Page 44 of A Necessary Wife

No, of course not, but he had shared this with his first wife, at least in the beginning.

His fingers curled around her skull, drawing her down to rest against his shoulder, and his lips continued to brush across her brow.

Eventually, he eased from her body and put her aside on the settee. Her legs still tangled with his, but she drew herself away, feeling awkward in the aftermath of intimacy. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Well, my lord…”

He turned to face her, frowning. “Amelia? Did I hurt you and not notice?”

“Oh no, but feeling a little awkwardness is natural, isn’t it? Now that we are done and in the light of day.”

She had never been naked around anyone but a maid or her mother.

He swept her hair behind her shoulder, his eyes searching hers. “Such encounters do not have to end abruptly between us or be awkward. We will be married for a long time. Your comfort is important to me.”

Amelia bit her lip but then nodded. “I will get used to this, I promise.”

“You don’t have to get used to it. If you are not comfortable, though, I need to know immediately.”

She studied him, let her eyes sweep over his nakedness. She felt a twinge between her legs that had everything to do with desire. She relaxed and sat back again. “Give me time to adjust to being like this with you.”

“All the years you need,” he promised. He rose, kicked off his lower garments and, naked as the day he was born, strode toward the dressing screen. Amelia’s breath caught again when he returned, holding his robe for her to put on. She stood and let him dress her in it and sat down again at his urging.

She was intrigued and aroused by their nakedness, though. Nothing had prepared her for the sight of a nude man, strutting around his bedchamber as if it was completely natural.

She couldn’t look away from his body, and he noticed.

His member was softer now but seemed to thicken and move under her gaze.

Her eyes flew to his, and he smiled. “It has a mind of its own, but I think you need time to recover your strength before we are intimate again.”

Amelia’s breath shuddered out of her, and she might have argued for more immediately had a knock not sounded on their door.

Chatham sighed. “What is it?”

“Forgive the interruption. His Grace wishes to speak with you urgently,” the butler, Mr. Brown, called out.

Amelia stood, embarrassed as she snatched up her discarded clothing. Her gown was horribly wrinkled, and she would need another before anyone saw her. “One moment,” she called.

“Forgive me, but His Grace only wishes to speak with his son,” Brown added, sounding aggrieved by the distinction he was forced to make.

Amelia was relieved, though. She would need time to recover her composure.

Chatham plucked the gown from her fingers and tossed it to the floor again. He tried to pull her into his arms. “Tell him we are busy.”

“I am told to say, ‘Now’.”

Amelia put her hand on Chatham’s chest and pushed him back. “You should go to your father. Besides, I need some time to repair myself after…”

Chatham’s smile turned distinctively smug. He held her against him and planted another hungry kiss on her lips. They grappled for a moment, caught by a flurry of renewed desire brought on no doubt by their state of undress, until the knock came again, and louder.

Chatham cursed and drew back. “Just when things were about to get interesting again.”

“There could be plenty of time for interesting later tonight,” she promised, hoping that might be true.

“Every night if I have my way, my delectable wife,” he said, raising her hand to his lips and dropping a kiss on her wedding band.

Then he rushed about, throwing on his clothes and tossing hers onto the bed as he found them. It was fascinating, watching him make himself presentable again.

When he was finally done, he bowed to her and swept out of the room—as immaculate as ever.