Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

"Are you feeling better?" Amelia asked Reuben two days later as she set a fresh pot of tea by his bedside.

He wiped his nose with a handkerchief. "I am. I knew I was doing too much, but I was having so much fun." He settled back against the pillows propping him up in the bed and shot her an apologetic smile. "You're not upset with me, are you?"

She offered him a comforting smile as she poured tea into his cup. "Of course not. You were excited. When we're excited, we do things even when we know we should slow down." She held the cup out to him, so he took it. "I think once everything in London isn't so new, you'll do a better job of resting between adventures."

He sipped the tea. "It really is an adventure being here, isn't it?"

She climbed into the bed next to him and patted his arm. "It is. I didn't realize how exciting it all is until I saw it through your eyes. Growing up here, you take it for granted."

"Are you sure you want to get close to me? I'm contagious."

She shrugged. "A little cold doesn't bother me. Besides, I'm having some tea, too. This is the same thing the cook at your brother's estate makes you. It's supposed to have some herbs in it to strengthen your ability to ward off illness."

"It does. I think it works better on other people than on me. My mother and brother rarely ever got sick like I did, and they drank this every time I came down with something. For me, it just makes it easier to breathe, which makes it easier to sleep."

"As long as it helps, that's the main thing." She retrieved her cup then snuggled against him. "What are you reading?"

"It's a new book I picked out yesterday when we went to the bookstore." He flipped to the title page which read The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg. "Do you want to read it with me? I just started it."

"It's not about someone's life, is it? Grant loves to read books about people who lived, but I find them boring."

"No, this is fiction. From what the owner of the bookstore told me, it sounds like it's a blend between murder and madness."

"Sounds intriguing. Are you sure you don't mind me listening to you read it since I'm a lady?"

"Having watched my sister-in-law over the years, I am aware that ladies can be every bit as strong in the mind and the heart as a gentleman is. I don't believe ladies are too delicate for the more sensitive matters like some do. But, if you find that the subject in this book disturbs you, we can read something else." He gestured to the pile of books on the other side of him.

She chuckled. "I wondered what you did with all of those books you purchased yesterday."

"I stored them in the dresser after coming home, but this morning, I realized I would need them. Early on, I learned to always keep books close to the bed. There's nothing worse than sending a servant or your mother to retrieve books and finding out they chose the boring ones."

She laughed harder. "It's nice that your illness hasn't stopped your sense of humor."

"I might be sniffling, sneezing, and coughing, but I'm still incredibly happy."

She slipped her arm around his and squeezed it. "I'm happy, too." She sipped more tea then set it on the tray with the teapot. "I don't mind spending the day in bed with you reading books. It's nice being with you no matter what we do."

"Well, when I am feeling better, we'll be doing something more interesting than reading in bed." He winked at her then started reading the book.

***

A few days later, Reuben found himself keeping his promise when he was making love to Amelia. With Corin's arrival at the estate, the days of travel, her lady's time, and then his illness, they hadn't been intimate more than three times over the course of three weeks. So to say he was excited when he finally felt well enough to engage in the act was an understatement.

As soon as he was certain he was well, he started kissing her and caressing her all over. He willed himself to slow down, but it was proving hard to show restraint since he was tense with need. He had worried that all the time she'd spent reading with him in bed would get her sick, but, thankfully, it hadn't. He couldn't help but be touched she loved him so much. She not only left London to be with him, but she also loved him enough to risk getting sick in order to be with him. He imagined not many gentlemen could say that about their wives. And it made him love her all the more.

When he was satisfied with his exploration of her breasts, he slid two fingers into her and found her sensitive nub with his thumb. He recalled her telling him she especially liked it when he touched her this way. He couldn't enter her yet. He wanted her to find her pleasure first, and he didn't have it in him to hold out too long. Once he was inside her, he was going to lose the last of his restraint. Just watching her breasts bounce as she rocked her hips was nearly his undoing.

She cried out and grew still as her flesh clenched around him. Good. She had found her release. It hadn't taken long at all. He'd expected it to take longer since, between the two of them, she often needed more stimulation than he did, but, perhaps, the fact that they hadn't been together much lately had built up the desire for this act in her as much as it had in him.

When she relaxed, he brought his lips to hers and gave her a lingering kiss to let her know how much he enjoyed being with her. She cupped the back of his neck with her hand and kissed him back. Her fingers wove through his hair. The action, though innocent, only heightened his arousal. He needed to be inside her, and he needed it now.

With a groan, he entered her. All the time he'd spent waiting to do this with her while he was sick caught up with him. He only managed a couple of thrusts before he released his seed. He pressed himself deeper into her. There was no better feeling than this: being wrapped in Amelia's arms while at the height of pleasure. It not only completed him physically, but it completed him emotionally, too. Without her, he was only half a man. With her, he was whole. He didn't quite understand how marriage made this possible. He only knew it did. If he had followed his brother's plan for his life, he would have missed the best this life had to offer.

Spent, he collapsed in her arms. Slowly, the rest of the world began to come into focus. He lifted himself up on his elbows and took in the beautiful glow on her face that was always there after they made love. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her for a long moment before he got off of her and brought her into his arms.

"That's better," he whispered.

She snuggled up to him. "It has been a while since we've done this."

"A while? It seems like it's been forever."

"Well, at least we finally did do it, and we have the rest of the evening to do it again."

"Don't think we won't." He gave her a hug. "We'll be doing it quite a bit now that I feel up to it." After a moment, he added, "It means a lot to me that you're willing to be with me regardless of everything."

"A little cold never bothered me."

"It's more than my cold. It's my brother. It's me letting fear talk me into leaving London, and leaving you. I wouldn't have blamed you if you had decided to find someone else."

"Fear makes it difficult to think clearly. I never doubted you loved me. It's why I chased after you."

He chuckled. "I hadn't thought of it as you chasing me. I kind of like that."

"Oh?" She lifted her head and grinned at him. "You like thinking that you were pursued?"

"I do. And you can't take it back. I just heard you say you chased me. Chasing is the same thing as pursuing."

"I won't take it back. I did pursue you. It was worth it. I'm happy."

"I'm happy, too." He reached up and cupped the side of her face with his hand. Then he kissed her, and the rest of the world slipped away while he made love to her again.