Page 79 of The Best Marquess

“Mmmph,” said Pippa, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“Rest now, Pippet. I’ll stand guard.”

She patted his chest. “Sea wall. Caramels.”

But in seconds, she was fast asleep.

Chapter 16

In the realm of Finn, two things were currently apparent.

First, that the storm had passed. Second, that his cock was hard. No, not just hard, but ready to crush stone hard. And the reason for that was his wife had curled herself half on and half off him, while idly threading her fingers through his chest hair. In the inventing room, it had been Pippa naked and him fully clothed. Now their roles were reversed, and something about the contrast was wildly exciting.

But he couldn’t do a thing about it, because Pippa had her menses.

“Good morning, lady wife,” he said.

Pippa froze, her gaze guilty. “Er…good morning. Didn’t mean to disturb. I’m not trying to mount you, proper consent and all that.”

“I know. I presumed you were deep in thought and needed an activity to occupy your hands.”

“Correct. Also…I like your hairy chest.”

“Why thank you. I grew it myself,” Finn replied, amused. “But before anything else, I must enquire what you meant by sea wall and caramels last night.”

His wife snorted and righted her spectacles. “A sea wall offers protection. I brought caramels in the event you needed a sweetener to let me stay.”

“Bribery is never required for petting, Pippet. Although now you have mentioned caramels it would be a cruel and unusual punishment to withhold them.”

Pippa rummaged under the quilt. “I’m not sure where they ended up after my running dive onto the mattress. Could be anywhere…ah, one moment. Here. Caramels, warmed and only partially flattened by my thigh.”

“Sounds even more delicious.”

“Rake,” she said, rolling her eyes, but she unwrapped the sweets and fed them to him.

“About that…” he said hesitantly, licking sugar from his lips. “I’m not. A rake, I mean. I never was.”

Her brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

Finn took a deep breath. “You weren’t the only virgin on our wedding night. Whatever skill I have, I learned the same way you did. From romance novels, which I will say once again, are the greatest invention ever. You are the only woman I ever wanted to bed. The only woman I will bed in future. Because I love you. So much.”

His wife stared at him in open-mouthed astonishment. “I…er…don’t know what to say. I’m confused. Everyone thinks…well, this wouldn’t be the first time everyone is wrong. I should probably be angry that you didn’t tell me, but I liked the confidence of thinking you knew what to do. Argh. Wait. Did you say I love you when we were in the inventing room?”

“Yes,” he confessed, for there was no point denying it now.

“Huh. Forgive me. I know this is an appalling response. So unromantic. But that was a lot of critical information in a short amount of time and my mind is faltering. I need to lie down.”

Finn smiled ruefully, ruthlessly suppressing any hurt that she couldn’t say I love you in return. “Humblest apologies, but I didn’t want any more secrets between us. Not after last night. That was special.”

“Then I also have a confession. I do not have my bleed. That was a foolish lie because I was unable to wrangle my emotions after seeing what I thought was you with your mistress and child. I do apologize.”

“How are we each going to atone?”

Pippa tapped her chin. “From a purely selfish point of view…you could feast on my pussy with the same reverence and delight that you just ate those caramels.”

She certainly deserved orgasms, after being so open and vulnerable during the night. He needed to give her time to ponder the other cannonballs he’d just dropped into the conversation, and to show with actions how he felt as well as words. “I will always feast on your pussy with great reverence and delight. Caramels have stoically accepted the fact that they are now second on my favorite flavor list. However…I wonder if we might do something new first. Something that I would trust only you with.”

“Oh?” she said casually, but interest glowed in her eyes. “Let me reassure you, my lord husband, that I would take very good care of you. I am vastly experienced. Two whole weeks’ worth.”