“No, love.” He donned his elegant dinner trousers and crossed to a ewer and basin on a sideboard in order to wash up. “They were labors of love.”
She came to his side and watched as he scrubbed his hands and face.
His was such a handsome face.
Firm jaw and masculine angles.
His hands were big and his palms calloused. She loved the feel of them when he touched her body. “They were labors of endurance, Octavian.”
He dried himself off. “I would go through the fires of hell for you, Syd.”
“You are going to make me cry if you continue to say such nice things to me.”
Octavian took her into his arms. “I will always be nice to you. We still have a few minutes before we must leave. I could show you how just nice I can be to you,” he said, his voice now husky and seductive.
She could be seductive, too.
But heavens, she hoped he would not laugh at her attempt to be sultry. “Forget about nice,” she purred. “I would rather you were naughty with me.”
He lifted her in his arms and set her back atop his desk. “How naughty?”
“Octavian, don’t you dare grin at me so wickedly,” she teased, laughing because she knew exactly what he meant to do, and now that she had goaded him, she had no intention of stopping him. “Oh! Um…is this is something new?” she asked as he moved between her legs and now trailed his fingers up her thighs.
“Close your eyes, love. You’re going to like this.”
They arrived late to Lady Dayne’s party.
The dear dowager might have believed their sincere apologies had Octavian not been grinning from ear to ear. As for her, she was blushing furiously.
Honestly, where did this man learn these tricks of seduction?
She was going to embarrass herself if she did not stop thinking of what he had just done to her.
“Oh, dear heaven. Spare me, you two,” Lady Dayne admonished them, and then had her ancient butler, Watling, ring the dinner bell to summon them all into the dining room.
The dinner party was a quiet affair among friends.
They made passing mention of the breaking scandal, but only for the purpose of assuring Syd of their support. Mostly, they spoke of the latest Huntsford Academy finds, the excellent wine and dessert courses served, upcoming horse auctions, and the abysmal weather.
Syd knew tomorrow’s ball at Lord Winstone’s was not going to be anywhere near as pleasant. However, she could endure the snide cuts and malicious whispers if Octavian stood beside her. Nor was she without her supporters, for Marigold and her Aunt Sophie were Farthingales, which meant she would have a host of their family members coming to her aid if the insults got out of hand.
This was most appreciated since most of the Thorne family was out of town and not able to come to her rescue.
Octavian carried her up the stairs when they got home.
It still amazed her how fiercely Octavian believed in them as a couple. But she was growing to understand these Thornes were family men, and none were more ready to settle into that staid, everyday life than Octavian.
His eagerness to be a good husband and father surprised Syd, for she thought he was the handsomest of all, and never had a problem luring women into his bed. Yet, he had not given a second thought to abandoning his rakehell ways and committing to their marriage. Not even a glimmer of regret.
Dear heaven.
Even she would have jumped into bed with him had he attempted to seduce her instead of marry her, although she would have made him work harder to accomplish his seduction than others might have done.
Perhaps this is what made them a good fit.
He did not want a woman who would give him his way in everything. He liked a challenge.
She was certainly proving to be that.
