Page 84 of A Bloom for a Blacksmith

He chuckled at hearing the awe in her voice. “If you’d like.”

“I’d like that.” For a moment, Iris considered how lucky she felt. She had a man who had not only vowed to be her protector, but who seemed to want to please her.

She had expected supper with Angus to be much like it had been with Jacob. Her brother had rarely talked, using his time at the table to gulp down his food as if he was a starving man.

Conversation came easy with Angus, though, and his table manners were those of someone who had been taught to sit up straight and eat as if every bite counted.

“How is it you’re not already married?” she asked.

In the middle of banking the fire, Angus regarded her with a look of humor. “I am terribly shy,” he said.

Thinking he was teasing her, Iris slowly sobered as he turned down the candle lamps, retrieved the bucket of water, and joined her for the climb to the third floor. “Truly?”

“I fear I’m not very sociable. Until I get to know someone, I suppose,” he quickly added, hanging the pot of water above the fire.

“You seem… comfortable with me.”

“That’s because I am. And because… it did not take long for me to realize you are the one I wish to spend my life with.”

She felt the heat of a blush on her cheeks, her mind going to what they were about to do.

They were going to make love.

“We’ll have to keep the cots away from the walls,” she blurted. “Unfortunately, we can’t hang up any of our clothes until the paint is dry.”

Apparently startled by her off-topic comment, Angus glanced around the room. “All right.” He pulled the cots so they were side by side in the middle of the room. The fire from the fireplace provided enough light by which to see, so he turned down the candle lamp.

“Apologies,” she said.

He gave a start. “Whatever for?”

She sighed and dipped her head. “I’m being a Nervous Nellie.”

Gently placing his hands on either side of her arms and careful to avoid the area where she was badly bruised, he leaned forward and kissed her. “You have every right to be. If it’s any consolation, I am nervous, too.”

Her eyes widened. “You are?”

“I’ve never made love to someone I love,” he said, his voice quiet. “I want to do it right for you.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

He busied himself with moving her trunk and stacking the two wooden boxes, once again creating a makeshift nightstand. Placing his pocket watch on it, he winced at seeing they would need to be up and leaving for the market in less than seven hours.

Meanwhile, Iris covered the cots with bed linens and the only other blanket she owned. “I’ve only one pillow,” she said, her brows furrowed in worry.

“I’m happy to use you,” he teased, shedding his waistcoat. He sat down on the longer cot and removed his high-ankle leather boots and stockings. He retrieved a bath linen from his valise and went about washing his feet.

“It’s very kind of you to do that,” she murmured from behind him.

“Kind?” he repeated.

“Considerate,” she amended. “When Jacob took off his boots, the odor was worse than the smell of this paint, and he rarely bathed.”

Angus groaned in sympathy as he stood. “I’ll be washing something else, too, but… but I’m not sure you’ll want to pay witness to it.”

Iris inhaled softly. “Or you could allow me to do it,” she offered.

He swallowed, and despite his attempts to keep his manhood from reacting, it stiffened even more than it already was.