To Desire a Wicked Duke (Courtship Wars 6)

Tess arched an eyebrow. “What secrets did I keep from you?”

“You concealed the fact that you loved me. That is an outrageous omission.”

“I was not even aware myself, so how could I tell you?”

He pressed another tender kiss on her lips. “You have no more excuses. From now on, I want to hear regularly how much you love me.”

“That will be no hardship, my love.”

He started to kiss her again, but stopped. “Oh, and another thing. No more ‘your graces’ when you address me. It perturbs me to no end.”

“Why do you think I do it?”

Ian kissed the teasing smile off her lips and made her sigh in surrender.

When he allowed Tess to breathe again, however, she fixed her gaze on him. “I meant what I said, Ian. I want a true marriage with you, despite how disastrously we began. I don’t want a bloodless union where the only intimacy is based on physical passion.”

“Nor do I.”

Determined to drive her point home, she curled her fingers around the lapels of his jacket. “I want to be your wife in every way possible. I want a mate, Ian, not just a lover. I want a husband and friend and confidant.”

“I think I can safely promise you that.”

His perceptive gray gaze cut straight to her heart, his expression so brutally honest, she couldn’t mistake his feelings of love for her.

Yet she needed to make him understand her own feelings, Tess realized. “You said I should move on with my life, Ian, and I am ready to do so, totally and completely. I don’t want to waste any more time. If I have learned anything these past two years, it is that happiness and love are too precious to let slip away.”

She paused. “And I don’t want Richard to come between us ever again,” Tess added in a softer tone, remembering their last night at Falwell. When she’d brought up Richard’s name while making love to Ian, he’d responded angrily, almost bitterly.

She tightened her hold on his neck, wanting to offer reassurance. “I swear to you, Ian, there is no reason whatsoever for you to be jealous now.”

He nodded solemnly. “I intend to hold you to that promise. I don’t want Richard in our marriage bed.”

“I should hope not,” Tess said lightly, believing they could now lay their ghosts to rest.

In response, Ian brushed the crown of her head lightly with his cheek, then pulled her to his chest and held her, his strength palpable, surrounding her, protecting her.

She remained there for a score of heartbeats, with her head resting on his shoulder, savoring the tender moment. Soon, however, she could feel heat rising between them.

“Ian?” Tess murmured against the side of his neck.

“Yes, love?”

“At Falwell, we agreed to share a bed merely to reduce our sexual frustrations, but I want to sleep with you every night from now on.”

“You read my mind, Tess.”

“Do you think we could begin right away?”

“I expect so. I seem to recall never giving you a proper wedding night. I promise to make up for my lapse tonight.”

“Must we wait until tonight?”

Raising his head, Ian gave her a wicked, heart-stopping smile, then stood with Tess in his arms. “I thought you would never ask.”

He carried her upstairs to his bedchamber and stoked the hearth fire to ward off the chill of the November evening. Then they undressed each other in between tender kisses and languorous caresses and soft laughter.

Their marriage was no longer a battle, no longer a rivalry, Ian reflected gladly. Instead, for the first time, they would be sealing their union as true husband and wife, showing their love for each other. The prospect filled him with heat and pleasure.