“By returning the favor.”

Curan’s voice dipped down until it was nothing but a dark promise. She shivered, her mind offering up an idea that was intoxicating with its imagery.

“Men do not do such things …”

One dark brow rose to mock her. “Why not, sweet wife? Because Marie did not mention it? I will tell you why she did not.” He gently toyed with the curls his fingers were resting on, before his fingertips gently penetrated the moist folds of her sex.

“Men pay a courtesan and expect service for their coin, not to give service in return. You are my wife, and pleasuring you is a challenge that I do not intend to ignore.”

“But men cannot—”

She drew a stiff breath as his fingers found her clitoris. Pleasure shot through her so fast she could not complete her thought. Her heart suddenly pumped harder, feeling as though it was going to bruise against her ribs.

“Cannot suck? I assure you they can, if they want to hear their wife moaning in pleasure.” His finger rubbed over her clitoris, giving her no chance to form any retort. She was trapped by her own flesh’s desire to give over completely to his touch, his command.

“And I do.”

That dark promise returned to his voice. Her dropping eyelids opened wide to stare at his face. The promise was not just in his voice, it shimmered in the dark center of his eyes, sending a twist of anticipation through her.

“It must be wrong to … to …”

“Place my mouth on your slit while I tongue you?” He leaned down over her, trapping her on her back with his larger body. “The only thing wrong is the fact that we are talking when I should be letting action speak for me.”

The breath froze in her chest, and she bit into her lower lip, suspended between shock and excitement. Curan took advantage of her shock, sliding quickly down the bed and pressing her thighs wide to allow for his shoulders to rest between them. His finger left her sex and helped to pull her folds wide.

“Curan, you cannot.”

“I assure you I can.”

Bridget felt his breath hitting the wet skin of her open sex, sending a ripple of need through her passage that was so intense her hands clawed at the bedding beneath her. She twisted, but he placed a hand on her belly, pinning her hips with ease.

His tongue gently touched her spread flesh, and she jerked; the feeling was too intense to endure.

“Curan, I cannot suffer this.”

He didn’t answer her or grant her any reprieve. His tongue lapped her from the opening to her passage to the top of her slit where her clitoris throbbed. Her spine arched, her head leaning back as her eyes closed. Too much sensation came from where he was gently flicking his tongue over her flesh, slowly, little laps that made her think insanity was soon to claim her. There was no possible way to endure such abundance of pleasure without her mind snapping.

“Stop. Or I fear I will go mad.”

“Exactly what I hope for, Bridget. To hear you wailing in your pleasure-induced delirium.”

He returned to her spread body, this time fashioning his lips around her clitoris. Pleasure burned up her passage to twist and pull at her insides. He sucked hard on the little nub, applying his tongue to it as well. The delight was too intense. Her mind stopped commanding her. Instead her body twisted and pulsed, her hips lifting up to press harder against his mouth while her cries bounced off the chamber walls. There was no fending off the explosion of pleasure that tore through her. It bit into her belly while she clawed at the sheeting and cried out.

She forgot to breathe and ended up grateful for the bed supporting her. Her chest rose and fell at an alarming rate while her heart felt as if it was intent on hammering a hole through her chest. But none of that truly made much impact on her, for her body was still shivering in the glow of delight. This feeling sent little waves along her limbs while satisfaction bathed her clitoris.

“Exactly what I was hoping to hear from you, wife.”

Curan’s voice was edged with hard need. Bridget opened her eyes to discover him looking at her from between her spread thighs. His eyes practically glowed with his need. He was gently smoothing his hand along the tender flesh of her inner thigh. It was the perfect companion to the satisfaction that was slowly receding in her belly, but he moved his hand to her sex and thrust one thick finger up into her passage, rekindling her passion in an instant. This hunger was deeper and harder. The touch of his mouth against her clitoris wouldn’t satisfy the craving, and she knew that now. She hadn’t realized the difference the night he invaded the wagon and fingered her. Tonight her passage eagerly tried to grasp that finger, begging to be filled. She wasn’t completely satisfied and would remain unsatisfied until his hard cock consumed her once more.

Sitting up, she cupped the sides of his head and kissed him. Her own scent clung to his lips, but that did not deter her. She pressed a hungry kiss against his mouth, pushing him back onto his knees while she rose onto her own to keep their lips together. His hands reached for her hips, cupping each one in a strong grasp that pulled her up until the head of his erection brushed against her opening.

He lowered her onto his cock, the hard flesh easily penetrating her wetness. She was startled by the position and lifted her lips away from his.

“Did your tutor not tell you that there are many positions for lovemaking?”

She made a little sound of enjoyment as he pressed her all the way down. Her passage ached just a tiny amount as it was once again stretched by his hard flesh.

“I watched her ride like this.”

“You watched them doing this?” He growled his question, jealousy evident in his eyes.

“It was the best way to learn since actually trying my own hand was not permitted.”

“You are correct about that, madam. I would not have permitted another man to touch you.”

His hands tightened on her hips, confirming his jealousy, but she found it tender. Clasping her thighs on either side of his hips, she lifted herself up, rising off his cock and then lowering herself back down until she felt the entire length lodged tight inside her again.

“I learned that the woman can ride, not simply wait.”

He growled, but it was a sound rich with male enjoyment. “I begin to find my judgment softening.”

She rose once again and then began a steady motion of up-and-down strokes that sent rekindled desire through her. “I rather enjoy you being rigid with me.”

He chuckled through gritted teeth while his hands began to help lift her up and push her back down. “You have that effect upon me.”

A soft blush colored her cheeks, and he made a low sound beneath his breath.

“Your blush is touching, Bridget. Does it surprise you to know that we might tease about intimacies?”

“It does.”

Yet it was becoming much harder to concentrate on words. Her heart was racing again, and she wanted to move faster. She pressed herself down with more force and heard him growl softly with appreciation. Her thighs clasped him tighter, and still she wanted to be closer.

“I am done with teasing and waiting. I want you beneath me, taking my seed.”

He growled and pushed her back onto the bed without pulling out of her body. His chest pressed her down, but he clamped his hands on her wrists and pulled her arms above her head, stretching her body out while his hips began to pound against her.

The union was wild, and pleasure swiftly built under the hard strokes. The bed shook, but that only added to the fury of the emotions swirling deep inside her. She wanted to be thrown into the center of that storm, wanted to let it whip her flesh with its strength. Her hips rose to capture more of his hard flesh, her body straining against the hold he had on it as she tried to get closer to him.

She didn’t need to; he came to her, riding her with lightning-fast thrusts that drove deep into her. Pleasure broke like a thunderstorm, the deluge drenching her in seconds. The flood rained down over every inch of her skin, and she laughed with delight, marveling at the amount of sensation her body could feel. Her lover pumped his hot seed deep inside her while his chest labored just as hard as hers. He lay on top of her for long moments, when the only thing that she could hear was the sound of his breathing and the beat of both their hearts.

Her body was limp and content with the glow of satisfaction, her eyelids drooping as sleep lulled her away. Curan rolled over and pulled her along his side. She nuzzled against his shoulder, wondering in her fuzzy mind just how she had ever slept alone without his warm body to cling to.

It was the most perfect moment of her life.


Curan slept deeply. But his hand remained curled around her hip, keeping her against him. Bridget moved slowly to avoid disturbing him. The bed was like a sanctuary, a place devoid of all of the worries that had plagued her. Here there was only the way that he held onto her, even while he slept. Tenderness filled her heart, and she did not resist its sweetness.

The fire crackled; the large log that had been burning when Curan brought her into the room split in half to expose the red-hot coals it had been reduced to. But one large chunk rolled too far over in the hearth for her liking. Fire was always a danger and one that must be given attention.

Easing herself out of the bed, she moved slowly to avoid waking Curan. The floor was cold, but there was a thick rug set down near the hearth. Sinking down onto her knees, she used a thick iron poker to push the glowing log back where its heat might be enjoyed but not cause worry.

The room was still very much a mystery to her. The hearth was large and had a good chimney that drew the smoke up and out of the room. Large glass-pane windows ran along one side of the room, and a long table with several chairs occupied one wall. Her trunks were pushed off to one corner, and Curan’s own baggage was there as well. The more important items were stacked very precisely on the table. Things like his writing desk and his secretary’s box. The candles had burned down and died while they slept, but her eyes were adjusted, and the ruby glow from the coals made it possible to see.

A stack of parchments was there, too, and it drew her attention. The parchments lacked any sort of wax seals or ornate ribbons that might have indicated their importance as papers a commander needed to carry. Parchments that would have confirmed Curan’s authority with the king’s seal or something of that nature.

Instead these were folded, and the small wax that had once sealed them long since fallen away. In the dim light it was difficult to identify the papers, but something drew her interest. She stepped closer and lifted a hand to her lips to smother a gasp when she recognized her own pen strokes on the outside of one.

They were her letters to Curan, the ones she had written once they took the blessing on their union. Once a month, without fail, she had penned a letter to him and sent them off when the chance permitted. Sometimes that meant that two or three months passed before someone stopped at their country estate who might carry letters to London so they might be sent on to France.

She looked at the stack, and every one was there. The folds along the edges were worn, showing that the paper had been opened and refolded many, many times. The very fact that the stack was placed with his desk and secretary’s box was proof that he had held her letters in the highest regard. She was stunned down to her core. Never had she suspected that she meant so much to him. Suddenly, she saw all of his determination to see her brought to Amber Hill in a new light. Instead of possessive, she realized that he treasured her, her … not simply the union he had negotiated with her father. The letters would have meant little to him if his heart was not touched by them.

“Reading them kept me sane, when the campaign felt endless.”

She gasped again and shook her head. “But there is nothing in those letters save the simple words of a girl.”

Her husband merely lifted his eyebrow in response. “Each one was more valuable to me than gold.”

He hadn’t pulled anything from the bed to cover himself, appearing perfectly at ease in nothing save his skin and the glow from the coals. He offered her a rare smile, but the look in his eyes was very serious.

“I cherished them. Every word, every sentence. Reading them took me to where you were and where I longed to be. You took me away from the war that was pinching out lives for nothing more than greed. It was my duty to be there, yet I needed your letters to keep me from deserting.”