He was still half-tempted, but that would mean leaving Sapphire alone when she most needed him.
Nothing was worth that.
Keeping his arm wrapped around his wife, Matthias led her into their room and locked the door behind them. He searched the dressing room, the wardrobes, and under the bed before pulling the drapes closed.
Sapphire released the breath she’d been holding. “Do you know where Desa is?”
“Down with the other kids watching the ball and snitching desserts. Mary said she’d keep an eye on her.”
“Mary?”
“Something wrong?”
Sapphire paused, her brows furrowed. “I don’t think so, and yet…”
“Yet, what?”
“If my grandfather wanted to get close to us, what better way to get a spy into the Valerian household than a child in need?”
Matthias paused. “Do you think he’d do that?”
“He tried to kill us, and he’d use a child and a tragedy like the tenement fire for his own purposes.”
Sir Matthias didn’t like where his thoughts were going. Slipping his arms around Sapphire, Matthias held his wife close. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow. Tonight wasn’t how we wanted it to go, but by morning, everyone in Aerius will know we’re married.”
“And they’ll know the Knights of valor have taken Lord Bartley into custody.” She blew out a breath. “I can only imagine what the gossips will say.”
“Does it matter?”
“Not what they say about me, but I hadn’t realized how much marrying me damages your reputation. People think you did it for the money.”
He nuzzled the back of her neck, teasing his lips over the sensitive flesh. “The same people who would have found a reason to hate whoever I married. Dracor knows the truth.”
She stared up at him, a whisper of sadness in her words. “You are a good man, Sir Matthias Northland. I took advantage of that.”
He held her close, the scent of sun-warmed roses filling his senses. He’d almost lost her to her grandfather twice. This wasn’t the best time for confessions, but there never was an ideal time.
“I try to be a good man, but you didn’t take advantage of me. I married you because I wanted to marry you.”
She paused. “You did?”
“Yes.” He sucked in a breath. “That day you helped me bake bread, I had planned to ask you for permission to meet your father so I could ask him to officially court you.”
“You didn’t know my father had died?”
“I let myself be blinded. The children called you Sapphire, so you couldn’t possibly be Miss Darrington, the beautiful, wealthy, and completely unattainable heiress from a noble family. I convinced myself you must be a merchant’s daughter.”
“In a way, I am. My father was a ship’s captain.” She paused and turned her gaze on him. “You thought I was unattainable? You’re a High Knight and Speaker of the Dragon Church!”
“And a farmer’s son who was in love with one of the most beautiful, wealthy ladies in all of Tamryn. A lady who came from a noble family almost as old as Sir Marcus’s. I-”
Standing up on her tiptoes, she silenced him with a kiss.
Matthias responded as he held her close. He stroked her bare arms and along the exposed neckline of her dress, feathering his fingertips over the sensitive spot at the base of her neck. Sapphire responded, trailing kisses down his jaw as she unfastened the buttons of his uniform.
A groan escaped him, and Matthias tugged off his jacket, then stripped off his tunic.
Sapphire spread her hands over the wide expanse of his chest. His heavy muscles tightened as she explored his broad shoulders.
Passion, desire and love burned through him.
He wanted her, all of her, forever.
Matthias flicked open the buttons on the back of her dress and teased his sword-calloused hands over her smooth flesh. The sensual contrast of her so soft against him heightened his need, and his body responded.
Sapphire wriggled her hips against him, then shrugged out of her gown and let it pool at her feet. She stepped out of the sumptuous fabric, then gripped the bottom of her chemise and lifted it over her head.
Matthias watched, desire quickening his pulse as he trailed a sun-darkened finger over the swell of her breast. Her nipple pebbled in the cool air, and Matthias cupped her breasts, stroking a thumb over the tips. He leaned forward and suckled first one, then the other.
Sapphire tipped her head back as a soft sigh escaped her.
He caressed her heated skin, along her arms, down her back, and over the smooth roundness of her bottom. Matthias teased the soft flesh between her thighs, skimming over the damp curls at their juncture, before sliding up over her hip again.
A soft whimper escaped her as he taunted and teased, heightening her anticipation and pleasure.
Lifting her into his arms, Matthias carried her to the wide bed and laid her down on the plump mattress. He removed her dancing slippers and rolled down her stockings, massaging her feet and calves as he did. He then finished undressing himself before joining her.
She held him as she opened her thighs and offered herself.
An offer he took.
Matthias slid his hand between them, finding her tender nub and stroking it as he slid a finger into her wetness.
Her lips parted as a breathy gasp escaped her, and his body responded to her need.
By the gods, he wanted her, but he held himself back, waited until she was calling his name and asking him to take more.
To take all of her.
He slid his hand from her, then guided his shaft to her most intimate juncture. Sapphire dug her fingernails into his broad shoulders, and he met her need, filling her and taking her completely.
Rather than quenching his desire, the feeling of her stretching for him, of her surrounding him as he filled her completely, intensified his need.
After a moment, he moved within her. Each thrust pushing them both higher, building their need.
He caught her mouth with his and plunged his tongue inside, mimicking the same movements as their hips.
Pleasure had her gripping him, clinging to him tightly until she dug her fingers into his shoulders as wave after wave of fulfilled desire exploded through her. Matthias held her close as her pleasure pushed him up and over, and he lost himself in her. He then gathered her into his arms and tucked a blanket around their cooling bodies.
Staring up at him, Sapphire traced a finger over his lips and jaw. She smiled as she closed her eyes and nuzzled into him. “I love you,” she whispered.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly, then a stupid grin lit his face as he held her closer. “I love you, too.”
Chapter 31
Matthias awoke early and dressed, stealing glances at Sapphire as she slept in the bed they’d shared. By the gods, she was beautiful. And she was his wife.
And she loved him.
Her words floated through his thoughts, and a giddy happiness filled him.
He warned himself that some women mistook passion and desire for love. She may have said the words, but not really meant them. Not in a way that satisfied his heart.
But his happiness wouldn’t be denied.
Matthias paused at the empty spot where her dressing chair should have been. He flexed his jaw. He’d reported the incident, but he doubted that would dissuade Lord Bartley or Lord Carsons.