Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

A special license was procured, and two weeks later, after they married and consumed a sumptuous wedding feast, John found himself once more all alone with Lady Olivia. She was his wife now, but no soft feelings had formed between them. In the hustle and bustle to get them to the altar, the pair had spent very little time with one another. But as they rode along, heading toward Frontershire Manor, John was inclined to say something to ease the tension.

He sat opposite Lady Olivia on the cushioned bench seat, so he could see the way she twisted her fingers together, wrestling one gloved hand with the other.

"Are you hungry?" he ventured.

"No, my lord," she whispered.

"I noticed you did not eat much at our wedding breakfast. Should I tell the driver to pull over so we may find you some nourishment?"

"That will not be necessary, my lord."

John stared at his wife, willing her to return his gaze, but she resolutely kept her chin lowered.

"Our wedding was…unusual…yes?"

Lady Olivia twisted her hands together, locking them in her lap. "I suppose it was, my lord."

"Why did you think it so?" he prompted, wanting to hear her give more than a simple response to his questions.

She shrugged as a disheartened sigh escaped her lips. "We do not love each other, Lord Frontershire. Therefore, when we took our vows, we were merely whispering words…words that did not touch our hearts."

"Ah…" John murmured thoughtfully, "so you are aggrieved because you are stuck with me?"

At that, Lady Olivia glanced up and met his gaze.

"Oh," he pulled the word out long, showcasing his understanding. "So, perhaps you are not fully disappointed, but you are not glad, either."

"I am not happy," she replied. "I cannot be. I vowed to marry a man I loved, and yet, I allowed you to lead me to the altar."

"But what choice did you have?" John returned.

Her brows furrowed, and her eyes took on a pensive stare. "That is the problem here, is it not? The both of us have been forced into this marriage and…"

"No one forced me ," he reminded her.

Her eyes widened, and she jerked back as though she were surprised by his words. But when she spoke, her tone did not indicate surprise, rather, it was laced with knowing. "Yes, but you were content to marry any lady so long as she would have you."

John snickered. "That is not quite accurate."

"Then tell me," she insisted. "What sort of match did you hope to make when you first arrived at your aunt's house three weeks ago?"

He paused, not wanting to say the cold, callous words that had earned him a scolding from his auntie. Once he determined the best way to respond was by keeping his reply short and sweet, he said simply, "I wanted a wife who would suit my needs."

"And your needs are?"

He could not help himself. John raised his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Oh," she grumbled. "You are incorrigible."

"Too true," he agreed, "but that does not mean I am without feelings or sensibilities."

He crouched cautiously because the carriage was still trundling along, and he did not wish to be pitched onto the floor as it rocked and swayed. Carefully, he slid onto the bench next to Olivia then took one of her gloved hands in his own.

"What I want, my wife, is for you to be happy. I do not wish for you to spend the rest of your days unfulfilled or wallowing in misery."

"But how am I to take comfort in those words when I know you only seized the opportunity to marry me because you want to have an heir?"

Now, it was John's turn to be surprised. "Who told you that?"

Olivia licked her lips. "Just before the ceremony, when I had a moment alone, the Dowager Countess of Langford slipped into my chambers. She asked the lady's maid to leave us and then…"

"She told you why I really accepted her invitation to come to her house party?"

Lady Olivia nodded weakly. "If all you wanted was a lady who would sire you an heir, I wonder why you attempted to seduce me?"

He squeezed her hand. "If I could have chosen differently, I assure you I would have."

She groaned. "So, now you are stuck with me ?"

"I think, going forward, we might consider ourselves stuck together."

Another beleaguered groan dripped from her lips. "I cannot imagine how I ever let this happen." She shook her head slowly. "As penance for my wantonness, I shall live out my days with a man who does not…cannot love me…and all the comfort I will be offered is that, at the very least, he saved me from spinsterhood and certain disgrace."

Her lower lip pooched out as she pouted, and John let go of her hand, so he could touch that soft lower lip.

"You know," he said gently, "I do believe you are making too much of our situation." He ran the tip of his finger along the lower rim of her lip, noticing the way her eyes widened as he neared the corner of her mouth.

"It seems to me that the last time we found ourselves stuck together, we found plenty of ways to make the best of the situation and now…"

She inhaled sharply. "Now that we are married…"

"I shall take pleasure in having a wife."

She blinked rapidly. "Will you…will you kiss me as you did before?"

"Is that what you want me to do?" John did not need to say those words. He could tell by the way Olivia's breathing accelerated and her bosom started heaving that he already knew exactly what she wanted. But there was a part of him that delighted in forcing her to tell him. She sat perfectly still and because John longed to hear her speak, he decided to tempt her ever so slightly.

"Olivia," he whispered while he tugged at the bottom of her lip with his fingertip before sliding it down her chin, "do you wish my tongue was upon you now instead of my finger?"

She gasped. "My lord?" her voice squeaked.

He leaned closer to her so that her hot breath fell heavily across his face. He could no longer see the way her chest heaved or the way her eyes skittered nervously, but he noticed how she did not pull away from him.

"Shall I kiss you as I did in the library, my wife?" he purred. "Shall I caress your neck and lick your bosoms?"

"Will you do that?" she whispered.

"Do you want me to?"

"I do not know," she said in a voice that conveyed both her throbbing desire for him as well as her confusion. "Before you kissed me, I had never felt a man's touch, and now…"

"Now, you are mine," John said as he slid his fingers beneath the fabric of her dress sleeve and pushed the gown off her right shoulder, revealing a lovely portion of her creamy white skin and delicate collarbone. "And I will take my time showing you everything you do not already know."

"But I know…nothing," Olivia murmured.

He lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder. Her body quaked beneath his touch, and he had to school himself so as not to lose control and immediately take her.

"Not nothing," he whispered. "But just enough to get us started."

Slowly, he kissed his way along her neck until their lips met and he felt the soft sweetness of her mouth. Apparently, her confusion had won out over all her other emotions because when he flicked her top lip with the tip of his tongue and tried to part her lips, so he could plunge his tongue inside her mouth, she thrust her tongue at the same time, creating a wet, sloppy kiss.

The carriage jerked to an abrupt halt and the couple nearly toppled right off the bench. Olivia gasped and clung to him.

He chuckled light heartedly. "We have reached my home...err… our home. I felt the carriage stop."

"So, we should…?"

"Go inside," John ordered. "Ready yourself then meet me in the library."

"The library?" A befuddled expression crossed her face. "But how am I to find the library? I have never been to this place before and…"

"Hush," he said softly, trailing his fingertips across her mouth, neck, and exposed shoulder blade. "If I know one thing for certain, it is that you will not fail to find the library."

"But if I should?"

He lowered his chin and stared up at her through his thick fringe of lashes. "If you should not find me, I shall seek you."