Claiming His Wife (33 page)

Still... it would be nice to be able
to attend the same events without worrying that her own family
members would cut her. 

"I'd like you to ride out among the
farms with me," Alex told her, his eagerness growing as they talked
about his estates.  "I want you to talk to the women about the
possibility of a school in the area."

That had especially
appealed to Grace.  She wondered if Alex had somehow
discovered the donations she made for the education of children in
London.  They'd all been made discreetly and anonymously,
because she'd known her name would actually hinder rather than help
any of the causes she'd backed, but she supposed it was still
possible.  Grace wasn't a bluestocking, but she'd always found
an escape from life in books, and she wanted to make that possible
for all children in unfortunate situations.  She was lucky
that she'd been taught to read.  Lucky that she'd been born a
Duke's daughter, even if sometimes she'd chafed at the restrictions
such a position came with.

That had led to a much longer
conversation than she'd anticipated about what Alex hoped to do
with schools, or at least a traveling teacher, for the children on
his lands.  The time flew by, until she realized she needed to
dress for dinner.  It was her first break from Alex all
afternoon, and she'd been a bit relieved by it.

Being constantly in his presence had
unnerved her.  Weakened defenses that were already crumbling.
 She didn't even know why she bothered to try and shore up the
walls around her heart, except that she still couldn't bring
herself to fully trust him.  The last time she'd had hope for
her future with him, he'd ended up crushing her.  It was
making her far more wary this time around.

Especially because, during
dinner, he kept trying to slide the conversation around to the very
things she didn't want to talk about.  It became a verbal game
of cat and mouse.  He would begin alluding to things like
marriage or communication, their friends' marriages, their
separation, and Grace would immediately slide the conversation back
to something innocuous.  It was not relaxing dinner
conversation and her tension was beginning to rise
again. 

Alex tolerated Grace's evasions
because of the servants that were in and out of the room, serving
them dinner.  Although he trusted his people to be discreet,
there was no way to completely stymy gossip.  Especially if
the Lord and Lady of the house aired their issues too loudly and
too openly in front of the staff.  It was human nature to
talk.

He'd hoped to at least begin to broach
the subject, to ready her, because he was determined that they have
an in depth conversation following dinner, but he could tell that
he was causing her quite a bit of anxiety.  It couldn't be
helped.  The lack of communication between them was
frustrating him.  There were too many questions going
unanswered.

Why did she call him a
liar?

Why did she speak and behave as if
he'd never cared for her?

What had she been looking for in his
study?

Why had she left him in the first
place?  What was opening her to him again now?

He supposed it was
possible that she'd meant for him to chase after her the first
time, but somehow that just didn't align with Grace's character.
 Other women played games like that, but Grace had seemed
truly furious when she'd first left him.  Not to mention
disdainful, cutting and frankly disgusted by him.  Which was
why his response had been so prideful.  He'd been young and
stupid.  If she tried such a tactic with him now, he would not
only follow behind her but, once he caught up with her, he would
blister her bottom until she explained herself.

Looking at her across the dinner
table, he noted that she was wearing the dark red color that he
liked on her so much.  It emphasized her dark hair, pale skin
and the red in her cheeks and lips.  Even her eyes seemed a
brighter blue in contrast.  Not for the first time, he thought
that he needed to buy her a sapphire and ruby necklace and tiara
set.  

Almost as if she could read his mind,
Grace's pretty pert lips twisted into a little smirk.  "You're
thinking about rubies and sapphires again, aren't you?" she
teased.

He laughed, shaking his head.
 "How do you always know?"

At least, she always had known, years
ago.  She claimed it was a look on his face, but he could
swear that not a single part of his expression changed.

"You haven't altered as much as you
might think," she said, her eyes sparkling just a moment before
they began to dull, as she realized that she'd tread too close to
the topics of conversation she was avoiding.

But Alex had already realized that his
tactics were only making her uncomfortable, so he just leaned back
and patted his belly.  "That's not what I've been
told."

Grace burst out laughing, immediately
relaxing since he hadn't picked up on the lead she'd given him.
 It was reward enough for continuing to be patient and waiting
until after dinner, when they were completely alone, to begin their
conversation.  

"You're just fishing for compliments,
no one would dare say anything to you about your
waistline!"

Giving her a look of mock outrage, he
put an affronted hand over his chest.  "Are you implying that
there's something to say?"

The rest of the meal went much better
as they fell into teasing each other.  He hadn't felt so
lighthearted since he was a boy.  Was it Grace leaving him
that had turned him into Stoneface?  Or was it her absence in
his life throughout the years?  Probably a bit of both.
 She brought out a side of him that was far more relaxed and
playful than he felt able to show to anyone else - although his
friendship with Wesley and the others had begun to bring out some
of those facets as well. 

They both became more tense as the
meal ended and he asked her to join him in his study for an after
dinner sherry.  Well, sherry for her and brandy for him.
 For a moment he thought she would refuse and that he would
have to insist, or even force her, but then she nodded.  The
grim expression on her face didn't make him feel any
better.

As they walked down the hall, the
serious mien melted away and she started chatting again.  He
hoped she didn't really think he would be distracted by talk about
tomorrow's weather and how fast the carriage might travel.
 Whatever she thought he wanted to talk about, it was obvious
she knew it was more serious.  This time, he wasn't going to
be diverted.

At least, that's what he thought until
they got to the study.  No sooner had he closed the door
behind them, than Grace threw herself on him.

******

Whatever it was Alex
wanted to talk about, Grace was sure it impinged on the topics that
she
didn't
.
 What was wrong with the blasted man?  Hadn't he thought
through how awful their traveling situation could be if they argued
tonight?  Things were going so well between them, why did he
have to try and ruin it?

When he'd escorted her out of the
dining room, she'd realized that there were other means of
distracting him, however.  Enjoyable means.  After all,
they'd already revived the physical portion of their marriage, why
not enjoy the benefits while she could?  Just in case she
ended up having to flee him again.  At least she'd have
another night in his bed.  Because she did still love him, and
not a single night with another man had ever compared to being with
him.

So, when he turned around from closing
the door to his study, she plastered herself against him.  It
was an unprecedented move on her part.  Before their
estrangement, she'd certainly never thrown herself at him.
 Partly because she had never needed to, but even if she'd had
the opportunity, she probably would have been too shy to take it.
 During their estrangement, she'd had all manner of men
chasing after her.  She'd been content to pick and choose
among them, and to indulge when they wanted her, without actually
pursuing them herself.  She'd ended up with a reputation for
being choosy, and so the men had flocked.  Some matrons had to
exert effort to find their lovers, Grace had never been one of
them.  If men hadn't presented themselves, she probably would
have gone without.

Alex was the only man she'd ever truly
wanted to throw herself at.  Now, spurred by her need to put
off the conversation she knew he wanted to have, it was easy.
 Especially because, the second she touched her lips to his,
she realized she was hungry for him. 

The romantic wedding this morning, the
way he'd spurned the attentions and flirtations of other women, the
little looks that he'd given her across the room, and then his
stalwart attention to her this afternoon, combined with the fact
that they had already made love the night before, opened the way
for her.  She'd held herself back physically because her
emotions wouldn't allow her to give in.  She no longer had
that barrier. 

His body fell back against the door
and she could practically feel his surprise.  One arm slid
around his neck, the other hand clutched at his cravat, and she
refused to give up his lips when she felt him trying to pull away.
 His mouth opened and she thrust her tongue brazenly inside,
standing on her toes and rubbing her body against his.
 Resistance was futile, unless he was prepared to bodily tear
her away from him.  For a moment, she feared he would do just
that as his hands settled on her hips, prepared to push, and then
she felt him give in. 

Instead of pushing her away, his
fingers tightened on her hips.  He stopped trying to pull away
and drew her in closer, taking control of the kiss with a
dominating force that left her breathless.  Grace moaned into
his mouth as their tongues dueled, pulling at the knot in his
cravat and tearing the thing away from his throat.  Her calves
ached from the effort of keeping her tall enough to kiss him, but
she didn't care.

His arousal pressed against her
stomach and she was on fire with need.  Overwhelmed by
urgency.  If things went badly tomorrow... if he couldn't give
her the answers she needed... she might very well have to flee.
 She might never see him again.  For tonight, at least,
she could push away thoughts of the future, ignore her fluttering
hopes, and just pretend that there was nothing more between them
than their desires.  Let their bodies do the talking.
 

Sliding her hands down, she tugged his
buttons through their holes and pushed his jacket open, sliding her
hands in.  Alex made a growling noise, deep in his chest,
which reverberated through her palms.  She pushed against him
as he tried to lift his head again, refusing to give up the kiss,
and he grabbed her by the back of her hair, pulling her head back
so that she had to look at him.

"Grace-"

"Shut up," she said fiercely, arching
her hips away to undo the front of his pants.

“Grace, we should talk.”

Hunger was hot in Alex's eyes, but she
could also see his intent to refuse her.  The control that he
was struggling for.  She shoved her hand in the front of his
pants, wrapping her fingers around his erection.  Pleasure
washed over him, his eyes unfocusing as the hot length throbbed in
her hand.  For just a moment, his fingers loosened in her hair
and she immediately took advantage of it to drop to her
knees.

“Later. Not now.”

Pulling his cock free of his clothing,
it bobbed in front of her face.

"Grace!"

"Shut up!  I want to try
this."

"
Try this?
"  Alex sounded like
he was being strangled.  She looked up at him, from her
position on her knees.  He was still leaning back against the
door, his cravat gone, his jacket open, shirt rumpled, and the
front of his pants hanging open.  For once, she was the
aggressor and it was surprisingly erotic.

"Eleanor says she does it for Edwin, I
want to try."  

She could almost see the thoughts
flitting across his face.  Shock at knowing what she and her
best friend discussed.  Curiosity about what else they might
have talked about.  The revelation that this was an act Grace
had never indulged in.  That was something she'd wanted to be
sure of, that he knew she'd never done this before.  Not just
because Eleanor had warned her that he might be jealous, but also
in case she was bad at it.

Alex knew that he should stop her,
knew that she was probably just diverting him as she had all day,
but when her hot mouth closed over the head of his cock, all
rational thought flew from his head.  When they'd first been
married, he'd spent quite a bit of time between Grace's thighs,
with his fingers, his mouth, his cock... but they hadn't been
together for long enough to begin exploring some of the more exotic
aspects of love-play.  At the time, Alex certainly hadn't
needed anything but his wife, naked and willing, to excite him to
the point of losing control. 

Knowing that she'd never done this
with any other man, that she wanted to do it with him... who was he
to deny her?  Later, he would rationalize those thoughts.
 Remind himself that she hadn't wanted to touch him for so
long, the change in her attitude needed to be encouraged.
 That he didn't want to deter her turnaround.