Chapter 9

"Is this all we are to discuss tonight?" Helen asked, despite herself.

She had watched him talk about his business dealings, wondering if he had somehow forgotten it was their wedding night.

"What else shall we discuss?"

"It is our wedding night," she stated, feeling a hot blush spread across her face.

"I am aware," he noted. "And that is why I informed you of all you need to know."

"But it is expected of us to…"

"To?"

Damn this bastard.

He knew what she was referring to, and she could tell because he had a supremely smug look in his eyes, but he just wanted her to say it if only to get some sick sense of satisfaction.

"To consummate our marriage."

"Oh," he said, his voice full of surprise. "Indeed, but as it is only a contract marriage, there's no need."

"But if we don't… is there really a marriage?"

"Yes, there is," he deadpanned. "We have the license to prove it."

"The servants will talk."

"If it helps, I could sleep here, and we'll put up a good act."

"Your Grace," she huffed, exasperated.

Why would he be so stubborn about this?

"Helen," he sighed, "you do not even want this."

"I… I…"

"I will never force a woman into my bed, Helen." He laughed darkly. "No matter how much I want her, and no matter the dark rumors circulating about my character, I am not a beast."

"I…" Helen started but found herself at a loss for words.

"What is it you wish to say, Helen?" he asked all too calmly, staring at her while he leaned against the wall.

His green eyes had gone impossibly dark in the dim light of the candles and the fireplace, and his body was tense as though primed for a fight, but the impossible man did nothing.

She didn't want to seem desperate, admitting that she desired him beyond what duty demanded of her, but it seemed if she said nothing, the damned man would walk away even if it killed him.

"I… didn't think you forced me," she stated with a shaky voice.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"But that doesn't negate the fact that you didn't come willingly into my arms but only did so to perform your duty," he replied, pushing off the wall as if he were leaving. "I don't take a woman to bed for duty's sake. When I take a woman to bed, it is to make love."

At his words, her cheeks reddened, and she looked away, unable to meet his gaze. She had not expected him to put it so plainly. She wasn't unaware what the word meant, as her handmaid had explained in detail to her, but the intimacy of the act had stunned her.

She had never been fully undressed by anyone except her maid, and to even imagine a man fully in the nude was near blasphemous.

She shook her head as thoughts of Alexander naked tried to creep in, looking up to see him standing in front of her.

When had he even moved?

"You seem shocked by my words," he stated, staring down at her.

She stared back, feeling her cheeks redden again.

"Y-yes, but it's fine," she answered, swallowing past the lump that had formed in her throat.

He gave a lopsided smile, leaning so close that she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"So, you do not mind me having a dirty mouth?" he teased.

"I do not mind," she answered boldly, squaring her shoulders. "It's your mouth, and you can use it any way you wish."

"Any way I wish?" he mused, his eyes roaming up and down her body.

She followed his eyes and saw that the light behind her outlined her body in the thin material of her nightgown.

"You do not know the things I wish to do with this mouth of mine," he told her, surprising her. His voice was gravelly and almost strained.

"You can do them," she answered. "I do not mind."

His eyebrows rose to his hairline, but the look of surprise was gone in seconds.

"I don't want you just to not mind, Helen." He laughed darkly.

"Then what do you want?" she asked.

"I want to know if you want me to pleasure you."

His raw honesty sparked the same from her, and she knew her reply shocked him when he stepped even closer to her.

"I want you to pleasure me, husband," she answered, feeling empowered by the unrestrained desire she saw in his gaze.

His eyes roamed over her face and stopped at her lips, his nostrils flaring when her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

They'd kissed before, but her lips itched to have his cover hers and remind her just how well he kissed. She frowned, confused when she noticed him watching her.

Why didn't he just kiss her already?

I will never force a woman into my bed.

His eyes seemed to be questioning, as he was giving her another opportunity to admit her desire.

She nodded and nearly lost balance when he pulled her to him, taking her lips in a kiss that coaxed deep groans out of them both.

He kissed her like a man who'd been long starved of food—messy, fast, and unstoppable. Her lips stung from how hard he nipped them, but rather than pain, she felt intense pleasure that sent shudders through her.

Her body was a mess of different emotions as her body made her crave things she had not even known were possible.

Her breasts felt heavy, and her nipples were painfully hard so that even the fabric of her nightgown rubbing against them caused her to hiss. A pulse between her legs was so furious that she struggled to keep still. There was a wetness in her sex that she had only ever felt with him that stunned and scared her.

When his hands trailed downward to palm her buttocks and pull her against him, she wrapped her legs instinctively around him.

She stiffened when he led them to the bed and placed her gently on it, his weight on her gentle and soothing.

He kissed her again, this time deep and slow, one hand moving from her face to run down her neck and then to palm her breast and lower to run up her calf to her thigh.

She gasped at the trail of heat his hands left in their wake. She squirmed, feeling shy with his hands on her, but he stilled her by kissing her slowly again. His kisses were like warm biscuits fresh from the oven, which she loved to indulge in whenever it rained.

His hands moved up her body again this time, and she felt him groan when he palmed her breast. He pinched in one nipple, and if he hadn't been on top of her, she was sure she would have flown off the bed.

Her back arched as a moan escaped her lips.

How had she never known such spots existed in her body? she wondered as his hands and lips found new ways to drive her insane.

"Helen," he groaned, kissing her neck. "I need to see you."

"All right," she answered, not knowing what he meant until his hands ripped her nightgown in two.

Cold wind kissed her skin as she was exposed to him. She tried to cover herself, but his hands stilled her.

"Don't," he warned.

Her hands fell away, even though she still felt uneasy being exposed to him. His eyes held adoration as he leaned back to watch her, and he looked torn, like he was struggling to make a decision.

"What's wrong?" she asked, feeling even more self-conscious.

"I am trying to decide where to taste you first," he declared, biting his lip, and she decided that she had never seen a more devastating look on him.

She felt the blush all over her body that brought a smile to his lips.

"You do blush beautifully everywhere," he observed. "Now, I am tempted to see how red you can get."

He gave her no warning and took a nipple in his mouth, nipping it. A scream tore out of her as pleasure rippled through her.

"Careful, wife, we don't want the maids to think I am being a beast," he chided, nipping her nipple again playfully.

"You… you are being a beast," she groaned.

He laughed against her breast as he took her nipple into his mouth again, his other hand going to palm the other breast.

He added suction that had her bucking off the bed, which stilled when his hand started to travel lower down her body.

"Wait…" she whispered as she stiffened when his fingers brushed the intimate curls between her legs.

"Relax, wife," he soothed. "Let me pleasure you."

His fingers brushed her sex again, a groan escaping his lips.

"You're so wet."

She bit her lip and tried to close her legs, but he held them apart.

"Does this make you shy?" he asked, sliding his fingers through her curls again, applying pressure to the nub that begged for attention.

She could not answer as a spark shot through her that caused her legs to quiver.

"Answer me, wife," he teased, delivering deliciously maddening pressure to the knot of pleasure that pulsed painfully.

"Y-yes."

He grinned against her stomach, placing open-mouthed kisses as he moved lower down her body.

When his tongue grazed her curls, she tried to close her legs again, but his hands held them firmly apart.

He groaned against her sex as his tongue lapped at her, and her hips bucked wildly against his face. She tried to hold back her cries, but her body seemed unwilling to cooperate with her.

A moment hit her when her body shook violently as a bliss she had never experienced before flooded her, and he used his tongue to mimic the vibrations that rippled through her.

"Thank you," she said when she finally regained her ability to speak.

He grinned at her and kissed her.

"It is I who should thank you." He licked his lips. "You taste better than any meal I've ever had."

She reddened at his praise.

"Come, wife." He grinned. "You should sleep."

"But…"

He quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't I need to do anything for you?"

He kissed her forehead and pulled her into his chest. "The time for you to reward me will come soon enough," he promised darkly. "Sleep now."

And so, with those ominous words, she fell asleep to the rhythm of his heartbeat.