A fortnight after he and Emily had returned from the Heathingtons’ house party, Cooper found himself walking into his club with a spring in his step. Life was settling into a comfortable routine where he went about his business during the day, and by night he dined with and made love to his wife. The more they chatted and the more they explored in bed, the more his delight in her grew. They had certainly been friends before the wedding, and he had no doubt he had feelings for her, or he’d not have cared about protecting her. But slowly, the idea of love was taking over. Growing. Filling his chest until he walked about like a puffed-up dandy.

After entering White’s, he found his friends in their usual corner near the fireplace. Linc, Flint, Wolf, even Stone was in attendance, as well as Emily’s brother, Arthur. The fivesome sat sipping whisky and discussing whatever the topic of the moment was in the comfort of the wood-paneled, all-male enclave. It was a cozy spot their group had claimed, and it beckoned to him.

He approached the group. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

“Cooper!” Stone greeted him with delight as the others joined in with jovial welcomes and hellos.

“Stone, however did you escape to join us this afternoon?” Cooper ribbed his friend.

Stone snorted. “A far cry more easily than you, my newlywed friend.”

Cooper pulled up a chair and settled in with his friends. “No, doubt. But I fear not for the reasons you imagine. My hellion countess keeps me busy.”

The group chuckled, except for Arthur. “Good God, man! She’s my sister.”

Which only made the rest of them laugh harder than before. Clearly perturbed, Arthur rose, grabbed the fire poker, and jabbed at the logs burning merrily in the fireplace.

After the mirth ebbed, Cooper leaned toward Arthur as he retook his seat. “Fear not, my friend. I’d say no more were you here or not.”

Emily’s brother nodded and resettled in his chair, clearly flustered by the conversation.

“Besides,” Cooper continued, “I want to hear how things are going on your bride hunt.”

Arthur paled as the rest of the group looked at him. “Yes, I promised my sister I would look for a bride.”

“But we’ve only just found you, Dunmere!” Linc’s face became a rictus of horror.

“Indeed, and I have no intentions of finding one so quickly. However, I plan to thoroughly enjoy the looking.” Arthur grinned at his compatriots.

Cooper shook his head, knowing his wife would not be pleased once she figured out her brother’s ploy.

Stone sat back in his chair and stretched his long legs out before him as close to the fire as he could manage. “I plan to thoroughly enjoy watching the lot of you crumble before the women that claim you. If Cooper and I are any indication, you will all be rather entertaining to watch.”

Wolf sat quietly next to Arthur, his face set in a grim countenance that far outpaced his normal glower. Cooper wondered what was troubling his friend. Curious, he nudged Stone and leaned close to him. “Any notion what is troubling Wolf?”

“None at all, though I have noticed he has been extraordinarily dour of late. As affable as the man is in temperament, he looks positively fierce. I heard there once was a woman he cared for, but some tangle occurred. She must have truly done him in.” Stone sighed. “I fear he will have the most difficult time finding love.”

Cooper reached up and tugged at the collar of his shirt. His necktie suddenly seemed uncomfortably tight. “Sometimes love can be hard to spot.”

Stone cast a startled glance at him. “Don’t tell me you’ve had issues with Lady Emily. You two seemed to be in accord of late.”

“More aptly stated, we had established a cease-fire. I believe we have only just reached a truce. I’m still waiting to see if it will result in a lasting peace.” Cooper tucked his chin slightly and let his eyebrows rise.

“Well, I wish you well on that front. It took Theo and me a bit of time to sort ourselves out, but now that we have, I believe all will be smooth sailing from here.” Stone nodded with far more confidence than Cooper had.

“I cannot fathom any circumstances under which anything surrounding Theo would be smooth sailing.” Cooper knew—perhaps more than anyone except Stone—just how trouble-prone Stone’s wife could be.

“Perhaps you’re right. I have been rather overbearing lately, according to her. She even threatened violence if I did not settle down.” Stone leaned closer to Cooper. “You know she’s positively dangerous with a dinner fork.”

Cooper laughed as he imagined some poor unsuspecting dinner partner of Lady Stonemere’s finding himself at the business end of an eating utensil.

Settling back into his chair, he turned his ear to what the single men were planning for entertainment later that evening.

Flint grinned. “I’ll meet up with you blokes after my evening rounds.”

Arthur turned to him. “Your rounds?”

“Oh, yes. I plan to head down to the docks for a few rounds with some of the hands who like to bareknuckle fight. It’s all quite a lark.”

Flint was so jovial, Cooper knew Arthur wasn’t understanding.

“Oh, that sounds entertaining. May I tag along?” Arthur’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Cooper knew he had to interject. “Arthur, your sister would positively trounce me if I let you run off to some of Flint’s amusements. The man has no sense of self-preservation…or pain.”

Arthur’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t feel pain?”

Flint laughed uproariously. “Don’t let old man Brougham over there pull the wool over your eyes. I feel pain well enough. I just enjoy it a bit more than the average man.”

Arthur grew a bit pale at that announcement, as he should in Cooper’s mind. Whatever it took to keep the man whole, hale, and on the bride hunt. Copping a mouse would neither endear Arthur to the ladies nor Cooper to Emily.

“I’m sure Linc and Wolf can show you plenty of other entertainments until you all join up at The Market later. Save the rough stuff for those who know what they’re doing.”

Arthur nodded. “I might tag along sometime to watch, but I’d have to pass on taking a facer.”

Stone rose at that point. “Well, it seems I should be heading home. Promised the wife I’d be home for an extra early dinner so she could retire. The baby wears her out, and it’s not even here yet.”

Cooper rose and joined his friend. “I’ve a stop to make on the way home. I’ll join you in leaving these unfettered gents to their amusements.”

* * *

After dinner, Emily found a note in her husband’s familiar scrawl waiting for her on her dressing table. Curious, she unfolded the paper and read the message.

The past weeks had been a revelation for her. Slowly, with each meal, each conversation, each time they’d had sex, a bridge had been built between them. Before her marriage, she had been enjoying the physical pleasure, thrilled at the adventure of exploring her sexual needs with a man. For a short time after, she’d wanted to exact retribution—punish the man who believed he knew better than her, the man who had had ruined her. But over time, if she was honest with herself, she had come to see that perhaps he had not so much commandeered her life as he was trying to protect her.

As her maid helped her disrobe, she pondered what she might wear for her husband’s surprise. Not knowing what he had planned both excited her and made her nervous. Would he try and bring another man into their bed? No, she discarded that idea immediately.

Perhaps he’d bought her new lingerie? That was a possibility, and if it were the case, wearing just a robe might make sense so she could easily slip into the new garment.

Another idea popped into her head, and she blushed at the thought. Had he acquired another device like the ones they’d used recently? Little shivers of excitement raced through her limbs as she decided to don a silky robe—one meant to cover a nightgown—and nothing else.

Dressed, she sent her maid away for the night and then tended to her own hair. After brushing the golden-brown locks until they shone, she approached the door that separated Cooper’s chamber from hers.

Butterflies swirled through her belly—which logically was ridiculous—but she persevered and knocked. A rustling noise could be heard, and then, after what seemed an eternity, he called out, “Come in.”

Emily opened the door and stepped inside the chamber. For a moment, she just stood there, frozen by the tableau. Every flat surface she could see held a candle, to the point she wondered how the servants would manage overnight without light. Her husband stood next to the bed wearing a robe and, if his bare calves and feet were an indication, nothing else.

Cooper smiled at her. “Come to me, Emily.”

“Yes, sir.” She responded to his command, both in voice and movement.

“Sir is not required. In fact, it would rather ruin tonight’s festivities.” He still stood next to the bed as he waited for her.

After a few more steps, for his was a rather large chamber, she stood before him. Every muscle on her frame vibrated with energy. Something peculiar was afoot, and she could not puzzle it out, so she followed his lead for the moment. She trusted him.

Cooper shook his head. “No specific event. More a celebration of us.”

“Very well.” She glanced about the room once more. “What did you have planned?”

He took her hand and led her over to the sitting chairs by the windows. “Please, sit. May I pour you something to drink?”

Emily considered her taut nerves and nodded. “Please.”

Her husband presented his back to her as he poured something into a glass. She studied the breadth of his shoulders, the way they tapered down to his trim waist, and how even under his brocade robe, the play of muscles could be detected with his every move. She thought about how it felt to run her hands over his back as he made love to her. And she realized that he had been making love to her. They hadn’t simply had sex in a long time if she considered how things had evolved. When he turned back around, he handed her a glass of wine.

“It’s the same red we had at dinner. You seemed to enjoy it.” He took a sip from his glass.

She couldn’t stop the smile from stretching her lips. She had enjoyed it, and he had noticed. “Thank you.”

The ruby-red wine had a light, fruity sweetness that made it far more palatable than some of the dry reds she’d tasted. But more importantly, the fortification helped to settle her nerves as she waited to discover what her husband had in store for the evening.

Cooper took the seat next to hers and canted the chair so they could speak comfortably. He fidgeted a bit as he settled in, which drove her to gulp her wine in lieu of sipping. If he was nervous, she was unsure what to expect. They had done all manner of things in the bedroom. From spankings to him fucking her backside, they’d truly run the gamut. What might cause him to appear at all discomfited?

“In order to help this relationship to not only grow but flourish, we need to experience the ultimate in trust. Whether you recognized it at the time or not, you have in the past trusted me implicitly in the bedroom. We need to grow that connection, but in a new capacity.” He took a sip of his wine and set it down. Then he reached around to a small table on his right that had drawers and opened one.

When he faced her once more, Emily was surprised to see him holding cuffs similar to the ones they had used the other night. Her belly flip-flopped like a landed fish as she considered letting him restrain her in such a way. Could she trust him like that? He was correct in that she once had trusted him implicitly, letting him bind her, blindfold her.

Instantly, she thought back to those intimate moments. Remembered her fear but also the sense of certainty that Cooper would never do her harm. And she knew, despite all that had come between them, she would allow him to restrain her and do as he wished with her body. It was her heart that she still fiercely protected.

“I am willing to let you do this again. I-I—” She tried to find the words to express her nervousness while showing him she was making progress. It had been much easier in the heat of the moment rather than making a clearheaded decision.

Cooper shook his head. “These are not for you. They are for me. I would like you to cuff me to the bed and do with me what you will.”

She inhaled sharply, letting out a small gasp of surprise as a plethora of images flitted through her head. She could tease him until he was hard and then suck him until he came for her. Over and over again. Or she could ride him to orgasm after teasing him unmercifully, drawing out the pleasure for them both. So many possibilities.

“You would trust me…with your pleasure?” Her heart beat so hard, it felt as though it were battering against her chest.

“I would.” He took a breath. “If you are to understand what trust is, I must demonstrate it, give you the very thing I desire most. And if I am to learn to be more forthcoming, then I must learn to tell you what pleases me. What I need from you. My hope is this bridge will carry beyond these walls into our daily lives.”

Emily was so deeply moved by the moment, she wasn’t sure she could respond. After a long silence where she grappled with her chaotic emotions, she drew a slow breath and released it. “Thank you. I, too, hope we can continue to establish an accord that carries beyond this room.”

That familiar, wolfish smile of his appeared. “Then, my lady, would you like to strap your husband to the bed and have your wicked way with him?”

Laughter bubbled up from within as the intensity of the moment dissipated. The import remained, but with a lighter, more adventurous quality. Excited by the prospect of taking control of the evening, she rose and took hold of the cuffs. “Come along, Cooper. We have much to attend to.”

His brows rose a bit as she assumed command as easily as any field marshal. “Of course.” He stood beside her.

“Of course, my lady.” She looked back at him over one shoulder and lifted one brow.

He bowed slightly. “As you wish, my lady.”

With a roguish wink, she ruined the moment, but turned and headed to the bed, confident he would follow. Once there, she pointed to the middle of the space. “Please remove your robe and lie down.”

He did as she asked, baring his body to her. She took in the width of his shoulders, the taper of his torso down to a trim waist, and then down over his lean but well-muscled thighs and calves. As directed, he settled in the middle of the bed and waited.

Emily reached down and wrapped one of the cuffs around his wrist, buckling it into place. Then she took his arm and raised it toward the corner of the bed where a hook was embedded in the wood of the headboard. It was tucked off to the side, where drapery could hide it from prying eyes, but it was still easily accessible. She approved of his attention to detail.

Then she walked around the bed to the other side and repeated the process.

Once Cooper was strapped to the bed, she stepped back and admired the tableau. He brought to mind a mythological god or fallen angel trapped by an earthly lover. His golden hair glinted in the candlelight, the shadows sculpting his face as he waited for her direction. Now that she could do anything she wanted with him, what would she choose?