Christiana frowned, suddenly worried that it might not have been. It had been a brief glimpse and she couldn’t say for sure it was a strawberry-shaped birthmark she’d seen. She supposed it could have been a red mark caused by his leaning on the windowsill as she’d disrobed him.

That thought made her frown and she raised her head to try to peer along his back to see if she could see his behind, but of course she couldn’t. Her wiggling about in an effort to do so, however, roused Richard. It also had the rather startling effect of resurrecting some of her own passion that she’d thought gone.

Christiana was trying to ignore that, but Richard just made it worse by shifting slightly against her as he raised his head to peer down into her face.

“I am sorry,” he said solemnly. “You deserved so much better than what you’ve had this last year.”

Richard sounded incredibly sincere and Christiana looked into his eyes and did not see the cold emptiness she’d become used to. Instead, she again saw the warm concern and sympathy she’d seen in him at the ball. The combination brought the unexpected sting of tears to her eyes. She closed them quickly and turned her head away, swallowing a sudden lump in her throat as well, and then Richard pressed a gentle kiss to each of her closed eyes, the tip of her nose and then finally to her closed lips.

Christiana remained still for a moment under the caress, but then turned her face back and let her lips drift open, inviting him to deepen the kiss. She wanted to experience the passion again, she wanted to forget if only for tonight how miserable he had made her this last year and pretend for a few hours at least that she’d gained the happy ever after that she’d wanted.

Much to her relief, Richard did deepen the kiss, he also began to move, withdrawing from her and then easing back in. At first he was gentle, giving her body the chance to adjust, but then he slid a hand between them and began to caress her again, reinvigorating her already awakening passions until she was again the trembling mass of hunger she had been earlier. Once he’d achieved that, his gentleness gave way to a more vigorous tempo as they both strained for the release she’d just experienced moments ago. This time when Christiana found it, Richard joined her, and they shouted out their pleasure together.

Richard stared at the drapes over the bed, his mind replaying what had just happened. He had kissed Christiana, partially to silence her, and partially because he just couldn’t resist doing it. He was only human after all and her unintentional caresses as she’d stripped off his clothes had been rather arousing. Once he’d kissed her, however, that hadn’t been enough. He’d been like a house on fire, the flames raging through his body and ravaging his good sense. His only moment of clear thought had been when he’d set her on her feet and bent to finish removing the breeches she’d undone. He had almost put an end to things then and sent her back to her room. However, by then, Richard had wanted her with a passion he hadn’t enjoyed even during his first experience as a callow youth. By the time he’d straightened, he’d concluded that if the only way to have her was to uphold the marriage George had initiated in his stead then so be it. It would protect all three women from scandal and he’d have a very passionate partner in his marriage bed. It was more than some men enjoyed.