Page 64 of The Best Marquess

“There is something else,” she said, glancing away from him. “I’ve always felt fairly strongly about this, purely in general terms. But now that we are wed, it has become something that is ironclad and cast in stone. Especially after seeing you with all those visitors in the drawing room. I know it is unfashionable and that you are exceedingly popular…but, ah…I would not be good at sharing. In fact, I believe I would be a tremendous failure and turn into an unhinged shrew.”

A tempest of elation and caution swirled together inside him. His wife didn’t want him to have a mistress? Was that just a matter of personal pride, or her way of expressing deeper feelings for him? He well knew the journey to Pippa’s heart would involve several impossible quests, a maze, probably a minotaur, and carving through hewn rock with a wooden spoon. But if she ever loved him back, it would all be worth it.

“You don’t have to share,” said Finn, lifting her chin for a kiss. “As it happens, I have a particular preference for spectacle-wearing Pippets.”

“Good,” she replied, her gaze warm as her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his trouser flap then freed his cock.

Soon they were both moaning as she braced her feet on the floor and lowered herself onto his thick length. While the slick, hot welcome of her pussy felt indescribable, there was no haste. No desperate, greedy desire for release as soon as possible. This was different. Tender. Two people with their arms wrapped around each other, rocking and circling as though they had all the time in the world.

And they did.

Bending his head, Finn licked her nipple, pausing when she cried out. “Too sensitive?”

“No,” she breathed, cupping her small breast and offering it to him. “Do that again.”

Finn couldn’t help a rougher thrust as he repeatedly lashed her nipple with the tip of his tongue. Yet Pippa didn’t flinch, instead her inner walls fluttered around his cock and she started grinding herself against him, angling her hips so her clitoris rubbed directly against his groin. He loved how unashamed she was in her need for pleasure.

But now he could feel that restlessness growing, that building storm before the explosion of release. Finn thrust his cock deep into Pippa’s soaked pussy, and the scent of her, the heat, the sounds of her gasps and whimpers was a trident of pleasure that could no longer be denied. He gripped her hips, fucking her harder, and soon Pippa’s head fell back, her fingernails clawing the fabric of his jacket as she came with a loud scream.

Her orgasm hurled him over the edge, and as he withdrew then mindlessly spurted his release across her lower belly, three hoarse words tore from his throat. “I love you.”

Shit. Shit!

Finn struggled for breath, waiting for Pippa to jerk away or go rigid in his arms. But she didn’t, only rested her forehead on his shoulder as her own ragged breathing gradually eased.

She hadn’t heard him. Thank God.

The last thing he wanted to do was ruin what they were building together. He just had to control himself, to not submerge his wife in emotional declarations that she would only retreat from. Pippa cared for him. He knew that. That she might never surrender her fully-armored heart and declare love in return was the risk he’d taken.

Only time would reveal if the gamble of his life would pay off.

Chapter 13

Life as a marchioness was turning out to be…unexpectedly lovely?

Pippa hummed to herself as she strolled into the Exton’s tranquil blue parlor. Today she couldn’t wait to spend time with Lilian, and also Georgiana, who had agreed to meet them here as well. Just three sisters speaking freely and drinking tea as they shared all the happenings in their life.

Like, for example, how wonderful the past week had been at Pinehurst House. Both the chef and housekeeper had welcomed her detailed list of preferences. She and Finn had also redecorated the library; removing the awful paintings and stag heads, repainting the crimson trim a rich cream color, and replacing the dark, uncomfortable wooden furniture with an overstuffed chaise and leather armchairs. Already it looked a far more warm and welcoming space.

However, none of this compared to the nightly delights in Finn’s bedchamber. She had grown addicted to his touch and once was never enough, especially as he’d fetched home some other Bliss toys and accessories to try. One night they’d even donned masks and pretended to be strangers at a naughty house party, and the subsequent swoon-inducing orgasms she’d had as he bent her over the desk and took her roughly, were almost indescribable.

There was only one grain of sand in her shoe: at Golden Square, she could have sworn Finn said he loved her. But he’d not said it again, nor made any reference to saying it, so she was obviously mistaken. Something entirely plausible; her mind had been scrambled by the magnificent double dildo.

But she was eager to hear about life for Lilian as a new mother, and if Georgiana had finally seen sense and shoved that gentleman off London Bridge.

“Good morning!” she said cheerfully to Lilian as she entered the parlor and collapsed onto a chaise with a rustle of black skirts. “No Gigi?”

“Not yet,” said her older sister, dressed in a loose cream-colored morning gown without stays, and grinning as she rocked Amanda’s tiny wooden cradle. “Therefore, we can gossip like a pair of old hens.”

“Excellent. How are you? How is that sweet baby?”

“I’m feeling better each day. That first week, I didn’t know which way was up. As for Amanda, she is a sweet baby approximately thirty percent of the time. The rest, a holy terror who knows she has her mama and papa wrapped around her little finger. It is just as well she’s adorable, for she demands to be fed every three hours and forty minutes like some sort of tyrannical baby clock, vomits on my dressing gown with great precision, and wets her small cloths like a stream overflowing its banks.”

Pippa peered into the cradle. Amanda cooed and waved her tiny fists. “Lies. Damned scurrilous lies, slandering my angelic niece.”

“Oh, so you and Finlay will provide her with a cousin soon?” asked Lilian, her voice rich with amusement.

“Good God no. Errrrr I mean, alas, no cousins just yet. Marriage is surprisingly wonderful, but we’ve had enough excitement in our lives lately. I just want some nice peace and quiet,” she finished, glancing back at Lilian.