Just an hour ago the very thought would have terrified her. He was just so large, and every inch of him lean and tight and corded with muscle, and it made her feel even smaller and slighter, utterly breakable...yet even through her fear she would have acquiesced, because her fear of her brother was greater.

Yet her fear of her brother was abating, slowly. Looking up into her husband's fascinating face, scarred from battle but displaying nothing but quiet interest, feeling the gentle touch of his hand on her cheek, she felt much less afraid of him as well.

"All right," she said quietly, nodding slowly. She was not a child anymore, and there were some secrets in the world that only a woman could know and understand. The pleasures and duties of the marriage bed was one of those things...and she was curious.