She studied his bare chest in awe and excitement. For someone who claimed to spend a lot of time with books, Theo was well-muscled. She’d seen him knock Montfort half way across the drive, so he wasn’t precisely the bookworm he claimed.
But despite all that powerful strength, Theo was careful in not pushing her too far, too fast. She appreciated his attention to detail, and relished his admiration as he opened her shift to gaze unabashedly on her breasts. But once he bent to taste her aroused nipples, the connection he’d already taught her between what he was doing and her womb drove her into a frenzy of desire.
She dared a touch to his dark nipple, and he moaned just as she had when he’d touched her. Liking that, she rubbed harder, then lifted herself to suckle as he’d done.
“Oh, gads, Aster!” Theo fell down on the mattress, carrying her on top of him. “You’re a brilliant student. Tell me what you’d like.”
“For you to show me what you like, then perhaps I’ll know.”
He suckled at her breast and ran his hand between her thighs to ply her there. Like the wanton she was, Aster spread her legs, begging for what he’d denied her earlier. She ached with need and was liquefying with lust.
Theo wasted no time in returning her to the mattress so he might remove the last bits of his clothing. Finally, she could admire all his glorious masculine nudity, although he did not give her much time to study his maleness. He dropped down on top of her, pushing her into the bed, using his powerful thighs to open her for the act she craved.
“It’s time, Theo,” she whispered urgently. “I won’t break, I promise. I need this.” She wasn’t entirely certain what she was saying, but her womb had been empty far longer than she’d ever wanted. If she was to ever have a child of her own . . . Ancient magic ruled the night. “Now, Theo, please.”
Their bodies shadowed his heavy arousal, but she felt the blunt thickness pushing at her slick entrance. He caressed her there, causing her to moan and lift into him in eagerness. He eased deeper. She raised her legs to surround his hips, desperate for completion. He pushed again, stretching her more.
“Oh, bloody hell, Aster. If I don’t take you now, I may combust,” he muttered, pulling back and surging forward again.
He still wasn’t completely inside her. She feared he was too big, that she was too small or unformed. But then she remembered this was where babies came from, and she grabbed his shoulders and pressed kisses everywhere she could reach. “Do it, Theo. Make me yours,” she urged.
With one final thrust, he broke her in two. She cried out her pain and delight and confusion—just as shots filled the air outside.
“Not stopping,” he muttered, pulling back and thrusting again, rubbing that place that made her swoon with need.
She dug her fingers into straining masculine muscles and lifted herself into him. “It’s good, Theo, it’s so good, don’t stop, don’t ever stop.”
And blessed man that he was, he filled her, he sent her reeling toward the stars, and while her body convulsed with the rapture he provided, he shouted his release and poured his life’s seed into her.
Twenty-eight
Theo wanted to sprawl forever on top of his magnificent wife and never have to leave this glorious haven again. But aware he was nearly twice her weight, he forced himself to roll over. A few more pops that sounded like gunfire split the air. “They may all shoot themselves,” he muttered, cuddling her warm curves against him.
“Watch the window,” she murmured sleepily. “If the sky explodes, it’s just my father.”
“Perfect sense,” he grumbled, prying open one eye while his brain screamed for insensibility. “Looks like a shooting star.”
“My father’s fireworks. He’s a madman.” She snuggled closer, bringing all her cinnamon-roses lusciousness into contact with his waking body.
“Fair enough. No wonder we don’t scare you. Go to sleep before I molest you again.” He sprawled on his stomach to quench arousal and circled her waist with one arm.
“Bathing room next time,” his redoubtable wife reminded him.
That wasn’t conducive to appeasing desire.
They slept despite the fireworks. They woke with the gray dawn and made love again.
And then, with the snickering unfamiliarity of newlyweds, they crept down to the attic suite where the confused maids had lit a fire and laid out robes on the untouched bed. Someone had thoughtfully added the cats.
Theo studied the striped creature clinging to the ancient draperies. “We might want shutters once we choose our rooms.”
“Tabby is intrepid. He’ll come down when he’s ready. Do we get to choose our own suite?” Aster asked with interest, gathering up a purring ball of black fur.
“I recommend installing an armed fortress to block passage to everything in the rear corridor in the wing furthest from my brothers and nearest the bathing room. All we’d need is access to the kitchen and we could forget everyone else exists.” Theo tied his banyan over his trousers and wondered if his valet was wandering the halls with his clothes in hand.
“That is admittedly tempting.” Aster set her cat on the bed. “I’m not accustomed to so much . . . interaction. May I transport my pillows and carpets from my London house?” She removed her wedding dress again, and tied on her sturdy flannel robe.
Theo scowled at the plaid abomination she was wearing. “When’s your birthday? I’m buying you a better robe.”
“October second, but we’ve better things to do than look for robes. Having all our clothes in one place might be useful though.” She gathered up her silk and lace and waited for him to open the door.
His hitherto undiscovered caveman side wanted to hide her out of sight of their families and keep her to himself. But he supposed he’d have to prove that his wife still lived before her father would leave them in peace.
Who was he trying to fool? Peace did not exist in Iveston.
As if to prove this truth, the nursery rang with wails as they passed by. Aster hesitated, but hearing Pascoe pleading with his offspring, Theo dragged her on.
On the next floor, Hugh and Hartley were dueling with canes they were probably supposed to be taking to their father. Theo guided Aster down the cross corridor to her old room and pressed a kiss to her brow. “Bathe, dress, we’ll tell the guests they can leave or we can, and we’ll pack a breakfast and hide.”
She laughed, kissed his jaw, and slipped into her room.
He really should have planned this better, but he was blamed lucky to have even arranged a marriage ceremony. He’d done it! He’d persuaded the fairy general to stay with him and she hadn’t run off! Theo nearly strutted back to his chamber.
Of course, now he had to ensure that his bride would not abandon him after the fact. This thinking of others business was rough.
He let Duncan’s valet shave and dress him. Theo resented the necessity, but if he was to act in Duncan’s stead, then he must make some attempt to keep up appearances, at least while Aster’s family hung about. Besides, she had seemed to appreciate his sartorial elegance yesterday and at the tea party—until he’d had to stamp out flames.
He refused to go downstairs until Aster was ready. With the new freedom of a married man, he knocked on her door and slipped past her maid when she opened it. His bride smiled in delight. Reassured by her welcome, Theo kissed her brow and finished hooking one of the gowns her sister had brought with her.
“It’s raining again. Let’s play house,” he murmured.
She laughed and slipped from his grasp. “First, let’s see if we are to be rid of my family and half of yours or if I must tell Cook to butcher a herd to keep them fed. Then we can play house.”
“Feeding the savages keeps them occupied, understood,” he said wisely.
She took his arm. “Having so many people here at once offers easier opportunities to escape,” she assured him. “They can entertain each other.”
The rotunda was already filling with boxes and trunks, Theo noted
in relief. Aster might believe that guests entertained one another, but he knew his family better. War and chaos ensued when they were trapped in one place for any length of time.
The newly redecorated dining chamber was crammed with people in travel dress filling their plates and roaming about, reminding each other of tasks to be completed before they left. Only half of them even bothered looking up when Theo led his bride into their midst. The women, of course, swooped in with a flutter of perfumes and petticoats to hug and kiss Aster. Unused to this much femininity in one place, Theo reluctantly released her and made his way to his new father-in-law.
“The fireworks were . . . entertaining,” Theo said dryly.
“Glad you enjoyed them,” the earl roared, slamming him on the back. “Bring Aster up to see us and you’ll see real fireworks! When will you be coming?”
“When Aster says the time is right,” Theo replied, realizing Aster’s charts made a grand excuse for almost anything.
“She’ll dilly-dally if you let her,” Lochmas warned. “If she says a date might be a good time, settle on it right then or she’ll come back a minute later and tell ye there’s a bad star on the right or summat of that sort. Take her in hand!”
Theo grinned to himself at the idea of taking Aster in hand—he doubted if his interpretation was the same as her father’s. “Right you are,” he said jovially. “I take it everyone is set on leaving today?”
“Pascoe’s been telling me of some Luddites who want to turn back time, stop canals, close the turnpikes, and build medieval castles or lunacy of the sort. They’re a danger to the likes of us. I’ll be going up to London with him to see if there’s aught we can do to end their depredations. He told you about guarding the manufactory, did he now?” The earl wasn’t roaring, but speaking urgently, casting a glance about the room half full of women.
“He did. My men have been warned, but I can’t buy an army to guard all the machinery. There can never be progress if we must constantly be looking over our shoulders! We’ll just deal with problems as they arrive.” Annoyed at being dragged into business on what he considered his honeymoon, Theo began filling his plate.
Aster’s Aunt Daphne sailed up to join them. “I have half a dozen more workhouse girls to send down for training. Pascoe says he’s stealing one of Aster’s half-trained maids for his twins. You’ll need to set up a nursery to train more.”
Theo coughed and the earl roared his laughter.
***
Aster glanced up to see Theo’s ears turning red and her father laughing like a fool. Aunt Daphne appeared mildly offended. All was well with her world.
Her new husband had refused to don a high shirt collar, as usual, and he’d already loosened his neckcloth, but his form-fitting black coat and white trousers had her sighing with lust.
“Did you have a chance to observe Theo’s brothers?” she asked Emilia, watching Theo rather than the company. “I need to see how this new planet affects my charts. I can start on the one you’re interested in, if so.”
Emilia answered with a verbal shrug. “They’re all handsome. If all they need of me is money, then the younger ones will suit. The marquess is a demanding sort, though.”
“All right, I’ll look at Lord Erran, William, and Jacques.” Although Aster had her doubts about all three. They didn’t really need money, but she thought they might need women to look after them—as Theo had. And Emilia wouldn’t do it. “I’m just not entirely certain this is the best way to approach your need for funds.”
“I’m not likely to fall in love,” Emilia reminded her. “I don’t have time. I need to be back in my laboratory today, if I could just persuade Mother to hurry up.”
Now they both watched the other side of the room where Daphne had caught Theo’s studious attention.
“I’m not entirely certain I can train as many servants as she wishes,” Aster said doubtfully. “This house needs a great deal of attention, and I still have my charts to keep up. It would be lovely to have a few servants who actually know what they’re doing, but I’d feel as if I was letting your mother down.”
“Hire teachers,” Emilia suggested.
“Not if I have to train them too! But I suppose I could make a few inquiries. We could transform Iveston into a school for professional servants,” she added with a laugh.
“Training people makes more sense than sending them to the workhouse. Then all you’d have to do is figure out what to do with all Aunt Gwenna’s maimed children.” She patted Aster sympathetically on the shoulder.
“Now that I’ve acquired a husband, I fear that task must fall on Brianna or one of our cousins. Surely one of us has a gift for that sort of thing.” Aster fretted at her bottom lip, knowing her aunts had been depending on her—but so was Theo.
She had been selfish in choosing to take this opportunity for a family instead of remaining single, but she still didn’t regret it. Perhaps if she never looked at her charts again, she could live like everyone else and blithely take one day at a time.
That would be truly selfish. Her duty was to protect and aid her family, and her gift was reading the stars. Theo knew she couldn’t just be a housewife. She feared life would become very complicated once this moment of happiness passed.
Hearing Pascoe coming down the stairs with his excited toddlers, Aster realized she now had more than herself and Theo and their respective families and problems to fret over. Soon, they might have their own nursery. When would she have time to chart the planets?
Her various duties nagged at her as she saw her family off. She cried as she hugged them and sent them away, not knowing when or if she’d see them again. She was not so very far from her London relations, but until she saw her chart clear, she wasn’t certain how often she dared visit.
Theo held her as they waved farewell to the carriages rolling down the drive. Fighting tears, she clung to his strength for these few minutes. Learning to deal with each other and their new relationship was the real test ahead of them, not this parting.
As they left the portico and returned to the rotunda, Duncan’s angry shouts rang overhead, a couple of the puppies escaped the conservatory, with one of the twins chasing after them, and the housekeeper awaited Aster’s orders. This was her future.
She hesitated, overwhelmed, but Theo was made of sterner stuff. “Meet us upstairs, Mrs. Smith,” he ordered, marching for the stairs. “Bring a few strong footmen and your maids with you. We have work to do.”
Aster hitched up her skirt and hurried after him, heart foolishly singing. Theo might declare himself a bookworm, but he knew how to take charge when he wanted. He was a handsome man, but when his jaw set like that, he was swoon-worthy.
“We’ll need carpenters,” Theo declared as he led his parade down the intersecting corridor to the west wing where her female relations had stayed. “We’ll add a wall and entrance door across here.”
He gestured to an area half way down the rear wing. “Aster, do you want a parlor in front? I think we could knock out the bedchamber walls and extend a room across here.” He indicated the area just past where he wanted the door.
Delighted with the notion of designing her own suite, Aster opened the doors to the small chambers on either side. “There won’t be a lot of light, but we could add a chandelier over the entrance. These old pieces will need to be hauled to the attic. Mrs. Smith, can you direct that?”
The portly housekeeper nodded officiously and gestured for one of the footmen to begin dismantling old beds. “New draperies, my lady?”
“Yes, certainly, once the carpenters are done. We could remove these now before the mess ensues. Perhaps some of the fabric is salvageable?”
Uninterested in draperies, Theo proceeded down the corridor, opening more doors. “This one for the master chamber, I believe.” He stood aside so Aster could admire the spacious room he’d chosen. “Do you require a separate chamber or should we turn the next one into dressing rooms?”
Aster covered her mouth and t
hought of the immensity of what he was asking in front of all their servants. Privacy was obviously not part of the routine here. Rather than answer, she crossed to the connecting door and peered in. “This chamber would make a lovely large dressing room with small bedchambers on either side.”
She’d leave it up to everyone else to decide whether one of the beds was for her or for her maid. For herself—she’d rather sleep with Theo. She glanced up and saw a sparkle of approval in his eyes. Good. She’d done one thing right today—proving theirs was definitely not a marriage in name only. She was ready to shut everyone out and return to Theo’s bed, except they really didn’t have one of their own yet.
He crossed the corridor to two similar rooms. “Our offices?”
Aster tried not to let her mouth drop open. “Our very own private offices where we can work uninterrupted?”
“The very same,” he said in triumph. “We will lock the front entrance against all intruders and have locks for our offices as well. It will require fire and blood before anyone is allowed to disturb us.”
“You learn well,” she said with laughter. She swept into a peacock-blue room adorned only with an ancient chest of drawers and a vanity. The wooden floor was scarred but solid. The window overlooked the abandoned courtyard and what had once been a rose-covered stone wall. “I want this one. I shall have my charts brought down so I might start work at once.”
“What about the salon, my lord?” Mrs. Smith asked worriedly, nodding her head toward the end of the corridor.
Aster followed them down to the unexplored reaches of the wing. Double doors opened onto a marvelous expanse of windows, old carpets, fading drapery, and a vast collection of ornate gilded chairs and tables apparently stored here to protect them against dogs and boys. The ceiling had been painted and plastered in the style of Adams, and the fireplace surround was decorated in the same style with blue cameos, gilded plaster roping, and hand-painted flowers.
“Oh, this must have been grand!” She raced from window to window. “Why will this not be our parlor instead of destroying those front rooms?”
Magic in the Stars Page 25
