Primrose toyed with the curls on his chest and worked hard to convince herself that she had nothing to be embarrassed about, but total abandon, even in her husband’s arms, was not easy to forget. The way he was gently stroking her back told her he was content and she decided that was all that mattered. Yet, when he set her aside and went through the ritual of cleaning them both off, she could feel the annoying heat of a blush on her cheeks.
Bened grinned as he crawled back into bed and pulled his wife into his arms. Once her desire was stirred, Primrose could be a wild delight in a man’s arms, but once those flames cooled she tended to worry that she had gone too far. He suspected it would take awhile before he could convince her that her husband wanted her to get a little untamed anytime she wanted to.
“I did not forget to give you a wedding present, you know,” she said, lightly nuzzling his neck.
“You did not have to get me anything.”
“Well, I suppose one might say I did not actually get this but was given this.”
Primrose wondered exactly how to tell him she was with child. She knew he would be pleased but she did not wish to shock him or make him become too overprotective. They had a home to make together and she did not want him denying her the chance to help in that just because she carried a child, his child.
“Is it some sort of family heirloom or the like?”
“No.” She rested her arms on his chest and looked at him. “I was going to be so clever and slip in the information in some clever way but cleverness is failing me right now.”
“Then just be blunt. I rather like blunt.”
“Your wedding gift from me is that I am with child.”
His eyes went so wide and he stopped breathing for a moment. Primrose looked at him in alarm but he did not look angry. Then he began to smile, a broad smile so joyous that she could not stop her own smile from forming.
Bened slipped his hand over her flat stomach. “You carry my child. Our child. You could give me no greater gift. Rwy’n caru ti, my rose.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her on both cheeks.
“What did that mean?” The feeling that had been behind the words had stirred her almost to tears and she had to know.
“I love you.” He brushed a kiss over her lips and then held her close. “When did you know?”
“When I was being forced to marry the swine Edgar and my aunt tried to stab me and was shot for her troubles.” She watched him slowly pale and he pressed his hand down a little harder on her belly. “All is well, Bened.”
“Were you planning to tell me?”
“Not if you did not wish to stay with me or just stay together, not until you made some decision about it all. I did not wish to be a woman married for what sat in her womb and little else.”
He stroked her hair. “It would never have been that but it was probably wise not to immediately run to me and tell me. I probably would have put my foot in it, said or done something Lilybet calls male idiocy.” He smiled when she laughed. “It was best to wait until I knew what I wanted. Just one thing, I always wanted you but I had the arrogance to think I could decide what was best for you and did not think it should be me.”
“Yes, Lilybet is right. Men can be idiots.” She rested her cheek against his chest. “Simeon is going to have so much trouble with her.”
“Ah, so you saw that too.”
“I have no idea what I was seeing. It could be the rough seeding of a romance, or a true love or of just a truly fine and lasting friendship. That is up to them but she does know very well how to prod Simeon to a temper.”
“Are you content with the child coming so soon?”
“Yes, as long as you do not try to build some huge protective wall around me. I want to help build the nest for our baby. I may not be a healer like the ones you know, but I do know a great deal about healing and since I showed a knack for it while still very young, I also know all about childbirth and the carrying of a child, the good for you and the bad for you. I will be fine but if you start smothering me with watchfulness and protection I will get cross.”
He laughed but was smart enough not to promise anything. “My mother will be pleased.”
“She already has a great many grandchildren.”
“‘Never too many’ is her favorite saying. And if we have a daughter . . .” He laughed and shook his head. “Mother and all the other women in the family will be more than pleased.”
“Which do you want, Bened?”
“I just want our child to be healthy, to live.”
She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “So do I but I always thought men wanted an heir and since you are now a titled gentleman, I wondered if you had thought on that.”
“I have a great many nephews. Not a direct line to me but one any court in the land would accept.” He gently rolled her onto her back and kissed her belly. “You will soon get round here, our child growing inside you. I will love watching it.”
“I believe talking about how round a woman gets when carrying a child . . .”
“Might be one of those things that will cause me a few bruises?” he teased.
“At the very least.” She murmured with pleasure and burrowed her fingers deep into his thick hair when he began to tease her breasts with soft kisses and long strokes of his tongue.