Chapter Sixteen

Bronwyn stood in the center of the changing chamber, hands clenched at her side, repeating the words Inhale, Exhale. He must think her a simpleton, standing next to him gaping like a fool. Every night he mumbled his love for her in his sleep, and she practiced her own admission. Only hours before, she had easily managed a confession of her love. She'd been rattled at having revealed her deep fear of being distanced from everything and everyone she knew, but that was no excuse for her idiotic behavior. Landon had whittled away her defenses. Her fear of appearing weak or ignorant had dissipated.

The colors of her dresses and gowns became a blur in front of her. Tears threatened to spill as she reached for her favorite sky-blue day dress. Thank goodness she was alone. Eyes closed, she inhaled and froze.

"Will you allow me the pleasure of assisting you?"

Landon's deep voice reverberated through her body. She swiveled to face her husband, who stood on the threshold with his arms loosely crossed. His musky, woodsy smell radiated throughout the small space. His words were spoken casually but there was nothing blithe about the way his stare penetrated her.

She nodded. When he was an arm's length away, she searched for a glimpse of his dimple. It was missing. She swallowed the knot of apprehension that had lodged in her throat and blurted, "Did you know I fancied you back when you were a barrister?"

"I hadn't a clue." Landon uncrossed his arms.

Clutching her hands together in front of her, Bronwyn said, "Remember the day you proposed, and you told me that I had remained in your thoughts?"

Landon took a step closer and settled his warm hands on her hips. "Aye, I recall that day vividly."

Before she lost her nerve, she said, "Well, I confess, there hasn't been a day since the first day I met you that I've not thought about you."

Landon's features softened a tad. "Is that so?"

She couldn't tell if he was baiting her or teasing her. What was his purpose? Bronwyn answered, "Yes. But the man I fantasized about daily was a barrister driven to uphold the law. A man that I could work alongside."

"You envisioned a partnership like your parents share." The quizzical tilt of his brow, and the intensity of his gaze marked his words as a question rather than a statement. It was as if he was trying to read her mind. His lips slowly curved into a grin, and the irresistible dimple she desperately wanted to see appeared. He tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. "You know, I'm the same man as I was before I inherited the title and the mark."

"No. You're not." The man before her set her blood on fire. She placed a hand on his hip inches above the mark. "You are…"

He bent down and kissed her, sending her thoughts scattering. She snaked her arms about his waist and tilted her head as he trailed kisses along her neck. "I can't think straight when you kiss me."

"Don't think." Landon's fingers dug into her bottom as he drew her closer. "What do you feel?"

She chuckled. "All of you at the moment."

His arousal oddly reinforced his earlier statement of love. It wasn't pure lust. The dense energy radiating from him was drenched with the emotion she now recognized as love.

Landon gave her a playful swat on the bottom, causing moisture to pool between her legs. She found she rather liked revealing the rogue within him.

His hand rubbed away the sting.

What could she say to provoke him to repeat the action? "I'm not sure what to call these sensations that you cause within me." She ran her hands up along the sides of his lean body, over his chest and his shoulders, until they came to rest behind his neck. "My body aches to be near you. I think about you constantly."

He groaned as she raised up on her tiptoes, and her stomach grazed against his arousal.

Landon nipped the lobe of her ear. "What else?" Both his hands slid to her bottom.

With a slight hop, she wrapped her legs about his waist. "Take me back to bed, and I'll tell you all."

Devilishly he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What about your lessons?"

"Why bother? You will merely set out to prove them pointless."

He carried her out of the dressing chamber and paused by the door that led to the hallway. Landon whispered, "Make sure no one is out there to hear you."

She released the latch, and through a sliver of a gap, she peered out into the hall.

Peyton swiveled as the door creaked open. Confused, her maid lifted her eyebrows. "My lady?"

In her husband's arms, Bronwyn was inches higher than her natural height. Smiling, she said, "Please advise Lady Mary that Lord Hadfield has decided to stay abed today. Abiding by yesterday's lesson, it is my duty to sit by his bedside and attend to his every whim." She swallowed a yelp as her husband deliciously smacked her backside.

"Should we send for a physician?"

Her maid's concerned frown evoked enough guilt within Bronwyn to answer solemnly, "No need. I'm certain he merely needs a few hours extra rest."

Payton squinted downward and then gasped. Wide-eyed, she quickly bobbed and fled.

Her maid was an innocent. Whatever had she seen?

Landon chuckled, "I'll expect that the entire staff will be aware that their master has hairy legs."

Bronwyn burst out laughing as she shut the door, causing her husband's engorged member to rub against her core. She wiggled and extracted a heated groan from the man she loved. She hadn't managed to say the words out loud, but now that she had his attention for the rest of the day, she would ensure her husband learned how much he meant to her. As Landon carried her to the bed, she placed kisses along his jaw.

"Wife, behave. You and I are to finish our discussion first." He released his hold on her.

As soon as her bottom touched the mattress, she scrambled under the covers. As Landon slid into bed, she snuggled along his side. Her hand came to rest upon his chest.

Peering up at him through her lashes, Bronwyn confessed, "It's hard to define or express the rioting sensations that you cause within both my mind and body."

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Landon licked his lips. Whatever he was about to say, she sensed it was hard for him to convey. "Do you regret marrying me?"

Leaning up on her elbow, she shook her head adamantly. "No." One hand on his cheek, she took a deep breath. "Eight years ago, I dreamed of being a barrister's wife. Even then, I considered a union between us as a lofty, crazy wish. When you inherited the earldom, it became an impossibility. Then you became the head PORF, and I knew it was a hopeless fantasy." She leaned over and placed her hand over his heart. "When you proposed, all that came to mind were the reasons I should not marry you."

Landon covered her hand with his. "Then why did you agree?"

"Because I love you." She dropped her mouth to his and infused the kiss with all the emotion she had kept bottled up.

Gasping for air, Landon drew back, "Did you say you love me?"

Her husband's roles and responsibilities may have changed, but he was still a barrister at heart. She grinned and said, "I did, counsel, I did."

Solving the puzzle of how to aid him as earl and PORF would have to wait. Today, she was going to indulge in marital relations until her husband was the one to tire first.