Free To Tame A Countess (Properly Spanked Book 2) by Annabel Joseph

did, that was appropriately private, but she wasn’t sure about the finer details or why they had to travel all the way to Oxfordshire to accomplish the thing.
    She was not a complete idiot. She knew honeymoons involved intimate behavior. The man beside her would embrace her again, and probably kiss her as he had in the forest. But she’d heard other things that gave her pause. She knew for certain she must not allow him in her bed. She hoped the inn tonight had plenty of beds, so she needn’t worry about it.
    When Lord Warren finished stretching, he sat forward on the seat. “Would you like me to light the lamp?”
    Josephine agreed that she would like that, for she still felt leftover anxiety from her dream. She knew there were no tigers here, and no danger. Well, not the sort of danger she was used to. She stared at Lord Warren’s thighs as he reached to light the candle in the glass lamp and hang it overhead.
You’ve been spanked over those thighs
, she thought. She couldn’t stop thinking about that whole affair, or the kiss that had come afterward.
    The candle filled the traveling compartment with a soft, warm glow, illuminating velvet pillows and gilt trim. It illuminated him too, so she could see his features and the fine gold embroidery on his coat. He touched her hand, just for a moment, and she remembered the way he’d clasped her in the woods. She remembered the leashed strength in his body, and the way they’d kissed. What did that touch mean? Had the honeymoon begun yet?
    “I am curious about Warren Manor,” she said.
    He seemed pleased at that. “What are you curious about? Would you like me to describe it?”
    “Yes, that would be wonderful.”
    He settled back on the seat. “Let’s see. Warren Manor is south of Oxford and west of Cowley. It lies on four hundred or so acres of land, and has been in my family for nine generations. Which means it’s rather old, but it’s been updated at various times. The home itself has four wings around a central courtyard, and two towers on the south side, along with stables and a servants’ residence which was added during the latter part of the previous century.”
    “I imagine a house of that size has a great many beds.”
    He gave her a quizzical look. “Yes, it does. Warren Manor is full to the brim with beds. Of course you shall have your own suite of rooms there, to decorate and furnish as you wish. You’ll have a dressing room and a sitting room, and a bedroom of your own.”
    She felt a wave of relief. “Oh. That sounds wonderful.”
    “Yes. This marriage thing won’t be such a trial. You’ll see.”
    He spoke a bit more about Warren Manor, and his parents who had died in that tragic carriage accident. She prayed he wouldn’t inquire about her parents, and he didn’t, only talked about furnishings, and architectural styles, and refurbishments, and household staff, and a lot of other things that Josephine had trouble following after a while.
    “What is a honeymoon anyway?” she interrupted, when it appeared he would not finish talking about his house anytime soon.
    He raised a brow. “Do you mean, what happens on a honeymoon?”
    “Well, I understand that in a general sense.”
    “I’m glad to hear it. Otherwise we shall have to have a rather lengthy conversation before we reach Warren Manor.”
    Josephine picked at a fold in her skirt, then looked back at him. “So, the honeymoon will not begin until we arrive at Warren Manor? It will not commence tonight?”
    He gave her a long look. “Are you afraid? Because there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
    What a ludicrous statement. There was everything to be afraid of.
    “Are you afraid of me?” he pressed. “Are you afraid to be intimate with me? Is that what all this marital reluctance is about?”
    “No. It’s not about that at all.”
    “Then why? Why were you so unwilling to be married?”
    “I told you why. Because I wished to live alone.”
    “Why did you wish to live