Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“That’s how I sleep,” Noble said.
“I don’t,” she said, fighting to keep her eyes on his face since curiosity had her wanting to explore her husband’s naked body.
“That can be rectified,” he said, not only eager to see his wife naked but to feel her naked against him.
“I won’t sleep naked,” she said as if declaring it so and grabbed hold of her nightdress at her throat as if he might rip it off her.
He didn’t debate it with her since he would have his way and have her sleeping naked beside him every night… willingly.
“What are you doing here, Leora?” he asked, curious as to what brought her to his bedchamber, though not admitting he planned on going to her bedchamber.
She held his gaze for a moment, getting lost in the depths of his dark blue eyes and oddly enough finding comfort there, and she spoke honestly. “I’m not sure what brought me here. I have gone over what you said and have given thought to my own misgivings about our marriage. I wonder if it is more my stubbornness than anything else that keeps me from accepting the inevitable… that I am your wife and will remain so. So, why do I question it so much?”
He released her arm, his hand going to her hair, unable to ignore the urge to tuck a few stray strands behind her ear and enjoying how silky soft it felt and how much he liked her hair free of its usual haphazard constraint.
“You are who you are, Leora. It is your nature to question and make sense of things before proceeding headlong into something. Perhaps you inherited such a sensible nature from one of your true parents.”
“I have given thought to them, wondering about the danger that forced my mum to give me away. Was my da not a good man? Did she fear what he might do to me? Or had they both decided it was best I be given away? I admit it troubles me and I would not mind finding out the truth.”
“Put the pup by the hearth to sleep and come to bed and we will talk,” Noble said, wanting to do more than talk, but realizing his wife needed his ear and not his manhood tonight.
Leora did not hesitate. She placed the pup near the low burning hearth and when she turned, her husband had already gotten into bed and held the blanket back for her to join him. Once she did, she knew it was a step that took her closer to permanently sealing her marriage. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that she had accepted their marriage the day she left her home with him. Elsie hadn’t only sent her to find out about their sister Sky, but to give her time with Noble to realize the marriage was inevitable and to make the most of it.
She went and got into bed with her husband, though kept herself from lying too close to him and tucked the blanket under her chin as if it could shield her.
Noble moved a bit closer, resting on his side, his elbow braced on the mattress, and his head resting on his hand. “I will do all I can to find out the truth about your true parents, Leora.”
She turned to him with a smile. “I know you will, as will I.”
“And I will do all I can to see that we have a good marriage.”
Leora recalled Cavell’s remark to her about how Noble would make a good husband if she would let him.
“Then I must do the same,” she said.
“Willingly or reluctantly, wife?” he asked.
The seriousness in his eyes belied the slight smile on his face.
“A bit of both,” she admitted.
“That is what I favor most about you, wife, your honesty. It is what makes you so trustworthy, also your smile. I do love your smile. It’s contagious, forcing people around you to smile as well, even I smile, which is not something I did often until you came along.”
“Why? I cannot imagine living without smiling every day. What kept you from smiling?” she asked and when he fell back flat on the bed, she turned on her side to gaze at him, releasing the blanket tucked beneath her chin. It fell to her waist which was where the blanket fell on her husband.
His naked chest and arms were impressive, such muscle earned from the endless swing of a sword or axe. She itched to reach out and run her hand over his chest, but it would not be at all proper to touch her husband so blatantly.
“My family,” he said, staring overhead. “There was no room for smiles when my family argued endlessly. Someone was always yelling at someone, then arguments would ensue, and soon more people were arguing until finally no one was talking to each other. My mum and da fought so much I began to believe they hated each other and wondered how they ever had four children together.”