Page 68 of To Break the Rules

He guided her to the stairs and Aashini laughed, raising one eyebrow. “You have something to show me upstairs?” she teased as she put her foot on the first tread. “You do realise we’re married? There’s no need to resort to subterfuge.”

Silas gave a huff of laughter. “Give me a little credit, love,” he said, looking reproachful. “I have a present for you.”

“Oh!” Aashini beamed at him. “I like presents.”

“So do I,” Silas replied, holding her gaze. “And I can’t wait to unwrap mine.”

Aashini felt her cheeks heat at that comment, and couldn’t hold his gaze as he chuckled and led her to his bedroom.

She took a deep breath as she looked around, inhaling the masculine aroma of his room. Starched linen and the faint scent of bay rum cologne lingered; it seemed to slide over her skin, sending illicit thrills of excitement through her blood.

Silas left her to investigate his private sanctuary for a moment as he went through an adjoining door, and Aashini trailed her hands over heavy wood furniture and luxurious fabrics in shades of dark green and blue.

She turned as he came back, bearing a large, flat leather box and looking nervous but rather pleased with himself.

“Here,” he said, placing the box in her hands. “I took Dharani’s advice, but it was a hard thing to find at short notice.”

Curious, Aashini opened the box and gasped. Inside was a piece of traditional Indian jewellery: a maang tikka, which was worn over the forehead and into the hair. It was a large circle of jewels, surrounded by pearls that moved when she lifted the piece in her hands. In the centre was a large emerald, in the shape of a teardrop, surrounded by diamonds. From the large jewelled disc came fine gold strands, studded with pearls, that would lie in drapes over her hair.

Aashini’s throat grew tight as she moved her hands this way and that, watching the light catch the jewels and sparkle like a night sky.

“I….” she began, too overwhelmed to know what to say.

“We can change it,” Silas said, his voice urgent. “If it’s not right. Get something more to your taste. I’ll have it made for you. Hell, I have a dozen made if it would please you.”

Aashini shook her head, torn between laughter and tears, not for the first time that day.

“N-No,” she stammered. “It’s beautiful, glorious…. Oh, Silas, it’s perfect.”

She heard him exhale and looked up, his face blurred by the tears in her eyes.

“You really like it?”

“I really do,” she said. Just to reassure him she moved to stand before the full length looking glass in the corner of his room and held it up, showing him just how it ought to be worn.

Silas caught his breath as he stared over her shoulder at her.

“Astonishing,” he said, sounding awed and breathless. “My God, Aashini, what the devil did I do to deserve you?”

Aashini put the lovely gift back into its silk-lined box and closed the lid with care, setting it on the bedside table before turning to him and wrapping her arms about his waist.

“You were there when I needed you. When no one else was, when no one else troubled to look further than what they thought they saw, you did. You saw me, Silas, like no one has ever done before, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with you.”

She saw his throat working, and the emotion in his eyes as he lowered his head, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I love you,” he said, the words so sincere that her heart swelled.

“I know.”

She lifted her mouth to his, and he needed no further invitation. Aashini sank into his embrace, relishing the strength of him, the heat and the tenderness that lay in the big hands that caressed her back. He deepened the kiss, and she felt she could have purred like a happy cat as his touch eased away any nerves she might have had.

Dharani had never left her in ignorance, unlike many of the young ladies who had become her friends. Nani maa had always been of the opinion that one could not stop a scoundrel ruining you, if you didn’t know what tricks were up his sleeve, or anywhere else for that matter. Still, it was one thing understanding the mechanics in theory, and quite another to be facing your wedding night… but now, in her husband’s arms, she couldn’t think of a single thing to worry about.

He would take care of her, he would rather die than hurt her, and—if the pleasure simmering in her blood already was anything to go on—she was unlikely to leave this room in any way dissatisfied with her marriage.

“Aashini,” he whispered, and the sound of the name that had been lost to her for so long, whispered with such love, made her smile up at him. “I love this colour on you,” he murmured, tracing a finger over the neckline and making her shiver. “It reminds me of spring and sunshine, when everything is fresh and new and vibrant.” He paused and then gave her a wry smile. “Having said that… I can’t wait to get it off you.”

She laughed and turned around so he could do just that.