The sheets were twined around them, making Nicholas’s bed feel like a cozy nest as the sun began to peek in through the curtains. Claire snuggled up against his warm, bare chest, utterly content and firmly intent on never leaving this bed. Not until she needed food, at least.

Nicholas was stroking her back and dropping kisses on top of her head. He must have felt her yawn, because he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Why don’t you sleep, love? You’ve had a long night.”

She laughed softly as she turned her head so her lips were over his heart. “That is an understatement.”

His devilish grin matched her own. It was nearing twenty-four hours since their wedding guests had departed and it had been the most intensely delicious day of her life.

All of which had been spent in bed.

Lord, but she had never known being married could be such bliss. And even now a baby could be forming. Really, having Nicholas’s children running around at her feet was the only thing that could make her life any better than it was at this very moment.

But, as Nicholas reminded her last night when they’d talked and rested between bouts of lovemaking, they had plenty of time for that. He’d also wisely pointed out that trying for children would keep them pleasantly occupied in the meantime.

This was the sort of plan she could support wholeheartedly. It was good to know that she and her new husband were on the same page when it came to goals and life plans.

She grinned at him once more as giddy laughter bubbled up. Amusement lit his eyes in return. “What are you thinking, wife?”

She shook her head, moving up slightly so she could nuzzle his neck and smell that delicious aftershave. “Just reveling in happiness, I suppose.” She pulled back to look at him. “I could get used to this.”

“Good.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Because I plan to keep you this happy for the rest of your life.”

She arched her brows teasingly. “That could be a very long time.”

“Mmm, I hope so.” He shifted so he was partially over her, trailing kisses over her neck and collarbone, making her wriggle as a now-familiar sensation made her belly clench with a fierce ache.

While she longed to give herself over to his clever hands and his heated kisses, there was one thing left undone. She peeked over at the window, which was growing lighter as the sun rose in the sky.

It was one thing that she refused to let go any further. This was still their wedding day, technically, but it would not be for much longer.

She gently pushed at his shoulders and then tugged at his hair when he didn’t immediately comply. That did the trick and he pulled back just far enough to meet her gaze. “Sorry, love. I should have realized you need your sleep and some time to recuperate and—”

She lifted her head to cut him off with a kiss. “Nonsense. I have just as much stamina as you, thank you very much.”

He grinned down at her, laughter in his eyes. “Good to know. Then what’s the issue?”

“No issue, just—” Nerves made her hesitate. It was one thing to feel it, another to know it, but saying it aloud was a new experience altogether, one she aimed to savor.

He drew his brows together in question. “Claire, is everything all right or—”

“I love you.” The words came out sharp and quick as though forced out.

After a moment of stunned, wide-eyed silence, Nicholas’s eyes crinkled up in a grin that lit up her world. “Oh sweetheart, I love you too. Hearing those words is the best wedding present a man could ever ask for.”

She smiled back at him and heaved a sigh of relief. Her chest felt lighter for having finally said the words she’d been feeling for weeks now.

“I love you too, you know,” he said between kisses.

She grinned against his lips. “I know.” And she did, she could feel his love wrapped around her as surely as she felt the twisted sheets.

He flipped over suddenly, pinning her wrists to the pillow and startling a laugh out of her. Grinning down at her, the twinkle in his eye was all rake. She had to admit, she loved his rakish charm, especially now that it was all for her benefit.

The notoriously womanizing Lord Nicholas was now a self-proclaimed one-woman rake.

The rake in question growled softly. “Tell me, wife, are you ever going to tell me how you managed to sneak into my quarters unseen?” He nipped at her earlobe making her shiver with delight. “Or will I have to continue to torture that secret out of you.”

Her laugh turned to a gasp of pleasure as he tugged the tangled sheet out from between them so his full length was pressed to hers, tantalizing her with the delicious torture to come.

It wasn’t much of a secret, really. It seemed Anne and her now-husband hadn’t been able to keep away from one another during their brief engagement and she was more knowledgeable than most countesses in the arts of burglary.

Still… A lady had to have a hobby, and letting Nicholas try to seduce this information out of her was her new favorite pastime.

“I’ll never tell,” she whispered before giving his shoulder a little nip for good measure.

He growled as his lips sought hers. “I was hoping you might say that.”

Thank you for reading A Rake’s Ruin! If you enjoyed it, reviews are greatly appreciated. If you missed Anne and Davenport’s story, you can find it in , a standalone novella from the Wicked Earls’ Club series.

For more Devilish Lords, turn the page to read a sample of the second standalone novel in the series, , in which Georgie Cleveland and Lord Rhys find their happily ever after.