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Even after three decades of marriage, Evie’s heart still skipped a beat at the sight of her husband, formerly Lord St. Vincent, now the Duke of Kingston.
“The rest of the world can wait,” Sebastian said firmly. “I’m going to debauch you for the ten thousandth time, Evie—and for once, I want you to pay attention.”
“Also, my legs are skinny. Like a stork’s.” At the indecent mention of body parts, Lord Chaworth gasped audibly, while Lord Westcliff developed a sudden keen interest in the nearby cabbage roses.
“A wallflower,” he said softly, with a faint, reminiscent smile on his lips.
Evie had been more than a little embarrassed to find herself with child at her age, especially in the face of her husband’s teasing claims that she was a walking advertisement of his potency. And indeed, there had been a hint of extra swagger in Sebastian’s step all through his wife’s last pregnancy.
“Dangerous creatures, wallflowers. Approach them with the utmost caution. They sit quietly in corners, appearing abandoned and forlorn, when in truth they’re sirens who lure men to their downfall. You won’t even notice the moment she steals the heart right out of your body—and then it’s hers for good. A wallflower never gives your heart back.”
A woman will always surprise you with what she’s capable of. You can spend a lifetime trying to discover what excites and interests her, but you’ll never know it all. There’s always more. Every woman is a mystery, not to be understood but enjoyed.”
Flushing, Gabriel struggled to explain without making himself sound like a depraved freak of nature. “The problem is that I require particular . . . that is . . . she lets me . . .” He broke off with a guttural curse. “Every man has his tastes,” Sebastian said sensibly. “I doubt yours are all that shocking.”
“Marriage is usually the worst thing to happen to a woman. Fortunately, that never stops them.”
“Pandora, sweetheart, do you think any of us could ever be happy if you were mistreated? West or I would end up killing the bastard.” Overwhelmed with gratitude, Pandora felt her eyes sting. How strange it was that her parents and brother were gone, and yet she’d never felt so much like part of a family.
The word “mistress” sounds like a cross between mistake and mattress.
“Because marriage is more than a legal arrangement. It’s about companionship, security, desire, love. Are none of those things important to you?”
Good God, she really did walk in circles. A pang of tenderness centered in Gabriel’s chest like an ache. He wanted all her circles to lead back to him.
“Lunkhead, you’re not even listening. You’ve already decided to marry her, and damn the consequences.”
“Am I staring? Forgive me. It’s only that I adore the way you laugh.”
“Like silver wind chimes in a summer breeze.” “That’s not at all how it sounds,” Pandora scoffed. “But that’s how it makes me feel.”
“Because I’ve worried for the past three days that I did it wrong.” “No, never, darling.” Gabriel sat up a little and cradled her more closely against him. Nuzzling her cheek, he whispered, “Isn’t it obvious that everything about you gives me pleasure?” “Even when I plunder and pillage like a Viking?” she asked darkly. “Pirate. Yes, especially then.”
“Being imaginative and playful doesn’t make you any less of an adult,” Gabriel said gently. “It only makes you a more interesting one.” No one had ever said anything like that to her before, praising her faults as if they were virtues.
“What happened? My God, you’re shaking. Are you afraid of the dark? The storm?” He kissed her damp forehead and pressed soothing murmurs into her hair. “Easy. Softly, now. You’re safe in my arms. Nothing’s going to harm you, my sweet girl.”
“I’ve noticed you don’t hear as well on this side,” he said quietly. “Is that part of the problem?”
Taking one of her hands in his, Gabriel lifted it to his lips. He wove a pattern of gentle kisses over her cold fingers. “Pandora . . . what happened to your ear?”
he used one arm to bring her back against his side. “No, don’t pull away. Tell me what happened.”
“But ignoring the problem with my ear didn’t make it disappear. Whenever I couldn’t hear something, or when I stumbled or fell, it made my mother very angry. She said I’d been clumsy because I was hasty or careless. She wouldn’t admit there was anything wrong with my hearing.
“I want to talk about how beautiful you are. About how you smell like white flowers and open windows and spring rain. About how soft and sweet you are . . . so sweet . . .”
“Pandora,” he said when the kiss broke, “you can touch me any way you’d like. You can do anything that pleases you.”
“The safest place in the world for you is in my arms.”
“Does it make you nervous to feel how much I want you? The only purpose of this”—he nudged upward gently—“is to give you pleasure.”
“But wouldn’t it be dull if ever-after was always happy, with no difficulties or problems to solve? Ever-after is far more interesting than that.”
Fact #99 Men are like chocolate bonbons. The ones with the most attractive outsides have the worst fillings.
“You’re crying because you want to marry me,” he said. “Is that it?” “No.” A hiccupping sob escaped her. “I’m crying because I don’t want to not marry you.”
“Also, she told me I was a donkey-headed halfwit if I didn’t marry you.” “We’ll keep her,” he said decisively.
He adored her. There was no one like her, and she belonged to him completely . . . although he knew better than to say that out loud.
He looked into the midnight blue of her eyes, and was pierced with a tenderness so acute that it made him want to weep. “There’s my girl,” he whispered.
Take one overwrought husband and administer compulsory bed rest. Apply as many embraces and kisses as necessary until symptoms are relieved. Repeat as needed.
“You probably already know this,” she said bluntly, “but I love you. In fact, I love you so much that I don’t mind your monotonous handsomeness, your prejudice against certain root vegetables, or your strange preoccupation with spoon-feeding me. I’m never going to obey you. But I’m always going to love you.”
“I love you more than I can bear. You’re everything to me. You’re the reason the earth turns and morning follows night. You’re the meaning of primroses and why kissing was invented. You’re the reason my heart beats. God help me, I’m not strong enough to survive without you. I need you too much . . . I need you . . .”
“But for now all I want is to hold you, Pandora . . . my heart, my slow waltz, my sweet fate. Let me watch over your dreams tonight . . . and in the morning I’ll worship you as you deserve. What do you say to that?”
Gabriel nuzzled the upswept locks near her temple. “I love your hair,” he murmured. “It’s like midnight in my hands.”
“No matter what happens, my love, you know you’ll never have to be afraid of the dark. I’ll always be there to keep you from falling.”
