She let out a breath and closed her eyes, her body warm and soft beside him.
A smile teased over Matthias’s lips as he held her close, listening to her breathing ease as sleep took her. He brushed a strand of her ebony hair away from her cheek, the tresses appearing all the darker beside her pale skin.
By the gods, she was beautiful. And kind. Laughed at his jokes. Even the bad ones. She cared about her lands and the people on them. And her smile lit a room.
Matthias stared up at the ceiling. He was still infatuated with her. Maybe more than infatuated.
He’d wanted the Twins to touch his heart, but he had to be more careful what he requested.
Unrequited love was awful.
Not that he loved her, Matthias reminded himself a little too quickly, but he cared about her a great deal.
He held her close and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.
Four years. He had four years for her to decide she wanted to make it work with him, and if he failed, he’d lose her.
Best to prepare himself for that.
But his heart already resisted his attempts.
Chapter 11
Sapphire awoke wrapped in Sir Matthias’s arms. The gentle rise and fall of his chest warned he still slept, and she snuggled closer to him.
The bed was tiny, the mattress hard, and the pillow flat, but she’d slept better than she had since her mother’s death.
The heat of her husband wrapped around Sapphire, blanketing her, safeguarding her. She’d never understood how two people could share a bed or why they’d want to, but she had a much better idea now. She felt safe beside him. Warm. Protected. Maybe even l-
She cut the thought short.
No point in pretending things that weren’t.
Still, Sir Matthias was her husband. Amazing what could change in one sun rise.
A smile curved her lips as Sapphire rested a hand on his bare chest. By the gods, he was handsome.
Her pale fingers appeared even more slender against his tanned skin, and his broad shoulders were relaxed in sleep. He still radiated power, strength, and competence.
The result of his years in the Knighthood. He’d been training with a sword since he was old enough to lift one, and even as one of the best healers in the Church of Dracor, Sir Matthias had still proven his combat skills. Repeatedly. He’d even helped destroy a group of necromancers that had invaded Aerius.
Sapphire remembered how scared she’d been for him. How angry and how proud. She wondered how other Knights’ wives handled it.
His wife.
Sir Matthias’s muscular thigh lay between her own, and the heat of his leg teased her softness.
Color pinked her cheeks. He was the first one to touch her there. The first one to lie beside her. The first one to kiss her as he had.
She wanted him to kiss her again, and the idea both excited and mortified her.
As his wife, there were certain things she would be required to endure. Things her mother had warned were disgusting and abhorrent.
Nothing about Sir Matthias was either.
And Sapphire was curious.
A naughty smile curved her lips as she stroked the breadth of his shoulders, enjoying the way his heavy muscles bunched under her fingers. She brushed her hands over his broad chest and paused a moment, intrigued by the flat disc of his nipples. She then eased lower, down over his hard abdomen and traced the top of his braies.
Sir Matthias caught her hand and brought it to his lips.
Sapphire startled, feeling much like a young lady caught with an inappropriate book.
Rather than chastise her, Sir Matthias brushed his lips over hers. A soft kiss. Tantalizing. Tempting.
Offering her so much more.
His mouth was hard and hot, a delicious juxtaposition against her plump softness. Closing her eyes, Sapphire let herself enjoy the kiss. Let him take all he wanted as she basked in the sensation of his hard body against hers.
Keeping the kiss light, Sir Matthias’s lips played over hers, nibbling, touching, stroking. Waves of sensation swept through Sapphire and pooled in her stomach. By the gods, he felt so good, so sinfully good.
He was her husband, she reminded herself. There was nothing wrong with what they were doing, and despite her mother’s warnings, there was nothing repugnant about being kissed by him.
Nothing repugnant at all.
Spearing her fingers through his hair, Sapphire kissed him back.
Sir Matthias held her close, meeting her, matching her, but always letting her lead. He was so hard and strong beside her, surrounding her. She should’ve been frightened, but she wasn’t.
Sapphire felt glorious.
Heat seared her and pooled in her belly. She wanted him to kiss her until the world melted away, until her problems dissolved and she could think of nothing but him.
A soft sigh escaped her as he teased his tongue over her lips then dipped between them. His tongue found hers, and he stroked, teasing and taunting her as he held her, his chest rubbing against her breasts.
It felt amazing, and Sapphire wriggled against him. The heat flooding her intensified, and a burgeoning need filled her.
This was lust, she realized, what a whore or wanton would feel.
Not a noble lady.
And Sir Matthias deserved a noble lady.
The thought slapped her, and Sapphire stiffened as self-consciousness replaced passion.
Sir Matthias lifted his mouth from hers and kissed her forehead. “We should both get ready. Long trip ahead of us today, and that’s after we remove Lord Bartley.”
Sapphire opened her mouth to apologize, to explain her wanton actions, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she just nodded.
Within minutes, Sir Matthias had donned his uniform. He then helped her into a dark blue day dress with sleeves trimmed in silver braid and a matching silver girdle.
“Thank you for having this brought over for me.”
“My pleasure.”
He sounded like he meant it, and Sapphire was again surprised at his kindness and thoughtfulness. She shouldn’t be, but it had been a long time since she’d had anyone like that in her life.
She was not going to want to let him go at the end of four years.
Burying the thought, Sapphire tied her hair back into a hasty knot. “I promise to look presentable for your family, but I’m learning just how much I rely on my lady’s maid.”
“You always look presentable, and I like you better with her hair down.” Sir Matthias teased a finger along the bare nape of her neck, and a shiver slid down her spine.
She forced herself not to lean into his touch, though she wanted to very much. “It’s considered very unfashionable to wear it so. Maybe even scandalous.”
“Whoever sets fashion clearly didn’t take my opinion into consideration. And if this is what scandalizes people, they need to get out more.”
Sapphire laughed, and her gaze met his, locking a moment. The heat in her stomach intensified.
Sir Matthias offered her his arm, and though she knew it would do nothing to settle her nerves, Sapphire took it.
Her husband was warm and strong beside her, intensifying her unladylike feelings. Still, Sir Matthias would rid her of Lord Bartley before the end of the day. That eased a different ache.
Richard Bartley most likely knew about her nuptials, but Sapphire doubted he’d packed up and vacated her home.
That meant an ugly confrontation.
Not her first with her stepfather, but now Lord Richard Bartley couldn’t have her charged with insanity. That changed a great deal, and Sapphire would no longer mince around like a hare before a fox’s den when dealing with him.