Page 97 of Counting on a Countess
Gwen moved to press herself close to Tamsyn, wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her with uncharacteristic affection. “We were glad you were able to spare our Tamsyn so soon after your wedding. Can’t do without her. The very light of our lives, she is.”
Tamsyn plucked Gwen’s fingers from her waist and nudged her aunt away. “Yes, that’s precisely why you wouldn’t buy me a new gown for two years.”
Her aunt forced out a shrill laugh. “Oh, you’re such an imp with your jests.”
“Lord Blakemere will be staying with us for...” Tamsyn looked at Kit.
“For as long as it takes,” he answered firmly.
Her pulse raced and her heart leapt at the resolve in his voice.
“If there’s anything you need, my lord,” Jory said deferentially, “you have only to ask.”
“I’ll be sure to let you know,” Kit replied, his words icy.
Both her aunt and uncle hurried out of the chamber. Doubtless, after talking to the cook, Gwen would write many letters to let her friends and family know that she had a genuineearlandherostaying in her home. Jory would hide himself away in his study and bask in Kit’s reflected glory.
Once her relatives had gone, Kit let out a low growl. “An obsequious pair,” he muttered.
“It’s not an average day at Chei Owr that sees an earl crossing the threshold,” Tamsyn answered. “They’re less... hospitable to blood relations.” She grimaced.
His look darkened. “Damn them both.”
“Better to be neglected than be the object of their scrutiny.”
He didn’t look cheered by her information. “I’d still like to flay them.”
She patted his cheek. “I am most cheered by your bloodthirstiness.” Which she was, in truth. She’d never had a champion before and the prospect elated her.
Tamsyn walked toward the door leading to the main hall, and the staircase that lay just beyond. “Shall I find you a room?”
She spun to face him when she realized that he had stopped walking.
“I thought the married couples in this house slept in one bedchamber,” he said with a small frown. “Your parents, your aunt and uncle. And now—us.”
What she wouldn’t give to share a bed with him. To make love until they were as weak as fledglings. To feel his solid warmth beside her all night and wake in his arms.
Yet if he stayed with Tamsyn in her bedchamber, sneaking out before midnight to conduct the smuggling operation would be nigh impossible. “The bed in my room is far too narrow for two people.”
“There’s got to be other, wider beds.” His voice was flat with enforced patience, yet there was a distinct sultriness and need in his gaze. “I’m so hungry for you, Tamsyn. I’ll tear this house down to have you.”
Heat curled through her, robbing her of thought.
Yet she glanced at the broken panes of glass in the windows. “You’ve seen the condition of this place. There’s only one other chamber that could accommodate two people, and the wind cuts right through the gaps in the walls. The mattress is hosting a family of mice, too,” she added.
“Then we stay at an inn.” He took her hand, and the contact of skin to skin was drugging.
She shook her head. “I’m needed in the mornings to help in the village. The nearest inn is too far away.”
He exhaled and looked down at their joined hands. His thumb stroked over her wrist, causing liquid heat to pool between her legs. She recalled with fevered clarity the night they had made love, the way he’d touched her, the pleasure they had created together. All of it came back in a flood of desire and a longing for closeness.
When he looked up at her, a sly, sensuous smile curved his lips. “There’s something to be said for clandestine assignations outside of the bedroom.”
“I know I can count on you to find the positive angle,” she answered.
“I can show you many positive angles,” he said with a leer. “There’s so much we haven’t tried. So much for us to discover. All the ways I can adore you.” He narrowed the space between them and brushed his lips over hers. He smelled of wind and warm male flesh. “God, I missed you, wife. Your taste, your feel. The brilliance of your very soul.”
She sank into him, into his kiss, and all that he offered. He pulled her close, his body radiating strength and purpose. Pressing her yielding body to his, feeling the sculpted muscle beneath his clothing, she felt both submerged in desire as well as powerfully alert and alive. Pleasure and joy suffusing her, she let her hand roam over his torso as she greedily drank in the sensations of his strength beneath her fingers.
