“Matthews,” she said softly, smiling at him as kindly as she could to make up for Dominic’s brusqueness. “The house is lovely. I know we shall both be happy here.”
The man’s face softened, but only a fraction. “Thank you, madam. Let me escort you to your rooms, then I shall let the cook know of you arrival. Unless you’d like me to assemble the servants for immediate inspection.”
Katherine began to nod, anxious to make some kind of connection with the staff, to ease their fears. And also to begin her duties as lady of this house by making an overture to the servants.
“No, Matthews, it’s late,” Dominic interrupted. “Just have someone bring up a tray for us. We’ll greet the servants tomorrow.”
The no-nonsense tone of her husband’s voice kept Katherine from arguing, at least in front of this stranger. But she was again surprised at Dominic’s dismissal. He behaved as if this house and its staff were nothing but a bother to him. After his anxious response to seeing the home, she was surprised.
Matthews bowed and motioned to the staircase. He led them through a winding hall to a large double door. When he opened it, he revealed beautiful master quarters, with a huge pillared bed, a roaring fire, and the most elegant furniture Katherine had seen in the house so far. It was evident the staff had gone to a great deal of trouble with the room, and she was touched.
“I’m afraid the other chambers aren’t ready, but we did the best we could with the master suite,” Matthews said with an apologetic bow.
Katherine started at this news, that separate quarters hadn’t yet been prepared. But she did her best to keep dismay from her face. The staff had obviously done their best to make their homecoming a welcoming one. Her upset would only be taken as censure.
How was Matthews to know she didn’t want to share a chamber with her husband? If she had her own room, she could at least feign a headache to escape Dominic’s sensual charms. Now there would be no such respite. It would take pure willpower to keep from giving in to what she knew he would offer.
“Thank you, this is magnificent,” Dominic said with the first smile he had spared for the kindly man. He looked anything but upset by this turn of events.
“I will have someone bring a tray for you. Good evening.” Matthews bowed to them, then began to close the doors. A twinge of panic twisted her heart. The moment that door was closed, temptation would begin.
“Good evening,” Katherine replied weakly.
The door closed behind him and she found herself alone with her husband.
“You could have been friendlier,” she said softly as she paced around the room.
It really was lovely, though her eyes couldn’t help but continually stray to the four-poster bed across from the fire. It had been made for sin.
“What did I do?” he asked with false innocence. His eyes never left her, catching her every move with the intensity of a hawk on a hunt.
She did her best to focus on her scolding despite the growing awareness in her and the rising heat in the room around them. Even after all his statements about their marriage, she couldn’t control her physical reaction to him. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. It didn’t seem to matter that he could burn her; she craved his heat and light.
“You were short with him. And you gave him no reassurances when it was obvious he and the rest of the staff need them.”
She plucked at the worn curtain before daring to meet Dominic’s gaze. The gray pulled her in, warmed her. Made her want and made her forget.
Wordlessly, he took a long step closer. She drew in a sharp breath of anticipation. It was so hard to resist him when he looked at her that way. Those bright eyes and half-grin melted her insides. She found herself actually swaying.
“Y-you must be tired,” she stammered as she gripped the curtain even tighter. The brocade dug its pattern into her palm, but she worried it was the only thing keeping her upright at the moment. The only thing grounding her.
“I’m hungry,” he whispered in that gravelly voice that touched her very core.
She grasped at the lifeline his words offered. “Yes, well I could ring and see where the food is. Or we could go down and explore our new dining room.” She flinched at the desperation in her voice.
He cut her off with a wicked grin. “I wasn’t talking about food. I’m hungry for you.”
Her knees buckled, but she managed to stay upright with a stunning show of self-control. A voice in her head screamed at her to resist, but her body didn’t seem capable of listening. Everything tingled like he had already touched her, and her lips throbbed for his kiss.
“I—I will perform my wifely duty if I must,” she said shakily, hoping her use of the term would put him off.
His eyes lit up, but he chuckled rather than turn away. She cursed herself. Obviously he could see how much she wanted him, despite her protestations. She turned to face the window so he could no longer read the need in her eyes.
“Was last night so terrible, then?” he asked.
Suddenly, he was at her back, his breath caressing her neck before his lips descended to claim the skin left uncovered by her gown. She stiffened as hot sensation rushed through her, enveloping her in a web of desire.
“I-it was fine.” She fought to breathe as he unfastened one button at the back of her gown and flicked his tongue across the flesh he revealed. “If you like that sort of thing.”
He responded with a low laugh that reverberated across her skin. Her eyes fluttered shut as she barely held back her answering moan.
“And you don’t?” he asked.
“No. It’s too…” Intoxicating. Wonderful. Tempting. “Messy.”
Another button slid through his fingers and his mouth followed the trail with a whisper of breath against her spine. She tried not to arch with pleasure and failed. He smiled against her skin.
Damn.
“Hmmm. So you don’t want me to do this?” He slipped the last button of her gown open and bared her back to the heat of the fire and his equally burning touch.
“N-no,” she whispered, though her voice cracked.
“Or this?” His hand slipped beneath the layers of gown and chemise to brush against her skin. Slowly, he eased the dress over her shoulder and reached around to cup one exposed breast.
“No.” Her voice was even softer and less sure.
She couldn’t remember anything anymore. Not why she’d been lecturing him, not why she had to keep him at arm’s length. Nothing but the fact that he melted her, and it was folly to try to resist.
“And definitely not this.” He flicked his thumb against her nipple and wet heat rushed through her, settling between her legs where she began to throb with a want to bring him inside her.
“Oh God,” she sighed and finally leaned back against his chest. “Please don’t.”
She was begging him. Begging him to stop, urging him to continue. His knowledge of what she secretly wanted and needed overpowered any ability to resist.
Slowly he turned her until she faced him. With primal possession in his eyes, he gathered her into his embrace and kissed her until her knees were water and her blood was boiling.
“And not that either.”
He drew back and stared at her, waiting for…something. She wasn’t sure what.
“No.”
He pursed his lips and pulled back. “Very well. I won’t take something you don’t offer freely.”
When he stepped away, Katherine stared at him. He was going to go? Just leave her like this with her dress halfway around her waist and her body trembling with unfulfilled need? Simply because she asked him not to take her again? It was unexpected. It was unfathomable.
And it wasn’t what she wanted. Deep in her heart, she’d expected him to force his suit until she surrendered like she secretly wished to. But now she had to make the choice. Do what she wanted. Or what she needed.
The first one triumphed.
With trembling legs, she stepped closer. Meeting his ey
es, she reached out to take his hand, then returned it to her breast. His eyes widened, but he didn’t pull away.
Her voice trembled. “I won’t refuse you. It’s clear you know that.”
In silence, he put a hand around her waist and drew her closer. He caught her mouth for a long kiss as he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. His bed.
Their bed.
Laying her down on the coverlet, he brushed a few loose locks of hair away from her face, then eased the rest of her gown to her waist. She arched under his touch as he massaged her breasts, dragged his fingertips down her stomach. No matter what she said, or how she reasoned with herself, she wanted him. And she would be forced to find another way to stay in control when it came to her heart, because she had no intention of giving up these stolen moments. Not ever again.
His mouth came down on hers, claiming her and taking her thoughts. It followed the trail of his hands. His tongue darted over her breasts, teasing the nipples into tight beads, then dipping into her bellybutton as he stripped her of the rest of her garments.
Dominic leaned back to look at his wife. Her ebony hair had come down from its confines and spread out like a fan over the pillows. Her face was flushed with desire and she arched up when his fingertips brushed the soft mound between her legs.
For the first time in years, he felt lucky. Lucky to share this moment with her. Lucky to claim her as his wife. It was both a terrifying and an exhilarating sensation.
Returning his mouth to her stomach, he inched lower. She tensed as he nipped at her inner thigh.
“Dominic,” she gasped from above him. “What are you—?”
He didn’t allow her to finish before he pressed the most intimate of kisses against her. With a hoarse cry of surprise and pleasure, she gripped at his shoulders. Her nails dug into his skin as he stroked his tongue along her sex, tasting her like the sweetest wine. With each sinful kiss, he felt her move closer to the brink. He loved being the one to take her there.
By God, she was the most responsive lover he ever had. Though she was inexperienced, she was a quick learner. Her body was made for him to take and to give. And he relished every moment.
Katherine’s vision blurred as Dominic slipped a finger inside her and continued to kiss her in that scandalous, fantastic manner. Her body was alive, aware in a way she hadn’t been before. The pleasure was focused and intense as he quickened the pace of his tongue and fingers. And then, just as she was sure she couldn’t bear the intensity any longer, she fell over an edge and experienced a release more powerful than any the night before. Her body thrashed wildly as she cried out over the long, insistent waves of her climax.
Before she had even a moment to breathe, Dominic rose up to kiss her mouth. She tasted her own desire on his lips as he eased into her in one, fluid movement. She hadn’t realized he’d undressed, and would not have even been aware if the house was burning down around them.
Her body bucked at his first hard thrust. Then another and another as the pleasure built again with shocking speed and intensity. She scraped her nails across his back and kissed him with all the heat he created in her. She arched and writhed and finally cried out his name as she found release a second time, made all the better by the way he stiffened and climaxed deep within her.
It took her a long time to realize he’d moved and gathered her up against his chest. She was warm and sated, and feeling dangerously close to caring for this man she hardly knew, who could so easily make her forget the vows she’d made on the long, dark night her parents died. Make her forget she couldn’t surrender the wavering control she held over her heart.
Letting out a deep sigh, she began to trail a small pattern through his wiry chest hair with her fingernails. Perhaps what she needed was a new plan. One that allowed her this pleasure at night without growing any closer to Dominic.
Already, his deep breathing indicated he was almost asleep. She propped herself up on one elbow to take a clear look at him. He was far too handsome for his own good. With a scruffy hint of a beard and the hard angles of his jaw, he looked more like a warrior than a pampered second son of a rich society member.
Though judging from the story he told her about separating from his family at such a young age, perhaps he hadn’t been so very pampered.
Not like Cole. Cole didn’t have an edge to his face. He didn’t have any edges at all. He was all gentle, rounded curves. Safe and manageable.
As she looked down into her husband’s dark face, Katherine realized just how boring safe and manageable would have been. Dominic fascinated her, and that was more terrifying than she could imagine.
Which was why she had to come up with a new plan.
She could share these passionate moments with Dominic in their bed. But in order to protect her heart and keep from becoming far too enamored of the man, she would make sure she didn’t spend her days with him. She wouldn’t find out more about his past. She wouldn’t ask him to share his plans for the future. That lack of interest was what Dominic said he wanted, so it would be easy enough to manage.
The estate required enough work to keep them both occupied. She would simply throw herself into making their new home a showplace Dominic could be proud of.
With a small smile, she rested her head back against his shoulder as his arms tightened around her. But as she drifted into an exhausted sleep, a voice in her head whispered that this plan would never work.
Chapter 8
F or three long days this had gone on. Three nights of going to sleep beside a warm and willing woman, only to wake to find her gone, not to be seen until a meal or another night. Even then, Dominic received no explanation for her absence. His wife had become quite adept at night, distracting him before he asked too many questions.
He slammed the door as he entered the hallway. He should have been interviewing the servants who might have been in residence around the time he was conceived. He should have been searching the attic for evidence.
But he wasn’t, because he was on the hunt for Katherine.
He’d woken alone and disappointed…again. He’d been having a particularly pleasant dream he hoped to act out with his lovely wife. Reaching over to find her side of the sheets cold left him grumpy as a bear in winter.
So now he was storming through the house, searching for a woman who was hiding. Hiding from him! What had he done to her except make her cry out his name with pleasure for long hours each night? He paused with a wicked smile at the thought, before his irritation returned.
Damn it! It was time he and his wife had a little discussion about her refusal to spend time with him.
He stopped with a shake of his head. What was he thinking? A wife who submitted willingly, even enthusiastically in his bed and required nothing else from his heart, was perfect—more than he ever could have hoped for. So why did it bother him so much?
Perhaps because the moments they did spend together, particularly at meals, were as stimulating as the moments in their bed. Katherine had a sharp wit. Her laughter, though rare, warmed him. And she was intelligent as well. She often made observations about items in the morning paper that made Dominic think.
He enjoyed talking to her. Had that ever happened with another bed partner? He didn’t think it had, and that made his wife’s disappearances all the more irritating.
With a growl, he spun on his heel to go back to his duties in the attic. He wouldn’t look for her anymore. If she didn’t want to spend her time with him, that was fine.
“Oh, Matthews, this really is lovely.”
He stopped at the sound of her voice in the room just a few doors down.
“You’re telling me you found this folded in a trunk in the old servant quarters?” she continued.
Dominic found himself moving toward her voice like a sailor to a siren’s song. He could only hope she would be less dangerous. Though he feared she was much, much more so.
With a sly glance, he peeked around the corner into a dusty parlor. H
e hadn’t even known this room existed. Of course, he paid little attention to the house at all, beyond his fruitless searching. Why bother? He didn’t want to live here. Only lies existed in these walls.
Katherine rubbed a fold of bright blue fabric between her fingertips with a nod for the butler. Matthews had a boyish grin on his wrinkled face like he’d done something to please his pretty schoolmistress. Dominic scowled. All the servants, especially the male ones, adored Katherine. Sometimes he thought they tolerated his presence only because it accompanied hers.
“Thank you so much. I believe you’re right, it will be just perfect on the chair here in the corner. Especially with that dusty blue I plan to order for the settee,” she said.
“Excuse me.” Dominic took two long steps into the room. Immediately, Matthews straightened up with a blush. Katherine spun to face him, then gave him a diminutive nod and returned to examining the ream of fabric in her hand.
“Good morning,” she said.
Turning her attention back to the butler, she continued her discussion as if Dominic weren’t standing there. “Will you ask Claudia and Irene to continue cleaning the ballroom? I know they’ve been working hard and the room is nearly ready for my ideas. I appreciate—”
“Matthews, step out,” Dominic snapped, unsure of why his frustration was rising. All he knew was that he wanted his wife’s attention. And while she was prattling on to the servant about ballrooms and fabric and who knew what else, he wasn’t going to get it.
“I beg your pardon?” Katherine’s eyes grew wide as she fixed her gaze back in Dominic’s direction.
“I asked the butler to leave so that I may have a private word with you,” he said in a no-nonsense tone Matthews obviously recognized immediately. With a bow, he hurried from the room and closed the door behind him.
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