Page 83 of Gambling with the Earl
“No.” Her hands flailed against his muscular shoulders. Trembling fingers grasped for his buttons.
With a low growl he caught her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head. “Be still, wife,” he breathed.
She closed her eyes as his fluttering kisses travelled over her ribs, tickling and teasing as he moved lower. She pressed her head back into the pillow and let the sensuous waves wash over her.
He came up beside her, smiling at her pleasure. Her breathing slowed and she hooked her arms around his shoulders.
“I have been wanting to touch you like that all day,” he said.
She snuggled closer to him. “It would not have been proper in the chapel.”
“No indeed.” He lifted her chin. “I hope you’re not tired?”
The hint of worry in his voice made her choose to tease him. “It has been a long day.” She mimed a yawn. Heard his resigned sigh.
“Very well.” He settled himself more comfortably. Reached for her in a chaste embrace.
She gave herself away with her chuckle and her hands which still sought contact with his skin. In one swift movement, he pulled his shirt over his head, and she ran her fingers over his muscled chest in possessive delight. Every hard, defined ridge was familiar. He was all hers.
He stood to remove his breeches and she feasted her eyes on his athletic physique. His bronzed skin glowed in the light of the fire. At last, he was back on the bed beside her. Their bodies moved together, legs entwining, lips landing on exposed flesh, luxuriating in the feel of one another.
She reached for the maleness of him, relishing the hardness beneath her fingers. He groaned with barely suppressed pleasure, making her body once more open up with desire. He shifted against her, supporting himself on his elbow, one hand trailing a familiar path over her breasts and down to where she wanted him.
“Are you ready?”
In response, she wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him down and deep inside her. His low growl of delight set her free. She rocked her hips against him, pushing, bringing him entirely into her core where he filled every bit of her. Hot waves of pleasure travelled up and down her body. No matter how many times they came together, she could never get enough of her husband, the feel of his skin against hers and that wonderful sensation of limbs aligning perfectly with one another.
When it was over, he rolled onto his back and held her close. Their hearts pounded as one. Her hair clung damply to her neck and she pushed it away, enjoying the cool air against her hot skin.
“I love you, Countess of Rossfarne,” he said, his voice husky and spent.
“I love you, Earl of Rossfarne,” she replied, every word resonating inside her heart.
“It is a marvellous feeling.” He traced gentle circles on her back.
“Love?” She pushed herself onto her elbow, looking into his shining eyes.
“Love,” he confirmed. “The most important thing.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
They slept entwinedin each other’s arms, and Guy woke with the glow of contentment still upon him. As the morning sunlight crept through the shutters, he gazed down at his sleeping wife and placed a reverent hand on her gently curving belly. His heart leaped to know that beneath his fingers stirred a new life. Their child. One he could watch grow up, safe and happy in Rossfarne.
Kitty slept peacefully and he settled in beside her. Since their marriage, he had ridden north to join King Edward on two separate campaigns, but England knew peace for now. Guy could only hope that this peace would last, although his long experience as a knight threw this into doubt. If and when the next summons came, he would do his duty, with his new manservant, Arthur, by his side.
Despite the joy of the morning, his lips still tightened at the memory of how Thomas had double-crossed him. It was bitter irony that Guy had once commanded his manservant to search the castle for stolen jewels, whilst all along Thomas himself harboured purloined coin inside his own bedchamber. The surly servant had not masterminded the theft of Guy’s coin on the battlefield, but he had taken a cut from the false coward who had done so. A cut which ensured Thomas’s silence. More recently, his trusted position within Rossfarne Castle had given him all manner of chances to add to his stash; opportunities which he hadn’t hesitated to avail himself of. He had grown toocomplacent at the last, leaving his chamber door open while he inspected his wealth at a time when the marshal was passing by.
A knock sounded on their wooden chamber door. Guy blinked in surprise, then shifted quickly to cover his nakedness with a robe and cross the room, before the knocking could disturb Kitty.
It was Arthur himself, pale-faced and yawning at the early hour.
“What is it?” Guy demanded quietly.
“Sorry to disturb, milord. ’Tis an urgent message for you. The boy said it couldn’t wait.”
He nodded his thanks and took the missive in his hands, his heart sinking at what this news might be. He must go down to the solar and open it, for the stairway was still in darkness, but he had no wish to wake his wife.
“Guy?” Her voice was heavy with sleep.
