“Thief,” she muttered.
“It's on account,” he offered with a wicked grin. “I'll pay you for it later.”
Abbi blushed, Rhys laughed and Emme scolded Michael for misbehaving. “Rotten. Utterly rotten!”
Michael rose, kissed Emme's cheek and tugged Abbi up from the settee, taking her by the hand. “So that my wickedness does not offend, I will steal my wife away and leave you to scold your own husband.”
In the hallway, just outside the ducal chambers, Michael kissed her soundly.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“Because I can. If I haven't kissed you senseless at least several times a day then I'm failing in my duties as a husband,” he replied.
“Funny, I don't recall that being part of our vows.”
He moved along the hallway, leading her toward their rooms. “Really? I recall specifically that the vicar told me I should—.”
“Stop! For goodness sake, do not bring the vicar into this! It's blasphemy!”
He chuckled softly as he opened the door to their chamber, propelling her inside. “It sounds so much better when you're blaspheming. 'Oh, God, Michael!' It's music to my ears when you say that.”
She laughed in spite of the blush that stained her cheeks. “You are the most wonderfully wicked man I've ever known.”
“Only that you've known? Not in the entire world?” he asked as he picked her up and tossed her on the bed. “I shall have to try harder.”
“That sounds promising,” she replied cheekily.
“Minx.”
“Rogue.”
He looked down at her. “Not anymore. I'm thoroughly redeemed. Wickedness doesn't count if it's conducted with one's wife.”
“Where do you find all these rules that work so well to your advantage?” she asked. By the time she'd finished asking the question, she no longer cared for the answer. Michael's hands were roaming beneath her skirts, his mouth trailing hot kisses over her neck.
“Do you really want to talk about that now?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. You can make up all the rules you want, just don't stop doing what you are.”
“Have I told you today,” he asked, punctuating each word with a soft kiss, “How much I love you? And how incredibly lucky I am to have found you wiggling your lovely bottom in the air as you scolded a cat?”
She smiled as his mouth moved over her neck, his teeth gently grazing her earlobe. Her entire body was suffused with heat, but it was the tenderness that filled her, swelling within her heart at the sweetness of his words that truly left her breathless. “Tell me later... after you've shown me.”
THE END
The Redemption of a Rogue (Dark Regency Book 2) Page 24