A smile touched her lips, and he was not sure if it was a tear trickling down her cheek or a drop of rain. "So, now that I have soft hands again, you want me to start digging in the dirt?"
"I want you any way I can get you — rough, dirty, hot and bothered."
Offering a sultry smirk, she raised a brow and said, "Is that another proposal, Mr. Danbury?"
"No, Miss Sinclair, it's a promise." He pulled her close, devoured her mouth in a kiss that expressed everything he felt in his heart. "I love you, Anna," he said as he broke away.
And then her tears did fall.
Epilogue
Three months later
Anna found Marcus behind the desk in the chapter house. "You rose early this morning."
After waking to find the bed empty, she knew her husband would be eager to finish balancing the ledgers. His current assignment had nothing to do with trailing after smugglers or hiding the mistress of a bawdy house away in an old monastery.
Marcus raised a sinful brow. "Trust me. I had to drag myself away from your warm body. I'm surprised you didn't hear me groan. But I'm eager to ensure the stone walls are reinforced to prevent us losing any more livestock."
Since making the decision to farm the land, Marcus had thrown himself into the project with the same level of passion and determination he did all things. A smile touched her lips when she recalled experiencing the depth of his passion just a few hours earlier.
"I thought you'd be busy scrawling away with pen and ink," she said noting the letter in his hand, "pushing wooden beads back and forth on that counting device of yours."
"I was, but then I became a little distracted when I realised the letter was from Tristan."
"Tristan!" She could not hide her excitement. "How is he? Was he shocked to hear of our marriage?"
Marcus shook his head. "Not at all. Tristan believes it was a case of love at first sight. Or love at first slap to be more precise. He said he will never forget the look on my face when your palm connected with my cheek."
"Neither will I," she began a little sheepishly. "I never mentioned it before, but I could still see the outline of my fingers on your face an hour later."
"I think you have a fondness for slapping." His mouth curled up into a devilish grin, and when his eyes flashed with desire, the warm feeling in her chest journeyed southward. "From what I remember of last night, my buttocks—"
"Yes, yes," she interjected as her cheeks grew warm, too. "I was there. I do not need you to remind me."
"On second thoughts, perhaps the stone walls can wait." He rubbed his chin as his gaze drifted over her. "Perhaps I did get out of bed too early this morning."
With her heart all aflutter, Anna nodded to the leather wingback chair. "Then I shall leave you so you may catch an hour's sleep."
"I think we both know I did not have sleep in mind."
How could she resist the tempting offer when he spoke with such a rich, languorous drawl? But she chose to use the moment to her advantage, to give her the courage to broach the subject she had been mulling over for days.
"Before we retire to our chamber," she said in as seductive a tone as she could muster, "I would like to discuss another proposal."
Marcus placed the letter on the desk, sat back in the chair and crossed his arms behind his head. "A proposal? Now I am intrigued. Does it involve slapping?"
Anna thrust her hands on her hips. "Be serious for a moment." She sighed. "When I gave you my great-aunt's brooch—"
"Your great-aunt? You never mentioned it was a genuine family heirloom. I assumed—"
"What? That one of the randy lords bribed me with a gift?"
"Well ... I didn't realise it meant so much to you." He put his hand to his chest. "I find it rather flattering that you chose to give it to me."
"It is of no consequence now as you have given it back to me. But at the time, I thought you needed the money to find another vocation. And you didn't have to agree to take me in, despite the debt you owed to Lord Danesfield."
"You mean you took one look at my relaxed attire and decided I must be debt-ridden."