we are.”
Sullivan awoke to his body pressed against the warm curves of his