Page 55 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
“Don’t tempt me.”
Iris smiled to see the two brothers bicker. And she smiled to find herself a part of it; included because this was her family, and Philip was welcoming her into it without hesitation. And most of all, she smiled to feel his arm around her waist, how protective it was, how right it felt.
She could not stop thinking about what Philip had said to her mother. Oh sure, Iris wanted to believe that she no longer needed protection, as she was not a little girl anymore. But she knew too that wasn’t what Philip had meant. Not really.
What he was saying was that he was ready to treat her as a husband ought to treat his wife. No more doubting himself. No more ignoring her or pretending this marriage wasn’t what it had become. The fight within him was waning, as was Iris’ objections to this marriage as a whole.
Is it possible… might I get my happy ending after all?
She did not want to get ahead of herself. Still, they had so far to go. But if things continued down this path, she saw no reason not to dream.
“You know what…” Percy sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “I know when I am not wanted.”
“Where are you going?” Philip laughed. “Do not tell me that I hurt your feelings.”
“You did.” Percy scowled at him. “Such that I am inclined to go home. I won’t though, because I know that deep down you will miss my company. Thus, a little walk, I think. Stretch these legs. Climb a boulder.”
Philip rolled his eyes. “Oh yes, I forgot that you were ten years old.”
“Going on eighteen,” Percy laughed.
“We’ll be right here,” Iris said to him. She did not see a need to try and change his mind, because she could sense the real reason that Percy was giving them some space.
He sat across the blanket, looking positively out of place when compared to how she and Philip were holding one another. And where she did not mind his company at all, she also appreciated a chance to be alone with her husband. In fact, she relished the idea.
Percy was quick then to leave them, darting into the trees and soon vanishing from sight. This left Philip and her alone, arms still wrapped around their bodies, a slight tension hovering in the air because Iris realized suddenly that they had not been on their own since the previous evening.
“Well…” Philip clicked his tongue. “This is lovely.”
“It is.”
“Sorry about my brother,” he then said. “He can be a bit…”
“Chatty?” she offered.
He laughed. “I was going to say intrusive. But yes, chatty will do.”
She felt him shift beside her, his body turning so he could look down and meet her eyes. She did the same, forced to look up but as had been the case since the first time she saw him, drawn to those eyes as if by a magnetic force.
“Iris, I wanted to…” He hesitated. “About yesterday.”
“Oh?” Her heart began to flutter.
“What we did together, I have been thinking about it and…” Again, hesitation and she could see how awkward he was. “And I need you to know, I do not want you to feel any pressure.”
“Pressure?”
“You remember my rules?”
Her eyes widened at the implication and her body turned warm. “Y—yes. I… I believe I do.”
“Not all of them,” he continued. “The third rule. The one that concerns us and… and giving me an heir.”
She had to look away from him. Not because she wanted to, but because if he held her eyes right then he would have seen exactly what was on her mind. And she would have died with embarrassment.
Iris had done a little thinking about that particular rule of late. That within a month of them marrying, a little over two weeks from now, he expected her to go to bed with him. To give him an heir. And if that was the case, she doubted that one time would be enough.
When Philip had first told her of this expectation, it had been easy for Iris to convince herself she wanted no part of it. And she had been certain that when the time came she would be able to deny the duke because she had hated the man and was certain he felt nothing for her.
