“It did not seem so,” she said in a small voice. “Since we spoke our vows, you have grown more and more distant by the day.”
“I know, and I regret my retreat, sweetheart. My only excuse is that I needed time to acknowledge my feelings for you.”
Capturing her hand in his, Rayne laced their fingers together. “I should have suspected my undoing much earlier. When I was with you, you drove me wild, and when we were apart, I thought about you constantly. The most telling sign, though, was that I flew into a jealous rage every time Ackerby came near you, when normally I am notoriously even-tempered.”
Both of Madeline’s eyebrows lifted. “You really were jealous?”
“Supremely.”
She shook her head, marveling at Rayne’s admission. “I have never known any man to feel jealousy on my account.”
“I was, fiercely. That was the chief reason I was so enraged when you set off for Maidstone. I thought you intended to meet Ackerby for a tryst.”
“I did plan to meet him eventually, but not for the reasons you thought. I was trying to save my brother.”
“I realize that now … but at the time I was too blinded by my own past. I feared history was repeating itself with you. But it was absurd to link you with my first love. You are nothing like her in numerous respects.”
Madeline met his gaze questioningly. “What hurt most was that you mistrusted me enough to think me guilty of infidelity.”
The regret in Rayne’s eyes was unmistakable. “I am sorry, love. But once my suspicions took root, they fed upon each other. And in my own defense, there were a number of other reasons I began to doubt you. Not the least was because you suddenly became a different woman than the one I wed. You were clearly working your feminine wiles on me—exactly the way my former love had done.”
It was Madeline’s turn to look guilty. “You weren’t mistaken, Rayne. I was purposely acting the seductress.”
“Why?
“Because I was madly in love with you, and I wanted you to love me in return.”
His gaze fixed on her, fierce and intent. “You love me?”
She nodded. “I have for a while.”
The brightness in his blue eyes took on an even deeper glow. “Thank God,” he murmured fervently, tightening his hand around hers.
“It was why I agreed to marry you,” Madeline added, “and why I tried so hard to seduce you.” Her lips twisted in a rueful smile. “How ironic. In my attempt to become more alluring, I only drove you further away.”
Rayne laughed softly yet disagreed with her observation. “I wouldn’t say you drove me away. The more seductive you were, the harder I fell.”
“You fooled me completely.”
“I fooled myself as well. It was only when I learned from Daphne what my grandmother planned that the truth hit me about my feelings for you. And then I feared I was too late—that you would accept her offer before I had a chance to dissuade you.”
“I would not have made so crucial a decision on Lady Haviland’s word alone, Rayne. I intended to go to London to see you first, but I didn’t want to interrupt your efforts to save the Regent’s life. I still don’t. Shouldn’t you be in London just now?”
“No. Prinny is safe for the time being.”
“So you broke the ring of potential assassins?”
“Barely an hour ago … and afterward I rode straight here.”
“I never doubted you would succeed in stopping them,” Madeline said admiringly. Then she shuddered upon recalling her painful suspicions. “You can’t imagine how relieved I was to learn why you were avoiding Riverwood and staying in London so often instead. I feared you were keeping a mistress.”
“I am not, Madeline.”
“But you implied as much yesterday.”
“It was cruel of me to mislead you. Can you ever forgive me?” The flash of tenderness in his eyes was so naked and intense, yet so soft, her heart melted.
“Of course.” She could forgive Rayne anything now that she could believe she had captured his heart.
He slid an arm around her shoulders. “I haven’t so much as thought of another woman since I met you.”
“Truly?”
“Yes, truly.”
The expression in Rayne’s eyes, so filled with desire and tenderness, set her heart to thudding. He intended to kiss her at last, Madeline thought with joyous anticipation.
He brought his fingers to the thickly beating pulse at her throat, then cupped and tilted the back of her head. His warm breath caressed her mouth before his lips began to play over hers with delectable pressure. Then slowly, his tongue slid into her mouth, tangling in a sensual dance.
Madeline moaned helplessly and raised her hands to his silky, raven hair. His kiss was tender, magical; the sensations he roused were spellbinding. His tongue stroked provocatively against hers, seducing, while his lips molded, tasted, teased.
His exquisite assault stirred a wildness in her blood and reawakened the intense yearning inside Madeline. When he at last broke off, she was breathing heavily. She wanted to protest his cessation, but Rayne pressed his lips into her hair, and drew her close against him.
With a dreamy sigh, Madeline rested her head against his shoulder. “I still find it hard to credit that you fell in love with me,” she said after a moment. “How did it happen? I am nothing like the other candidates you were considering for marriage. Certainly I am no beauty.”
She felt the tenderness in his touch as he caressed her nape. “I see I will have to cure you of a grave misconception, darling. You are the most beautiful, the most desirable, the most special woman I have ever known. And I love you dearly.”
I love you dearly. Madeline closed her eyes to savor the most beautiful words she had ever heard.
“I couldn’t help but love you,” Rayne continued thoughtfully. “I think it began when you threatened me with your pistol the very first time I met you.”
A teasing note of humor had entered his voice, but Madeline still took issue with his claim. “I never actually threatened you that first time, you will remember.”
“No, you saved your threats for when I dueled with Ackerby.” Rayne chuckled softly. “It’s fortunate I like my women strong and feisty.”
She pulled back to eye him. “You think me feisty?”
“That, among many other estimable attributes. You’re kind, brave, honorable, caring, clever, resourceful….
Your spirit, your wit, your liveliness, your warmth, your sense of adventure, all captured my heart.”
Warmed all over by his praise, Madeline smiled with quiet delight. “I confess I have never thought of myself as adventuresome.”
“You must be. I’ve had more adventures in the past fortnight than in the past two years. Come to think of it, I haven’t had a tame moment since your advent into my life. But that is just the way I want it.”
“Are you certain, Rayne?”
He might have heard a trace of lingering doubt in her question, for he caught her chin and stared at her steadily. “Utterly certain, my love. You are far more than I bargained for in a wife, but exactly what I want.”
When Madeline remained silent, drinking in his reassuring gaze, Rayne ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I’ve told you from the first that you have too little faith in your own appeal.”
“So you did, but I didn’t believe you really meant it.”
“I trust you will believe me now.”
“Yes—but was it any wonder I didn’t think you could ever love me when you would not even remain with me on our wedding night?”
“No, it’s no wonder. It was unforgivable of me, I know.”
Madeline narrowed her brows at him. “We have yet to spend even one night together, let alone share our nuptial bed.”
Looking repentant, Rayne pressed a light kiss on her lips. “I mean to remedy that directly. You are sleeping in my bed from now on. Beginning tonight.”
Madeline gave a sigh of satisfaction and approval
and rested her head once more on his shoulder.
“You made an accomplished seductress, I must say,” Rayne remarked, pressing a kiss on her hair this time.
She smiled again. “I had help. I thought I needed more ammunition to capture a man like you, so I asked Arabella and Roslyn how they had made their husbands love them. They were kind enough to advise me, and one of their courtesan friends taught me some of her arts.”
“A courtesan? Indeed? I should like to hear that tale.”
Madeline’s face flushed, but she decided not to mention Fanny Irwin’s advice book to young ladies on capturing a husband, or her even more personal instruction on seduction. “I may tell you someday, but for now I mean to keep my techniques to myself. You have too many advantages as it is.”
“Very well, but otherwise, I suggest we strive for more openness from now on. We’ve kept too many secrets between us. No more secrets, love, agreed?”
She lifted her head to look at him again. “What about your spy secrets?”
“Well, some of those may have to remain confidential,” Rayne admitted.
“So you mean to continue your spy career?”
“The Foreign Office has little need for diplomatic intelligence at present, but I’m considering working for the Home Office. I haven’t decided yet. I may be occupied enough keeping Freddie out of trouble.” A fond smile curved Rayne’s mouth. “I suppose we do owe our marriage to Freddie after all. If not for him, I never would have encountered you that night at the inn.”
The tender laughter in his eyes made her heart swell. “We owe Lord Ackerby as well,” Madeline pointed out. “Although I loathe giving him any credit.”
Rayne’s expression turned pained. “As do I. I still think you should have let me shoot him during our duel. I would have, had I known he was blackmailing you.”
Choked laughter stirred in her throat. “Then I am glad you didn’t know.”
“Actually, I’m surprised he had the nerve to tangle with you. But you should have come to me at once when you found your brother in difficulty.”
“I realize that now. I promise I will in the future.”
“I trust so. You are too independent for your own good, dearest Madeline.” Lifting her hand to his lips, Rayne brushed a caressing kiss on her knuckles. “See, I am not enamored of everything about you. You have your faults as well as your good qualities … as do I. And then there is my grandmother.”
Rayne’s amusement suddenly disappeared. “I still must apologize for her abominable proposition. I don’t expect you to forgive her.”
“It won’t be easy, but I mean to try. I don’t want to create a permanent rift between the two of you.”
“Any rift is of her own making, and she well knows how to mend it. If she won’t, I will cut her from our lives.”
“She is your family, Rayne. And she is of an age where it is difficult for her to change her ways.”
He shook his head at her generosity. “You never cease to amaze me.”
It thrilled Madeline to hear Rayne offer her such praise, but he gave her no time to dwell on it.
“Speaking of family …” With a hand, he motioned toward his massive desk. “Do you see the case over there? Those are the Haviland jewels, and they are rightfully yours now.”
Madeline felt touched by the significance of his gesture; Rayne was fully acknowledging her as his countess. Yet being his countess had negligible importance compared to being his wife. “I never wanted your jewels, Rayne. I only wanted your love.”
He brought the back of his hand softly down the side of her face. “That means more to me than you can possibly imagine, sweetheart. And I want your love … more than anything in the world. I want your loyalty and your trust, also. I envied your brother for the loyalty you showed him this past week. But I know I must earn those things for myself.”
Madeline held his gaze solemnly. “Do you know what else I want, Rayne? I want a real marriage with you, not one of convenience. I know you only wed me to gain an heir, but I want to be a true wife to you.”
“I have every intention of having a real marriage. What do you say that we make a fresh start, sweetheart?”
“I would like that above all things.”
“Then it is settled. From this moment on, we begin our marriage anew.”
“And I will sleep in your bed tonight?” she asked hopefully.
“Absolutely. As you said, I never gave you a proper wedding night. But I warn you, love, I intend to do the seducing tonight.”
Reaching up, Madeline wrapped her arms around his neck to invite her husband’s enchanting kiss. “I won’t give you any argument for now. You know my resistance to you has always been impossibly weak.”
With a husky laugh, Rayne bent his head to claim her lips.
* * *
Their second wedding night was blessedly different from their first, Madeline noted thankfully—beginning with an intimate dinner for just the two of them. Then Rayne led her upstairs to the lord’s apartments rather than to hers.
His bedchamber was elegant but clearly masculine, done in accents of dark greens and golds, while the massive bed no doubt had been built to accommodate Rayne’s large body. True, the quiet hearth fire and candles cast a warm glow similar to the one she’d arranged for their most recent tryst. But this time the desire vibrating between them was rife with affection and love, not suspicion and doubt.
Moreover, Madeline reflected, glancing up at Rayne as he ushered her into the room, she was no longer an innocent, inexperienced virgin as on her wedding night. She knew precisely what ecstasy lay in store for her this evening. And as their gazes touched, she realized her husband was having the same thoughts.
Expectation quivered through her when Rayne shut the door behind them, locking them in together. His eyes were the color of midnight sapphires as he moved toward her. With just one glance from those incredible eyes, Madeline could feel herself growing warm and liquid with arousal. She felt soft and swollen inside, weak with need for him. Her heart fluttering with excitement, she started to undress.
Rayne, however, stopped her by raising an imperious hand as he crossed to her. “I told you, love, it is my duty to do the seducing tonight.”
“Then why don’t you begin?” she asked impatiently.
His slow smile nearly brought her to her knees. Yet he took his own deliberate time removing her gown and underclothing.
When eventually she was naked, his darkened eyes raked over her, searing her. He was near enough that Madeline could feel the warmth of his splendid body—but still he didn’t touch her.
Instead, he began to undress himself, making her wait even longer. He shed his coat and cravat and shirt, then his shoes and stockings and breeches. Finally, at last, he stood nude before her.
In the simmering glow of firelight, Madeline drank in the sight of him—his powerful form, the hard planes, the rippling muscles, all as magnificent as ever. In truth, Rayne seemed to have grown more beautiful since the last time he had made love to her.
So beautiful he took her breath away.
His dark virility was a striking contrast to her pale softness as he stepped closer. She was hungry to touch him, yet he wouldn’t allow her to take the initiative. Placing his hands at her waist, he bent his head.
Even then he didn’t kiss her as she longed for him to do. His lips merely skimmed her mouth, her cheekbone, her temple, then buried themselves in her hair.
“I want this night to be perfect for you,” he whispered.
It would be perfect, she knew, savoring the feel of his deep voice vibrating through her. Madeline shivered in anticipation. She ached with wanting Rayne, loving him. She wanted desperately to have his strong arms wrapped around her, wanted to burrow beneath his skin.
Yet he was obviously determined to go slowly, to draw out the moment.
His movements languid, Rayne took the final step toward her, eliminating the distance between them. Feeling his warm, naked skin agains
t her at last, Madeline caught her breath. Then he slowly pulled her even closer, into the hard heat of his body.
The erotic sensation of his embrace—his sinewed muscles, his swollen member caressing her belly—intensified the painful yearning gathering inside her, even before Rayne raised his hands to cradle her breasts provocatively. Her nipples changed in a rush, answering the seductive caress of his palms.
Madeline swallowed a moan but instinctively thrust her breasts into the exploration of his hands.
“So sweet,” he murmured, his voice a husky rasp in her ear. “So beautiful.”
Her response was a helpless pleasure sound as her head fell back to give his mouth better access.
His thumbs passed in scorching circles over her nipples while he bent again to trail flaming kisses down the arch of her throat. The sharp delight of it stabbed Madeline in her midsection and deep in her loins.
Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she whimpered. Then Rayne’s mouth closed wet and hungry on a cresting tip, his velvet-rough tongue laving the peaked nipple.
The sensation streaking though her was so excruciatingly keen, her knees went weak.
He attended her breasts for some time, suckling, arousing, tormenting. Finally he slid both arms around her to embrace her fully, drawing her even closer to his body.
Heat and hunger flooded through her in violent waves. She needed Rayne to assuage the sweet hurt between her thighs, in her throbbing breasts.
She almost cried in relief when he lifted her up and drew her legs around his hips, locking her to him.
Carrying her to the bed, he lowered her to the silk sheets and followed her down. His eyes smoldered as he pressed his naked body against hers, letting her feel his hot skin, his rampant arousal.
Raising her arms to twine them around his neck, Madeline drew Rayne’s head down to her. She gloried in the way her body meshed perfectly with his, yet it was his lips—the taste, the texture, the warmth—that set her heart soaring.
His kiss was an intimate knowing of her mouth that kindled a wonderful, craving weakness in every fiber of her being. When eventually he broke off, she stared at Rayne, gazing deep into his eyes.
To Tame a Dangerous Lord Page 35
