Page 49 of A Rogues & Gentlemen Christmas

She watched him blink, such an incredulous expression on his face she might have laughed if she’d not been so anxious.

“What?”

“Oh,” she said, twisting her hands together. “Don’t make me say it again. It’s only… I thought before that… that you did, and you said I was lovely, and I… well, I believed you, which was probably foolish of me, but… but if you meant it, why… w-why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

“God,” he said with feeling. “I’m a stupid bastard as well as a selfish one. What a catch you are, Ludo.”

Bunty’s eyes grew wide at his language, but she said nothing as he was moving closer, putting his arms around her, pulling her close.

“Not want you?” he said on a breath of laughter. “How could you think such a thing?”

“Well.” Bunty licked her lips, trying and failing not to stare at his mouth. “You seemed so nervous, and I thought perhaps you didn’t want to, or that you’d changed your mind.”

Ludo groaned and pressed his forehead gently against hers.

“Forgive me. I’m such a fool, it’s only….”

“Only?” she pressed as he paused, looking embarrassed.

“It’s only I wanted everything to be perfect, but I have to bring you here to this wretched place and you must surely regret agreeing to marry me, and then I realised that you’d never… that you hadn’t…. That you were a virgin, and I’m worried because I don’t want to hurt you, and….” He huffed out a bitter laugh. “You’d think the one thing I could do with no trouble was take you to bed, but no, I’m a bundle of nerves and I can’t even get that right.”

“Oh.” Bunty reached up and cupped his beautiful face, joy bubbling through her blood like the champagne bottle had burst inside her veins. “You wanted to make me happy.”

He nodded.

“Ludo?”

“Yes,” he said cautiously.

“I’m so very glad I married you.”

“You are?”

Bunty nodded. “I think I made a wise choice, and I believe that everyone will see that one day, but I don’t care how long it takes, as long as you are glad too?”

“Bunty,” he whispered. “Oh, God, love. I’ve never been gladder of anything in my whole life.”

She laughed then. “How foolish we both are. From now on we must speak our minds and not fret about what each other is thinking, but ask. Don’t you agree?”

A slightly wicked glint lit his eyes, but he nodded.

“I do,” he said. “Why don’t you do that, then?”

“Do what?”

“Ask me what I’m thinking.”

Bunty swallowed, a little daunted now, but determined not to be silly. “W-What are you thinking, Ludo?”

He leaned in and nipped at her earlobe, making her gasp, and then whispered in her ear. “I’m thinking I should like you to take your clothes off now.”

Bunty blushed as an odd mixture of anxiety and excitement coiled low in her belly.

“Oh.”

“Mmmm,” he murmured, kissing a path down her neck before returning to nuzzle the tender spot beneath her ear. “I want to unwrap my prize.”

“I thought you were nervous.”