If Tiberius was uncomfortable about the idea of looking at her, the concept of having to have a conversation with her at the moment was even more unsettling. What did she want to talk about? Was she going to ask him why he'd kissed her? He didn't have an answer that he could articulate. The answer, he supposed, would have been because I admire you, but there was no way in hell he was going to actually say that. It might have been true right now, in the moment, but he wasn't going to have her lording it over him and holding it against him for the rest of their marriage.

Maybe it was possible to distract her. She'd kissed him too, after all, and probably not just from shock — she'd never returned his physical attentions from surprise before, anyway. So she wanted this, too, on some level — and she probably couldn't (or at least wouldn't) articulate why to him, either. Whatever she wanted to say could wait. "Shhh," he murmured against her neck, before kissing her again just above the collarbone. He pulled her closer and moved his hands up slightly, wondering how difficult it would be to get her out of this particular dress.