Led Astray by a Rake (The Husband Hunters Club 1)

Nic had no intention of waiting. He thrust deeply, once, twice, and she shattered. A moment later he cried out hoarsely, as he reached his own climax.

They lay, panting, and then Nic threw back his head and howled like a wolf. Olivia, gasping, laughing, tried to cover his mouth with her hands, but he rolled over, taking her with him. When he stopped she was lying on top of him, rumpled and flushed, with her eyes dancing.

“They can hear you in the servants’ rooms.”

“Good.”

“Don’t you care?”

“You’re Lady Lacey now. Lady Lacey doesn’t care what the servants think. Lady Lacey is above such things.”

She smiled, but her eyes were serious. “I don’t think I can ever be that arrogant, Nic. I wasn’t brought up to be Lady Lacey.”

“In time it will come as naturally to you as being Miss Monteith.”

Perhaps so, but Olivia couldn’t see herself ever becoming like Nic’s mother, nor would she want to. She would be the chatelaine of Castle Lacey, but she would do it her own way.

“What are you thinking?”

She ran her fingertip over his lips, smiling. “I’m thinking that we’ve been married for one day.”

“So we have.” He caught her finger between his teeth, biting gently.

“And I’m wondering if we will still feel like this in a year. Two years. Twenty years.”

He released her, turning on his side and gently sliding her off him and into the bed beside him. She propped her head on her hand and watched him. Already she could see the change her words had caused in him, and it worried her. He was uneasy at the thought of all those years with her, with one woman, and he couldn’t hide it.

“I can’t make promises,” he said quietly. “I’ve seen too many unhappy marriages to do that.”

“Was that the reason you didn’t want to get married?” Olivia asked him, settling down against the pillows.

Nic shrugged. “Probably. Even people you believe are destined never to stray can surprise you. Disappoint you.”

He was talking about someone in particular, and Olivia wondered who it was. She was tempted to ask, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her. Nic was the keeper of his own secrets.

She was watching him with that clear blue gaze, like a child seeking knowledge. Nic found her openness disconcerting. His own

life was very different, and now he had the added burden of protecting his wife from truths that would hurt her.

He didn’t want her hurt.

His leg was aching and he longed to rub it, but she would see and be concerned. He’d feel like a cripple, and Nic didn’t want that. He wanted her to see him as the strong one. Carefully, surreptitiously, he stretched his thigh muscle, trying to ease it without her noticing.

But of course she did.

“Your leg is hurting you,” she said matter-of-factly. “What do you usually do to help?”

Nic heard himself laugh, and was surprised he could. “Do you always say exactly what you’re thinking, Olivia?”

“Yes, nearly always.” She moved gracefully onto her knees and edged down toward his leg. Gently she reached out and rested her hand upon him, glancing back at his face and raising a quizzical eyebrow.

“I rub it,” he admitted, the words grudging.

“Like this?” She curled her fingers, kneading at his hard flesh. The scar on his thigh from the injury was long and thin, barely noticeable for something so serious, and she worked along it. He lay back, watching her. Her face was taut with concentration, and she stopped to tuck her hair out of the way. He wondered if she even remembered she was half naked, her breasts jiggling as she moved, the sheen of her skin like soft gold in the candlelight.

Nic thought about reaching out and touching her, but then he realized the ache in his leg was gradually diminishing, his muscles relaxing. Her touch soothed him in other ways, too, ways he didn’t understand yet. He closed his eyes—just for a moment, he told himself.

Her soft fingers continued to press and knead, and he felt a twinge of desire at the thought of them creeping along his thigh and closing on his shaft. Again he was tempted to reach out, but again he stopped himself. There would be plenty of time to make love to his wife. Years. And this time the thought made him smile.