Page 69 of Foolish Bride
He rolled over onto his side taking her with him. His eyes had turned a deeper blue than she had ever seen. Smiling, he kissed her nose, her cheek, then her chin. “I am more than all right. It is more important to know how you are, sweetheart.”
She blushed, wishing she could hide away, but there was nowhere else to look but into those piercing blue eyes. “I am fine.”
“Fine.” He leaned up on his elbow, wincing.
“I had not expected this to be so intimate.”
“Are you embarrassed?” He kissed her cheek.
“I am too satisfied to be embarrassed.”
“Good.” Pressing his tongue to the seam of her lips, he encouraged her to open for him.
She did and sighed with pleasure as their tongues slipped together. Wrapping her arms around him, she wished the moment could never end.
With one last kiss, Michael got out of bed and crossed the room.
“Where are you going?” Panic pounded in her chest.
“I am coming right back. Relax, sweetheart.”
When he returned, he carried a cloth. Gently he pressed her knees apart and wiped the damp material along her thighs, stomach, and between her legs.
She gasped at the new intimacy. The coolness was both shocking and soothing.
“I can do that myself.”
“Shhh. It is my honor.”
He focused on her body as if he were washing a queen. The hands of a soldier, they were more gentle than she’d expected. It was a kind of worship, the way he attended her. Satisfied, he leaned over and pressed his lips to the center of her belly before crossing to the basin with the towel. He returned to the bed. “I am afraid the sheets will be telling. I hope your maid can be trusted.”
Elinor’s face was burning up. “I will speak to her. It will be fine.”
He pulled the sheet over them and pressed against her side. Another wince shot across his face and was gone a second later. Gently, he combed the hair out of her eyes with his fingers. “You should sleep now. You must be tired.”
“Actually, I feel rather wonderful. Will you stay with me?”
“Until the sun forces me back to my own room, sweetheart. If it were up to me, we would be married in the morning and I would never leave your side.” A twitch flicked in his jaw.
She smiled. “That would be nice. Are you in pain, Michael?”
With a sigh, he pulled her tighter until her cheek pressed to his chest. “It is nothing like in the orangery, but I do have a slight headache. It will pass.”
“Maybe this was a bad idea.” Their lovemaking injured him. Sorrow suffocated her.
Pressing her back to the mattress, Michael gazed into her eyes with the intensity of a man going off to war. “This was the best night of my life. Please don’t wish it away, Elinor. I love you. If I have to bear a slight headache to love you, it is no sacrifice.”
Catching her breath, she ran her fingers through his tousled curls. “I just want our life together to be perfect, Michael.”
“It will be, after we are married.” He eased back onto the mattress, pulling her with him so that she lay against his side.
She traced a long scar along his hip. “It will not be easy to convince my mother to allow the marriage. She is keen on Middleton.”
Every muscle tightened, and he pulled his lips into a straight line. “I will have you as my wife, Elinor, even if that means that we have to elope.”
Another scandal would ruin her, even if she was married to a duke. They would receive no invitations and become notorious. She couldn’t tolerate the idea. “Elope? No. I will convince her. If I need to, I will implore Middleton to retract his offer and back off from his courting. He is a good man, and he is already aware of my feeling for you. I think he would do as I ask.”
“Perhaps, but I warn you, Elinor, if it comes to Middleton or me, I will snatch you up and haul you off to Scotland.”
