Chapter 19

Chapter

Nineteen

G enevieve lay in bed, her back to Lord Tyndall. The sound of him washing himself in the bath was a temptation she fought not to roll over and enjoy.

She could hear what she presumed to be him washing his arms before dipping them under the water to rinse.

To think that in a day or so, he would be her husband was beyond startling. Wanting to be bold and not allow him to believe he knew her as well as he thought, she rolled over and stared at him.

"Will you consummate the marriage with me when we're married?"

His startled gaze met hers across the room, his mouth agape in shock. "Turn about. I'm naked."

She chuckled, not that she could see much of his person. Only his upper chest and muscled arms. He had a slight feathering of hair across his chest. What would it feel like to run her hands over his body? He seemed far more muscular naked than he did in a superfine coat and waistcoat. Would he be hard under her hand? Did he smell as sweet as his kisses had been?

Well, it wasn't actually sweet. It was sinful, which got her thinking about what would happen once they were joined in holy matrimony.

"You're to be my husband. And I know you've been naked before the fairer sex before. No need to be shy, my lord."

"I do not ask you to turn about for my own vanity, but to spare your blushes. I do not think you're ready to see me in my entirety just yet. I may scare you off. Make you run for the hills and I'll never get to save your reputation then."

"Well, you do speak as if you hide some sort of monster under the water."

"No monster, but what I shield is great enough to scare an innocent maid such as yourself, even if you pretend to be more worldly than you are."

"Oh, you mean when you thought I'd pleasured myself?" She laughed, smiling at him. "Papa has a book in his library that I stole last Season. Both Charlotte, Matilda, and I have studied it at length. We know a woman can enjoy herself when alone without the help of a husband."

"You may not have done it here this evening, but I'm curious to know if you've done it in the privacy of your own home?"

She had, of course. Why wouldn't she at least see if what was written in a book was truthful or just fanciful text? But while she had sensed a growing, pleasurable sensation, she did not think she enjoyed the explosive conclusion the book said she would.

Not that she would admit such defeat to Lord Tyndall.

"No, of course not. I do not molest myself, my lord. Unlike some in this room, I should imagine."

"You're a liar."

She grinned and continued to watch him. He scrubbed his hair and then dipped under the water, coming back up and shaking off the excess water like a dog.

Water went about the room. Genevieve shook her head. The man was so vexing. Did he know that no matter what he did, he looked attractive doing it?

"And what about you? Do you self-pleasure yourself?"

"All the time."

His honesty brought heat to kiss her cheeks. He stood and faced her, reaching for a towel and showing her without shame his manhood. It was indeed a beasty long thing that hung between his legs. She bit her lip.

That was supposed to enter her?

Something told her that would not at all be comfortable.

"How is that supposed to fit inside me when we're married? I do not like pain, my lord. I'm formidable in many ways, but that only applies to certain situations."

He stepped out of the bath and, with his cloth, dried his manhood but a few steps from the bed. She glanced up, met his eyes, and noted his amused smirk.

"You're enjoying your show, are you not?" she leveled at him.

"There are numerous things I could teach you, Lady Genevieve. It will hurt the first time I enter you. I'll not lie about that. What a shame we're not a love match, and this marriage is only to save your reputation."

"Are you saying that we won't have to sleep with each other than the first consummation?"

"It's probably best. We're hardly friends, and I'm only doing this favor to you out of obligation to your brother and the friendship he's shown me all these years. It's best not to muddy the water, do you not think?"

A tightness settled in her chest, but she nodded, agreeing to his every word. "Of course. I certainly do not wish to rut my nights away with a man who does not find me attractive and never wished to marry me." She smiled, pushing down the hurt his words caused. "We will do well enough, you're right. And I think I'll enjoy not warming your bed. I may go about society like you, enjoy my freedoms."

"Your freedoms? Whatever do you mean?"

She sat up, frowning. "Well, I'll be the Countess Tyndall. Married and able to attend any event I wish without a chaperone. It'll mean I can take my friends with me; all of it will be above board and without scandal. You marrying me relieves many problems I faced as an unmarried maid."

"What problems? From what I could see, you attended balls and parties without chaperoning and have been doing so for months. I was surprised that you'd not fallen into a jam like you did with Venzellons before."

"Either way, I shall enjoy being married to a man who does not wish to warm my bed. I shall be free for the first time in my life."

"My absence from your bed does not mean I'll stand for you warming another's in turn."

"I would not do that. I'm not like you, my lord. I understand the limits of my freedom."

"Well, just so we're in agreement on that." He seized a shirt and slipped it over his head before climbing into bed. He rolled, giving her his back, and she lay on hers, staring at the ceiling.

His warmth seeped across to her, and she turned to watch him sleep.

What a mess this all was. She could only imagine what her family and friends were thinking right now and how much she would have to explain.

But that concern was for another day. First, she needed to live through the consummation, a detail of marriage that she both dreaded and, in turn, could not wait to enjoy.

With Tyndall.