Matthew laughed at that, and wrinkled his nose. "A not entirely flattering comparison, but fairly apt considering."
"You know what I mean. And we all of us have feet of clay, as the Bible says."
"Some of us more than others."
"You're doing it again, Matthew, blaming yourself," she said, cupping his cheek.
"You're right, darling, blame is pointless. So let's just say I've grown older and wiser thanks to the wisdom of my most wonderful wife, and leave it at that." He kissed her hand, and smiled.
"Then you don't blame me for going with Philip."
He shook his head. "Now that I know everything, how could I. Which is not to say that I'm totally at ease with what nearly happened. So you will have to forgive me, Mrs. Dane, and understand that for the next seven months, and indeed the rest of your life, I'm going to pamper, spoil and cosset you. And from now on it's me who is going to protect you, keep you safe. No more sneaking off with my friends on some pilgrimage of justice."
"You have no call to be jealous," she said quietly.
He kissed her ardently, tasting her like fine wine. When he spoke again a short time later, he said in all sincerity, "I know, I'm not. Philip loves Jasmine and you love me. But he should never have asked--"
She shook her head. "He didn't ask. I talked him into it. You know how persuasive I can be." She winked at him jovially.
He said in tones of mock severity, "So long as you didn't use the same methods!"
She gripped his hand hard. "Not at all. They're reserved for my most darling husband. So if you're done berating me, how about removing that surfeit of clothing you have on and giving me a kiss."
He looked more than happy to, and stripped off quickly. Once he was bare, she got in under the covers and lifted one corner invitingly.
He slid in beside Althea and wrapped his arms around her as though he would never let her go. She snuggled against him for a moment, and then began to kiss her way down his chest.
"Oh, no, Althea. No."
"It's all right," she murmured against his heated flesh.
"But I don't want you to because you think-"
"We've been through this before, darling. You have to believe me now. I want to. Trust me. It's not about thinking."
"It's all about trusting me though, isn't it?"
Her blue gaze met his head on. "Yes. I trust you with all that I have, all that I ever am or shall be. No more barriers, please?"
She suckled him until he panted her name pleadingly, then slid back up his body in a lingering caress. But before he could roll her under him, she turned on her side to put her back to him, and lifted one leg.
"No, love, I know you get nervous about this position after everything. I don't want you to feel scared or-"
She shook her head and smiled. "I'm not. In fact I'm looking forward to it. I'm told it creates an entirely new sensation when it glides against me inside, and you can even use both hands to fondle me all over. Let's try it at least."
Matthew slipped carefully into her feminine core and she immediately clamped around him eagerly. He teased her nipples to crested fullness, and his fingers were never still upon her delicate whorl.
She climaxed long and hard, and he was grateful when she turned her head for a kiss so he could muffle her increasingly ardent cries before she woke the entire inn.
They would both have been mortified if they could have seen Blake and Philip listen, laugh, and toast each other in the bar downstairs.
"Here's to true love," Philip said.
The doctor nodded. "True love! Wherever one may find it."
When at last they were both spent, Althea breathed, "Oh my. That was wonderful. And to think I've been missing out on that all this time."
"Well, you never will again. Anything you want, love, to make you and the baby happy, you have only to ask."
"There is one thing," she said shyly.
"Name it," he insisted, his expression once more open, warm, and carefree, as it had been when he was a young man.
"I wouldn't mind if you..." She whispered the rest in his ear, blushing.
He laughed long and hard. "Where did you-" He chuckled. "I guess I can't be mad at Philip any more after all."
"Well, he did say sharing fantasies tenderly could be a wonderful part of marriage," she said with a flutter of her eyelashes.
He pressed himself even more tightly against her, the warmth of the contact filling them both with the joyous exhilaration that had now become so familiar, but was still never enough.
And was not terrifying for them any longer, now that they had put the demons of their past to rest.
"I don't need fantasies when my reality is so incredibly wonderful. But you're right, my darling Althea. Fantasies, hopes, wishes, we have it all, and so much more, a dream come true. Sharing all of that with you is what being married is all about. I'll gladly share all that's in my heart and mind with you from now on, my lovely wife, with the greatest of sensual pleasure, I hope.
"And not just share my romantic side with you, darling Althea, but the whole of my life, every part of me, body, heart and soul, forever and ever."
She gazed at him, seeing the promise of an eternity of bright happiness glowing in Matthew's sparkling turquoise eyes. Not a doubt crossed her mind as she vowed, "Forever, my dearest love."
AUTHORS'S NOTE
As I have progressed in this series, the Rakehells have really come into their own, a group of friends who would do anything for each other.
Yet throughout the series, I have also had to come up with women who could compliment them well, and deal with real issues without the absurd bickering which counts for so-called sexual tension in many of the romance novels I have the misfortune to pick up these days.
Another area where I feel that many romances go wrong is in not recollecting that the central focus of the attention in the book is upon the couple falling in love. They have to work out problems both internally and externally, but the love is supposed to be there and growing.
Another problem I have found in 'romance' novels is the so-called love scenes, often gratuitous, and in at least eight out of ten cases violent non-consensual ones in which the woman quite clearly says no, and yet is told she 'wants it anyway.' Has her wrists pinned down, for example, and 'gets it.'
This is not entertainment so far as I am concerned. Nor is it love. It is rape. The sooner women complain to the big publishing houses about these types of stories, the sooner they will be seen for the exploitation they are. A man can be a brilliant lover without being a brutal Alpha male. Nor does strength have to equate with violence.
As you can see, my couples are all very sexually active and quite playful and have many interesting fantasies, but they are not brutal or exploitative. If they're playing games, they have quite clear rules, and a great deal of trust involved.
Matthew's problem at the start of the novel was that he thought he was indulging in a simple sexual game. Only when it went wrong did he realise that for many women, being forced to submit to a man's will was not a game at all, but a sad fact of life.
The later Rakehells are lusty, but intentionally offer a contrast with the depraved men and women who appear as my villains, who are sadly true to life.
Also, historically speaking, sex always had consequences in one form or another in this period of time, just as it does today. A sensible and intelligent Society chap or woman looked before they leapt. Just read Pepys' seventeenth-century diary if you want more detailed information on his 'armour' and rather rakish sex life!
The bizarre little cabal in Enfield is based in part on true stories of what the Hell Fire Club got up to, and other gentleman's clubs as well, which were little better than high-class bordellos and gambling dens.
If men continue to objectify women, and see them as victims to be preyed upon, these sorts of abuses depicted in the book will continue even hundreds of years after the last Hell Fire Club meeting.
I enjoyed catching u
p with all of the Rakehells, and of course Alistair still has to meet the woman of his dreams, in the novel Ruthless. He has been sadly neglected--he was supposed to have had his turn after Philip Marshall's story, but some of the other books branched off from Blake's story Guardian of the Heart and Michael Avenel's The Model Master. Thus the years passed by, over ten in terms of the chronology of the series.
My only excuse is one has to go with the inspiration and see where it takes one. There are a few other loose ends to tie up as well for this whole series, as you can guess, which originally started out at a trilogy and has expanded beyond all my expectations.
My only excuse is that I simply adore the Duke of Ellesmere, Philip, Michael and Randall. They most definitely have an interesting collection of friends. And I love giving all of them happy endings, even when (and especially if) they have had a hard time in life.
As you may have guessed, I also love to have my couples meet in the most unusual of circumstances, and am a firm believer in love at first sight! And in the power of love above all.
In the next novels in the series, we see a former Rakehell return to the fold after years abroad, in Experience, and will also soon return to Brimley to see the divine Ash Paignton become The Model Husband.
All Titles by Author
If you enjoyed this novel, then I am sure you will enjoy other novels by Sorcha MacMurrough
The Mad Mistress
The Missed Match
The Miss Matched
The Matchless Miss
Scars Upon the Heart
The Scarred Heart
Guardian of the Heart
The Mistaken Miss
The Model Master
The Model Mistress
Innocence
Innocence Afire
Ravished
Experience
The Model Husband
Ruthless
Madness
Beguiled
Beguiled Anew
Ghost from the Past
Star Attraction
The Faithful Heart
The Sea of Love
The Rakehell Regency Romance Series Boxed Set 4 (The Rakehell Regency Romance Series Boxed Sets) Page 77
