“Mia,” he groaned as he spilled his seed into her.
Collapsing on top of her, they remained motionless, the sound of their panting filling the silence. She had never imagined making love could be this incredible. Neither of her previous times had been anything like this.
He rolled off her and brought her close. Mia was still shaking from the experience her husband had given her. She knew without a doubt that she loved him completely and had to tell him.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Hearing nothing in reply, she raised her head and realized he had fallen asleep not hearing her declaration.
Chapter 19
Simon woke the next morning feeling as if he’d used every muscle in his body the previous night. While he’d thought Mia would be passionate in bed, she surpassed all his expectations. He’d never experienced anything like their passion. Could it be love that made the difference?
He wanted to talk to her about his feelings for her last night but had fallen asleep almost immediately. With sunlight streaming in the window, the moment was gone. He rolled over only to find the bed empty.
“Mia?”
Silence answered him. He tossed off the coverlet and looked around the room. Her clothes were gone. Panic washed over him. Where the bloody hell could she have gone? He dressed quickly and raced downstairs.
“Harris, have you seen my wife?”
Harris smothered a smile. “Of course, my lord, she is in the morning room enjoying her breakfast.”
“Thank you.” Relief swept over him. He entered the bright morning room and stopped. Mia, the poor wise woman who agreed to be his wife, sat at the table in her green morning gown looking like the countess she now was. Pride surged in him.
“Good morning,” she said to him.
“Good morning.” He sat in the seat across from her as a footman placed a cup of coffee in front of him. Another footman delivered a plate full of eggs and ham. “Thank you,” he said and then waved them out of the room.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” he asked as the door shut behind the footman.
“You fell asleep as soon as we...” She took a sip of her tea. “You looked exhausted so I didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, we never ate last night and I was famished.”
A logical explanation for certain. “What would you like to do today?” Please say spend it in bed with you.
“I do believe someone promised to show me how to defend against an attacker.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin before placing it back on her lap. “Shall we do that today?”
Not quite what he had in mind but there was something to be said about coming up on her from behind. His mind went to lascivious thoughts about bending her over a table and entering her.
“Simon?”
He shook his head. “Yes, I did promise you. Do you think your ribs feel up to the exertion?”
“I do. My mother told me last week that I was well enough as long as we were careful.”
“Very well. After breakfast, we will do
some training.”
“Excellent. Where shall we meet? I must change into one of my older gowns first.”
“Meet me in my study. I will take you down to the room where I get my... exercise.”
She pushed back her chair. “You have a room for that?”
“Yes, downstairs so I don’t disturb anyone.”
She nodded and then left to change.