Page 56 of An Accidental Bride for the Duke
Now…so much has changed.
Iris forced herself then to meet his eyes. To look into them and see through their worried stare to the man beneath. He was by no means a perfect husband. They still had so far to go. But he was trying, he cared for her, and most of all, she cared for him too.
The thought of being with him finally did not scare her like it once did. In fact, the opposite was true. It excited her, as she was certain it did him.
“I remember it,” she said softly, holding his eyes.
He nodded. “I need you to know that, when I gave you that rule, I… I assumed that things would be different between us. I was committed to treating this marriage as an imposition, as I thought you would be too.”
She laughed softly. “That is a nice way of putting it.”
“The point is, I need you to know that I do not expect anything from you. I do not want to force you. To make you do something you don’t want to do.”
“What…” She found herself frowning. “What are you saying?”
“I am saying that come one month from when we wed, if you are not ready, that is fine. I will accept it. Do not think that you have to do anything. I…” A smile tugged at his lips. “I just want you to know you have nothing to fear from me.”
“Philip…” She leaned back. “I know that.”
“Good.” He smiled with relief. “This whole thing is new to me, as it is you. I am still learning, I will make mistakes. But if you are patient, well, we can reassess these so-called rules when we are both ready.”
Her frown deepened. At first, Iris thought to be worried.Is he saying that he doesn’t want to be with me? His mind changed for some reason, because why would he not want such a thing?
Only, as she held his stare, seeing the honesty in it, she came to understand his true meaning.
He was falling for her. Where once he saw this marriage as an inconvenience, one that he did not care how it might play out, now he saw its potential. His rules, as he had called them, were built on that fact, and the thought of sleeping with her was seen as a duty rather than something he wanted to do.
But now that they had come so far, she knew his views had changed and this new position he had taken was born from the fact. He wanted her, of that she was certain, but only if she wanted him too.
“Thank you for saying,” she said with a smile. As she did, she reached up and rested a hand on his cheek. “I know how hard that must have been.”
“Hard?”
She grinned. “Oh please. To pretend that you have it in you to wait. What if I am not ready for a year? Or two years?”
He laughed and rested his hand on top of hers. “Somehow, I doubt that will be a problem.”
They laughed together. They looked into one another’s eyes. And then, with the sun drifting behind a cloud, with the birds’ songs softening, with the world seeming to vanish around them, they kissed in a way they never had before.
It was tender and it was gentle. It was honest and it was open. It was a kiss that seemed to tell them both how the other felt, and that what they once thought of this marriage had long since changed.
And as they shared that deep and passionate kiss, Iris found her mind drifting to what Philip had just told her. That it would be up to her when they finally went to bed together. That she had the power to decide.
Did she want to wait? Did she want to see how long they could last, as if that might strengthen their marriage and their feelings for each other? Or was this right here the moment…is it finally time that I give myself over to my husband and make this marriage real?
Iris could not say. But rather than wasting time thinking on it, she focused on the kiss they were sharing in that small glade, because never before had she been so happy.
A perfect day, it had been. The first of many to come, she was certain.
Chapter Eighteen
“Good morning,” Philip said with a warm smile as Iris entered the breakfast room. “I was wondering when you were going to make it down.”
Iris smiled to see Philip waiting for her, noting that he was yet to start eating. Even if she sensed he had been there for a while. It was rather later, after all. “You waited for me…”
“Of course.” He stood from his chair as she walked into the room. “Truthfully, I was about to come and check on you. I thought you might have been taken ill again.”
“Worried for me, were you?” she said with a teasing smirk.
