"I want to begin looking at hotels," Anna murmurs in his ear one day in early February. "Not tomorrow but soon - in March. To see what is available and what we can afford. I want to test the waters."
"Why now?"
"It has been on my mind lately." She nips his jaw. "And the thought of it won't leave me. I have always thought it would be nice to live near the coast. Unless the damp would be bad for your knee."
He feels the tip of her tongue trail his throat, groans when she slides a leg over him, yoking him to the bed with her thighs.
"I enjoyed the seaside," she sighs. "It was lovely. How must it be to fall asleep to waves lapping the shore?"
"I'll speak to his Lordship, if you'll see to securing Lady Mary's permission."
"Do you mean it?"
His heart overflows at her smile.
"Of course."