Page 62 of Taming of the Rake
“Dear God,” Regina murmured. “I knew it. I knew there was something not quite right about him leaving me everything.”
Powell bowed his head then, appearing contrite for his actions for the first time. “Tobias knew it, too, and I’m that sorry for it. I just wanted to help you. I wanted you to be taken care of. It was less than you deserved, but all I could give you. Maybe it was wrong for me to take it all when it wasn’t mine to give in the first place. But I’d do it again, and not be sorry. I only regret that it cast you in a suspicious light. I wasn’t thinking of that when I did it. I just wanted you to be all right.”
Regina came to her feet, tugging her hand away from David’s and approaching the servant. He remained where she had left him, watching as she took Powell’s face in her hands and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek.
“Thank you. Right or wrong, you have always tried to protect me. I could never repay you for that.”
“You aren’t angry with me?”
“Of course not. Perhaps you ought to have left Tobias a little something, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Besides, he would have ruined the estate within a year, so it was probably for the best.”
Powell’s lips twitched with amusement as Regina released him, and he straightened, inclining his head at David. “And now, I leave her in your care. You have things well in hand, I suppose.”
David stood and took hold of Regina, pulling her to stand at his side. “I have it from here, Powell. Thank you.”
With a swift bow, Powell then made his exit, leaving David alone with his bride once more. Taking hold of her hand, he graced her knuckles with a kiss.
“Are you all right? I suspect that was a lot to digest after what had already been a long day.”
Regina wrapped her arms around his waist and grinned. “It was, but I am glad to have Tobias dealt with, and finally know the truth about Randolph’s will. Now it feels as if we are really ready to begin our lives together.”
“Indeed we are, my dear,” he replied, slowly backing her toward the open door leading into the bedroom. “And now that’s all behind us, I can give you your wedding gift.”
Holding up her hand to study the ring he’d slid onto her finger at the altar, she wiggled her fingers so the firelight played over the facets of a diamond flanked by tiny pearls. It was one of the only pieces of jewelry his mother hadn’t sold, and she had been happy to part with it for Regina to wear as her wedding ring.
“I thought this was my gift.”
David released her, then went to the bed, pushing off his braces and tearing his shirt off over his head as he went. “If I have anything to say about it, you are going to become quite spoiled. Best you grow used to the idea, my dear. Now, turn around and let me help you out of your gown.”
She gave him her back, goosebumps appearing on the back of her neck as he kissed her there while unfastening her dress. Regina remained passive while he unlaced her stays and divested her of her chemise. Once she stood before him in only her stockings and garters, he took a moment to drink her in. She was as perfect as ever, perhaps even more so now that David had come to know her body so well. The subtle changes hinting at her pregnancy had already begun, and they made him desire her all the more.
Once he’d looked his fill, David went back to the bed, lifting the black length of cloth he had laid there an hour ago. “If you don’t mind, I require your assistance.”
Then, he was covering his eyes with the material and tying it off in a loose knot at the back of his head. Regina’s confused expression was the last thing he saw before the world went dark.
“What on earth …”
“Well, I did promise to prove that my arrogance was well-earned,” David teased. “Now, if you’ll just use that other bit of cloth to tie my hands, I’ll set about fulfilling my promise.”
A beat of silence, and then Regina erupted into giggles, her hands resting on his chest as she fell into him. “Would that be your promise to have me climbing the walls while blindfolded with both hands tied behind your back?”
“The very one.”
Regina’s finger played along the seam of his lips, the sensation heightened by his lack of sight. His cock swelled in response, arousal already plaguing him at thoughts of what the night would hold. He didn’t need to see her to want her so badly it hurt. He could smell her, feel her … and very shortly, intended to taste her until she begged him to stop. His mouth watered with expectancy.
Regina’s hand caressed down his arm, then back up to his shoulder as she circled him, her footsteps soft and nearly silent on the thick rug. She pressed her lips to his shoulder blade before drawing his hands together behind his back to tie his wrists together.
“I must admit to being excited that I am now to spend the rest of my life learning all the other functions of a courtesan.”
“You’ll learn them all, and when we are finished, I shall invent new ones. Now …”
He perched on the edge of the bed, which Regina took as her cue to use a hand at the center of his chest to push him to his back. David inched farther up the bed, adjusting his arms more comfortably beneath him. He felt the slight dip of the mattress as Regina climbed on, and then she was lying on top of him and offering her mouth for a kiss.
David snared her lips with unrestrained hunger, his tongue treating her to a prelude of what he had in store.
“My God, do I love you … Mrs. Graham.”
He felt her smile against his brow before pressing a kiss between his eyes. “I love you, too, Mr. Graham.”
