He came with a grunt — pleasure and agony arriving at exactly the same moment — spilling hot across the sheets, his whole body shuddering through it. He collapsed beside her, chest heaving, heart slamming against his ribs. His arm found her waist and drew her in — pulling her against his chest.
He pressed his lips to her forehead and held her there. "Thank you," Henry said quietly. "I know it was hard for you."
Livia shifted slightly against him, her head resting near his shoulder. "No… no… it felt… good," she replied, she was still trying to make sense of it herself.
"You don't have to wear a brave face."
"I have borne much more pain than that, Henry," she said, her tone light. "It was merely for a minute."
The words unsettled him more than if she had complained.
Henry's jaw tightened slightly. "Exactly what has Beaumont done to you," he muttered, the anger simmering just below the surface.
