She stared at him in surprise. “You always became angry with me for that.”
“For wandering away into the woods alone with only butterflies for company. You could have been left behind a few times if I’d not missed your being underfoot.” He brushed her cheek with his fingertips. “I spoke to Lord Deacon about his country butterfly house, and he assures me it is possible to have them here. If I go through with the purchase, he will arrange to have a man come and fill the space with what is needed for their survival. It will be up to you to see that they thrive.”
Her eyes stung at his words. She had not expected him to have noticed or remembered what she had done in her first year of service. In her first year she’d occasionally forgotten that she was not meant to enjoy herself on their outings. But she had always loved chasing after the small winged creatures to study their design and colors. Giving her a part of his house to keep as her own was the kindest thing William had ever done for her and completely unexpected. Yet he turned away the next moment as if to make light of how great a gift he’d just delivered.
Matilda flew after him, wrapped her arms about his body, pinning his arms at his sides. He stiffened in her awkward embrace, but Matilda didn’t care. She squeezed him tightly, uncaring if she’d be in trouble or not later. “Thank you,” she whispered against his back. “A thousand times thank you for remembering.”
He turned in her arms and drew her against his chest. “I am glad you like the idea. This is the only property I have seen with an existing enclosure, so I hope it will suit. Deacon’s man will let me know if I must continue the search or not. They are few and far between.”
He’d turned down other places simply because they hadn’t met her needs? But why? In a year they might not be married. “It will be beautiful. I promise.”
“Not as lovely as you, but I look forward to seeing you dance with them again.” His lips pressed together hard. Was he ashamed he’d watched her in the woods before calling out? She’d known he was there, hiding in the shadows of tall trees. She had smiled and kept dancing, completely forgetting her place until he’d ordered her back.
She expected him to retreat into gruffness immediately now, but he caught a curl of hair hanging down her neck and played with it. A slow smile spread over his face, and laughter filled his eyes. “Perhaps one day if I am very lucky you might invite me to dance in the woods with you too. There is a copse of trees to the west of here.”
“I would like that,” she said. Imagining him twirling with her under the trees brought a blush to her cheeks, and she patted his chest. He was always uncomfortable when it came to expressing his feelings, as if he expected to be rebuffed, but then so was she when it came to him. Matilda forgave William his earlier gruffness because she could now understand his hesitation to reveal his softer feelings. Hers were growing for William in a way that threatened to spread well beyond their arrangement.
She had grown to like her husband.
Matilda rose up on her toes, and before she considered whether he’d like it or not caught the back of his head and dragged him down so she could kiss him full on the lips.
He appeared startled at first but soon took charge, moving her toward a wall and pressing her into it with the strength of his body. His kiss was hungry and thorough, demanding her response in his usual dominant fashion, a manner that Matilda had grown to crave. She did not want him turning to other women to scold them. She wanted him to reserve his punishments and attention for her.
She broke the kiss, turned her lips to his scarred cheek, and kissed him there. “I would dance with you anywhere, Billy.”
He shuddered at the name, and as she trailed her lips along the full length of his injury, she grew aware that his hands were tightening around her waist. His skin was rough against her lips, coarse but warm. He was becoming very familiar, and she wanted more, to explore him if he was willing to indulge her curiosity.
She slipped her arms about his waist beneath his coat and pulled him close, overwhelmed by the need to feel him firm against her skin. Last night, pinned by his strength and passions, had been wonderful—arousing and painful—and yet her heart had never felt lighter as she’d reclined in his arms afterward.
She nibbled his earlobe and he groaned.
He jerked up her skirts and squeezed her thigh roughly, grinding his hips against hers. She felt, for the first time, the part of him he kept hidden beneath his clothes. She aroused him, and he tried so hard to keep her ignorant of all his desires.
His hand moved along her sides restlessly, sending her pulse flying. “Don’t tempt me, woman.”
“Billy Boy,” she said again as his hand slid over her rear.
He squeezed, his breathing rough and unsteady against her throat. Matilda gasped and pressed her head against the wall as William nibbled at her throat.
She marveled at the power of his lips and body to overwhelm her senses, but his reluctance to take his own satisfaction with her was troubling. At first she had been embarrassed to notice his erection. Proper women were not supposed to consider such things or mention them. However, she did not imagine that many married men would be capable of holding back for so long.
She ached for his touch already even though her urges had been satisfied last night.
William kissed her neck up to her hairline and tormented her senses with a flick of his tongue behind her ear. He drew back. “Say it again. Once more.”
One more impertinence would see her punished. He’d warned her of his limits. Three remarks he didn’t care for would provoke him beyond reason. And he hated being called Billy.
The idea of deliberately goading him simply to be spanked held a definite appeal. He liked to spank her. Matilda loved to see him reveal his hidden nature when he turned her over his knee.
“Billy,” she whispered into his ear.
William shuddered against her, cock rubbing directly against her sex in a way that made her ache intensify. He lifted her into
his arms and carried her toward the front hall. He stopped there, placed her on her feet, and turned her to face the locked front door.
“Are we leaving already?”
“Hands on the brass knobs and no further questions.”