"Among other things," Bradford returned. "He wanted to leave, and he was needed back in Boston, love. His job was done here."
"And how do you know that?" Caroline asked. "I had a long talk with your protector before he left," Bradford told her.
Caroline smiled over his comment that Benjamin was her protector. "We protected each other," she said. "He is my friend."
"He told me how you met," Bradford admitted. He grinned, that lopsided half-smile that tugged at Caroline's heart, caused her pulse to miss a beat.
"Benjamin doesn't easily talk to anyone. I'm surprised that he confided in you." She frowned, wondering just how Bradford had convinced Benjamin.
"I told him I was going to marry you and that I would see to your protection," Bradford replied, inadvertently answering her unspoken question.
"That was very arrogant of you," Caroline said.
Bradford wasn't put off by her remark. He rolled to his side, kicking the covers off, and began to nibble on Caroline's hip.
Caroline jumped and tried to slap his face away. She laughed while she told him that he wasn't being very proper, but the laughter died when she saw that he was aroused again. "Bradford, I'm too tender still. You're going to have to"
"Make love to you a different way," Bradford finished.
Caroline turned until she was on her knees and frowned at her husband. His gaze was hot and extremely lustful. He took his time looking at her breasts, the nipples erect in instinctive anticipation, the tiny waist and slender hips, enjoying her nudity with a look filled with promise.
She shook her head when he crooked his finger and said."
"Come here, Caroline. It won't hurt this time, I promise."
"That's what you said last time," Caroline muttered when he reached up and pulled her down on top of him. "Bradford, I really am sore," she said.
Her voice was fretful and Bradford hurried to soothe her. "There are endless ways to make love, Caroline. Relax," he whispered, stroking her back.
Caroline wasn't at all sure what Bradford was telling her. She leaned up and gave him a disgruntled look, letting him know that she didn't believe him. He kissed the frown from her face while he caressed her backside.
The leisurely kisses were soon unsatisfactory and the intensity, the hotness of his simmering hunger, exploded into raw passion. Bradford's mouth was relentless as he ravished his wife, forced her resistance away. He pushed her onto her back and then lowered his head to worship her straining breasts.
Caroline's fingers threaded their way through Bradford's soft, silky hair. She tried to roll closer to her husband but his leg locked her against the bed, keeping her still. And then he was moving lower, bathing a scorching path with his hot kisses, his velvet tongue.
She didn't realize his intent until his knee had forced her legs apart and his hands held her steady. His fingers slipped into the satiny petals, stroking and petting, until she was moist and sleek with arousal. His mouth replaced his fingers and he was heedless to Caroline's startled pleas to stop.
The pleasure was excruciatingly sweet. Caroline's hips began to move in a slow, lethargic motion. She gripped the sheets with her hands, and her head moved with the same restlessness against the pillow as her hips moved against Bradford's magic.
When she thought she could bear the building ecstasy no longer, the heat inside her exploded into a thousand fragments. She arched in surrender and heard herself call his name.
Bradford had thought only to pleasure her, to show her the heights he could make her touch, and he had to fight the powerful urge to thrust himself into her beckoning warmth. She was so tight, so hot, and her passionate response to him nearly bested his good intentions.
He took a deep breath, quieting his trembling body, and pulled away from her. He forced himself to think of something other than the sensual creature beside him, vowing with a fierce growl not to take her.
Caroline sat up, her gaze still lazy with passion. Her hand stroked Bradford's thigh in slow circles and she was surprised when he grabbed her hand and held it still.
"Give me a minute to slow down," Bradford stated. His voice was harsh but there was no help for it. His loins throbbed for satisfaction. "Otherwise I'll break my promise, sweet, and you'll have trouble walking for a week."
Caroline smiled. "A week, Bradford? Surely you exaggerate." She pulled her hand free and trailed one finger down the middle of his chest. "You look like you're in pain, husband," she remarked in a sultry whisper. Her hand hesitated in its direction, and Caroline noticed that her husband had quit breathing. She suddenly felt very powerful and quite seductive. Her hand continued until she was touching Bradford's hardness.
Bradford visibly jerked and then let out a full groan. Caroline smiled over it and whispered, "You have just given me pleasure, Bradford. Isn't there a way I can pleasure you too?"
"Caroline, my little innocent…" The rest of his explanation got caught in the back of his throat, lost in the low growl when Caroline slowly lowered her head and placed feathery, teasing kisses against his navel. "You'll have to tell me what to do," she whispered.
The Duke of Bradford immediately did just that.
Chapter Eleven
Caroline's worry about being embarrassed when she faced her guests never became a reality. By the end of the weekend, when she and her husband finally emerged from their bedroom, all the guests had taken their leave.
"We have been terribly rude," Caroline told her husband over dinner that night. Her grin told him that she wasn't too upset over her behavior, and he found himself laughing.
Bradford had made travel arrangements for a suitable honeymoon, but he and his new wife never got as far as the front door during the bliss-filled days and nights.
Caroline quickly adapted to her new life and took over the responsibilities of running the huge house with relative ease. Henderson, Bradford's man, and Mrs. Lindenbowe, the housekeeper, helped show her the way.
Bradford, Caroline found, wasn't as easy to run. In fact, she told herself on numerous occasions, he wasn't an easy man to love. His temper rivaled Mount Vesuvius when he became angry, but the verbal explosions were quick to end. Caroline always stood up to him, giving as good as she got, and slowly came to accept the fact that their relationship would always keep her on her toes.
She waited with growing frustration to hear her husband tell her that he loved her. She believed, in time, that the walls Bradford had erected around his heart would dissolve and he would allow her to see his vulnerability.
He was, without a doubt, the most stubborn man in the world. She learned, over the course of the following weeks, that there were certain subjects he didn't care to discuss. And his family topped the list.
Patience was never one of Caroline's strong points, but she managed well enough, thinking that her prize would be worth the strain. In time, Bradford would trust her with his heart.
Caroline was sorry when they had to return to London. The occasion was Charity's wedding, which would certainly be festive, but she hated for their honeymoon to end. She told Bradford just that and he laughed, hugging her close to him inside the cozy carriage on their way back to the city. "It's possible to make love in London, sweetheart. Lord, I believe I've made you quite wanton."
"Are you sorry for it?" Caroline asked with a smile.
Bradford's answer was to lift her onto his lap and show her just how unsorry he really was.
Caroline had never seen Bradford's townhouse and she found it quite comfortable. It was large and masculine, cluttered with heavy, old-fashioned, leathery furnishings that indicated male territory.