Page 64 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
When she had, however, she was rewarded by the way his expression changed as he looked about them. From their vantage point, they had a direct view of the castle, bathed in sunlight, in all its glory. For all it had reportedly been consumed by a fire, there was no evidence of it from the outside, and she delighted in its beauty.
There was something more on Adam’s face, though. He wasn’t just appreciative of his family home—he was proud.
The more time she spent with him, the more she understood how difficult it had been for him to come back here, how difficult it was for him to live in the same house his mother had died in, the same house his brother had briefly been master of.
But now, she hoped he saw it in a different light. This was his legacy.
Theirlegacy.
Rickard stared at the beautiful building for a long moment, his gaze distant. “You know,” he said, the slight lilt in his voice less pronounced, “When my mother told me of this, I never thought I would live to see it for myself.”
“The castle?” Adam asked, his voice low.
“Any of it.”
“No.” Adam sounded contemplative, and Emmeline looked at him, watching emotions flicker across his face. “No, I don’t think I had, either.”
They sat there for a long time, taking in the view before them, and when the time came to eat the picnic lunch Adam had so painstakingly carried with him—really, whoever said he was not a gentleman was deluding themselves—Emmeline felt more at peace than she had thought she would ever be.
* * *
They arrived back at the castle in the mid-afternoon, when the sun was still high, brimming with lazy heat, but the shadows were slowly lengthening.
For all his complaints about walking, Adam had seemed as though he had enjoyed every second of their outing, and when they gathered for dinner, he took Emmeline’s hand and pressed it to his lips, an emotion in his eyes she couldn’t decipher.
After dinner, however, when they had assembled in the drawing room for a few rounds of whist and piquet, she came to understand what the look had been for when Rickard retired early.
“I think, wife,” Adam said, his voice so low that it was almost a growl, “I might retire also.”
“Oh?” She aimed for a playful tone, but it came out a little breathless.
“With you.”
She needed no encouragement, holding out her hand to him as he came to claim it. Their fingers entwined as they walked, hand in hand, through the quiet rooms and up the stairs.
This was the moment she had been waiting for. The inevitable moment when he claimed her and made her his in every way that counted.
She wanted to laugh at the thought that just a few weeks ago, when they had first married, she had deceived herself into thinking she had no interest in that side of marriage. Then, she had deluded herself into thinking that there could be nothing worse, more degrading, than the feel of his hands on her.
Now she knew better.
Her stomach coiled in anticipation as he led her past the door to her bedchamber and to his.
“Tonight,” he said, his voice rough, “and every night henceforth, you will sleep in here with me.”
Emmeline turned to her surly, kind, complicated husband, her lips curling into a slow smile. “I would have it no other way.”
He made a growl low in his throat as he picked her up and strode into the room, kicking the door shut behind them. Then his mouth was on hers, and it was all she could do to remember to wrap her arms around his neck and to hold on for dear life.
Tonight, there would be no restraint, no holding back. Finally, they would consummate their marriage.
His hands curled around her backside and an appreciative rumble sounded in his chest. “Today has been a torment.”
“And here I thought you enjoyed yourself.”
“I wanted nothing more to see you on your knees before me.”
He lowered her to the bed and ripped at her dress, tearing it off her. Next came her petticoats, her chemise, her stays, all falling victim to the strength of his hands and his desire.
