The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 66: Newlyweds (3)

"Tyrion," Penelope whispered his name when their lips parted.

Penelope was losing her balance quickly.

She was lucky to be sitting on the table so she wouldn’t stumble, but Penelope could not keep up with Tyrion’s weight, so she found herself sliding further onto the table.

Tyrion’s body was somehow nestled between her parted legs.

This was going well beyond a simple kiss.

Penelope thought Tyrion wasn’t listening to her, but he surprised her by ending the kiss and resting his head on her shoulder. A little more and her back would have been resting on the table.

Penelope took a moment to catch her breath and position herself better. She blushed as she thought of the sound of the table scraping against the wooden floor. The room had turned still, with all that was left to be heard was their breathing.

Clouds of dust were seen illuminated in the light creeping into the room from the window.

"I might be more of a scoundrel than I knew," she heard Tyrion confess.

"I might be far from a gentleman with the thoughts filling my mind with me having you on this table. Another time," Tyrion said, standing up straight. He took his hands off Penelope to cool down before he got carried away again.

It was only a kiss, yet his mind was running wild with things he would like to do with her. Things that would only make her more nervous and things that the table beneath her wouldn’t hold up long enough for.

Tyrion stared at Penelope, relishing her beauty. Her lips are plump thanks to him. She stared right back at him, eager for what would come next.

Tyrion reached behind Penelope to finally release her hair, which was pinned up into a bun.

Penelope’s hair cascaded down her shoulders, flowing like a calm river.

Penelope, unaware of it, held her breath as Tyrion raked his fingers through her hair, stopping to kiss the strands between his fingers before they fell back into place on her shoulder.

The simple action of Tyrion kissing her hair brought Penelope’s attention to his lips. She attempted to close her legs, only to be blocked by Tyrion’s body.

The room started to feel warmer than when Penelope entered, but she knew it was due to what Tyrion said.

Tyrion was bolder with what he said concerning her. It was something Penelope couldn’t confidently say that she would get used to fast.

"Forgive me. I got carried away," Tyrion said, gently touching her lip.

Penelope averted her gaze as Tyrion tried to soothe her lips by gently running her finger along them. "It is fine. I only wanted you to take a break because the table was slipping away beneath me. That was all. I enjoyed it."

"Good to know. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking of kissing you."

"That’s not concerning at all," Penelope replied.

Tyrion chuckled.

"Did you not have practice?" Penelope inquired.

Tyrion stopped laughing and bit his tongue.

"I see. That doesn’t concern me," Penelope said, not jealous. "My brother is Elijah Collins. I can only imagine your stories are like his."

"It is not as you think. I might have tried distracting myself when I thought we couldn’t be together. That was years ago, before I decided to pursue you. I’ve also been surprised in my quarters by women who thought seducing me would find them a place in the palace," Tyrion explained.

Tyrion had a few stories on ’accidental kisses’ which he knew were done on purpose.

"You do not need to explain yourself, just as I wouldn’t need to explain myself. Though if I had anything to share, it would be innocent," said Penelope.

Penelope only had the unfortunate events of men who thought they could sometimes sneakily lower their hands during a dance. They were met with the heel of her shoe on their shoes before they succeeded with their plan.

"I have not bedded anyone," Tyrion cleared up before it later became a misunderstanding. "But this was not my first kiss. There was a young lady who once grabbed me and kissed me. I consider that my first."

"You have all these terrible tales, yet I do not hear of you throwing anyone into a dungeon. What are the palace guards doing?" Penelope wondered.

How could they be so careless?

Tyrion smiled as he backed away from the table and offered his hand to help Penelope down. He would have caused a war in the palace if he had sent for the palace guards that day.

Penelope accepted Tyrion’s hand and slid off the table. She was quick to tidy her appearance.

Penelope looked around once again and then asked, "Where will we rest? Is there water for us to wash up or nightgowns for me to change into? It is fine if there isn’t any."

"Damien will gather water for you and warm it so you can wash up. As for what you can wear to bed, there is nothing here besides my shirt that I can offer you. I will send him for food as well," said Tyrion.

"He doesn’t need to do all of that. I can last the night like this," Penelope replied.

All she wanted was to take off her shoes, and once her dress was taken off, she could sleep comfortably without all the layers.

"I just want to retire to bed," said Penelope.

Penelope wanted morning to come fast so she could return to the estate to know if her parents had found themselves in hot water because of the wedding or if they were safe.

Tyrion held Penelope’s hand to take her to where there was a room with a bed she could use.

"Why has no one taken over this home?" Penelope wondered since it had plenty of furniture.

"It is now in my name," Tyrion replied. "I don’t frequent it to avoid the court learning of it, and it has been used as a safe place if I wanted a moment alone. We can use it on nights we want to be scandalous."

"I am only teasing you," Tyrion said after she tensed up.

"I do not believe you. I am starting to realise that there is much about you that I do not know. You have so many knights under your command, you had all these plans, and you had this home to your name. I wonder if you will keep surprising me," Penelope said, eager to learn more.

"I might. I’ll step out to let you go to bed-"

"Stay," Penelope said, grabbing Tyrion’s hand. "At the very least, I am not afraid to sleep with my husband."