The Lady Tamed by Boyd, Heather (urban books to read TXT) 📗

Jeremy had taken great pleasure in reminding him there was no written proof of any such bargain being made. A babe took time and would come when that time was right, and not a moment before anyway. “So many things. We’re to have luncheon with them tomorrow,” Jeremy warned. “I believed there was nothing in your calendar when I accepted.”

“I have no plans for tomorrow besides sleeping late now that the mill is sold.” She looped her arms around his neck. “Nothing but being with you like this. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”

Fanny drew his head down and kissed him quickly.

“I like the sound of that, and the way you taste. May I have another kiss, darling?”

“You can.”

While they kissed, Jeremy slid his hand down her back until he reached her rear. He squeezed and kneaded her rump and then decided to put his hands all over her before his special dinner would arrive. There was just enough time to indulge her passions and do a proper job of it. She always smiled more after he made love to her.

He was working his way up her spine, unfastening her from her gown when she spoke. “Jeremy, how do you feel about cutting short the season and spending a few months at Stapleton this summer?”

He pressed a kiss to her neck. “I’m easy either way. You know that.”

“Good. I think having my family around would be good for us.”

He drew back and stared at her. “Why?”

She patted his chest. “I might be increasing.”

Jeremy gaped, and then he whooped in joy, caught Fanny up in his arms and spun her around and around. “Devil take it! A babe? That’ll make the duke happy.”

“So, you don’t mind?”

“Mind? Are you mad, woman? I can hardly wait.”

She bit her lip. “I was afraid it was too soon. You’re just finding your feet in society, and there’s your new play, too. A baby will change how much time we spend in Town.”

He swooped down to kiss her. “Nothing could make me happier than to spend a year in the country. I hope our daughter will be as smart and as beautiful as her mother.”

“I hope our son will make me laugh like his father always can.” But then she frowned. “What does my father’s happiness have to do with our child?”

Jeremy laughed. “You’re jesting. It’s his favorite topic of conversation. Doesn’t he pester you about it, too?”

“No. Actually, I was surprised to realize that Father hadn’t brought up the possibility with me when we married,” she said with a laugh.

Jeremy grinned, his heart full. “With all that is on your plate, I suppose he didn’t want to add to your worries if it never happened. He told me his concerns last year before we decided to wed.”

Fanny squinted at him. “Is his advice why you’re always trying to keep me in bed in the mornings after we make love?”

Jeremy shrugged. “The duke has mentioned conception sometimes needs a little help, but that’s not why I keep you in our bed.”

Her eyes narrowed even more. “Why then?”

Jeremy grinned. “Pure selfishness. The minute your feet hit the floor, you’ll put on clothes and pin up your hair, and I have to share you with everyone else.”

He brushed his fingertips down her spine. He loved it when it was just the two of them, and naked, but Fanny needed more in her life than just a husband. Now he would have more, too.

She touched his face. “Jeremy dear, even when I’m not with you and working, I think of you.”

“I believe you.” Jeremy brought her hands up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “A baby to love. Can this be happening?”

Her eyes narrowed again. “A baby that my father will try to steal away to play with the minute we turn our backs,” Fanny warned.

“I don’t mind. At least our child will know he has a grandfather who cares about him.”

Fanny sighed. “He, or she, will know their parents love them, too.”

Jeremy finished undressing Fanny and drew her to the bed. “You know, the duke has been telling me about your mother and how he took care of her when she was increasing. He said he spent every night rubbing her back and legs, in the last weeks before you were born.”

“You really can’t go wrong with Father’s advice on the subject when it sounds like that.”

He eased Fanny down until she was flat on her back and then climbed up on their bed with her. He put his hands on her stomach and lowered his head to kiss her belly.

But the babe was still too small to be noticeable, so he turned Fanny over and kneaded the tightness in her shoulders away, the way he often did after a long day at her desk.

Fanny sighed deeply and let out a grateful moan, too.

“You know, if I can do half as well as your father, I’ll consider myself a good husband.”

Fanny turned to look up at him. “You are a good husband now. I got lucky the day I met you.”

“I’m the lucky one.” He leaned down to Fanny’s ear to whisper, “But you haven’t seen me at my best yet. Just wait. You are going to be so spoiled in the years ahead. I promise to never stop loving you. No matter how round you get.”

Fanny laughed softly. “I’ll hold you to that when I’m only capable of waddling and get stuck in a chair the way Rebecca did at Christmas.”

“I promise to love you no matter what,” Jeremy vowed. He went to work on Fanny’s back, kneaded away the stresses of her day. When she was nearly asleep, he gently turned her and she smiled dreamily up at him. And Jeremy considered himself the luckiest man alive—he’d found his home.

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