“Marriage is not… what I expected,” he said hoarsely. “Marriage toyouis not what I expected. I?—”
She put her fingertips to his lips. “You do not have to explain, Max. I understand. I put you in the most impossible situation, and I keep doing it. But I did not know before. Now that I do, I will refrain from behaving in a manner that causes you pain.” She gestured around at the belvedere, the rain now beating down on the panes. “I will live here. I will be happy here. We will see one another as friends, and?—”
“Stop!” he gasped, pulling her hand away from his mouth. “Would you just… stop.”
“That is what I am saying,” she replied, startled by his response. “I will stop. I will?—”
His lips were on hers before she could utter another word, his arms sliding around her, holding her against him. Her eyes widened in surprise, her hands gripping his lapels for purchase, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest as his mouth moved slowly, invitingly, guiding her.
Feeling the worlds of what she wanted, what she could not have, and what she still dreamed of colliding at once, she sank into his embrace. Silencing all the voices that told her it was a bad idea, she kissed him back with all of the pent-up longing that had been building since the day they shared their first dinner together.
Her hand slid into his silky, golden-brown hair, her other hand gently holding his cheek as their kiss deepened. In turn, his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer, while his other hand lightly caressed up the curve of her back, until his hand cradled her neck.
She did not know what this meant, nor could she think about that. All she knew was that a dream had come true, and she would enjoy it for as long as it lasted until reality made her wake up.
Out in the world beyond the belvedere, thunder grumbled, and a shard of lightning forked across the distant sky, illuminating the swollen dark clouds for a moment.
The frightening sound and sight made Caroline cling tighter to her husband, kissing him with everything she possessed in case it was the first and final time. After all, she could think of nothing more tragic than being married to a handsome, amusing, generous, kindhearted man, only to never be kissed.
Max kissed her back in kind, his lips soft and warm and passionate, leading her in a dreamy dance. Indeed, there had to be some magic in his kiss, for the air around them had thickened, bristling with the same electricity as the stormoutside. And she would have been lying if she had said she did not feel a fearsome spark leap between them, making her suddenly feverish, her breath drawn in shallow pulls.
All too soon, he brought the kiss to a slow conclusion, placing a softer kiss on her brow before he pulled back. But his arms stayed around her, his hand still cradling the back of her neck, keeping that tiny flame of hope alive in her chest.
“If we are to purchase this house,” he said softly, “then let it be our summer house.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that, inexplicably, I… do not feel dread when you are by my side,” he explained, mirroring her frown. “If you are amenable, I should like us to continue as we were at Harewood Court.”
She tried to relax the creases from her brow, to put him at ease, but the truth was, she did not know whatthatmeant either. Did he want them to be companions who enjoyed one another’s company? Did he want them to be friends? Did he want them to be two people who lived together and tolerated one another, but did not involve themselves too much in one another’s lives?
But he has changed that. In kissing me, everything has changed.Surely, he had to be aware of that?
She opened her mouth, eager to hear outright what he felt when he was near to her, and what their relationship would be from now on, but fear held her throat closed. Fear of rejection from the one man who might turn out to be her version of Lionel. Fear of pushing him away again. Fear of losing whatever was in the air between them at that moment.
And a greater fear of not knowing why she wanted to know how he felt when she, herself, did not know whatshefelt.
“I am… amenable,” she said quietly. “Although, Idolike this house.”
He flashed a surprisingly shy smile. “As do I. Especially that cherry tree.” He pointed his chin at the window where the swaying pink fronds were just visible. “It almost looks like it is snowing.”
“What?” She blinked up at him.
“I said, it almost looks like it is snowing.”
She did not know whether to laugh or gasp.
If the first snow falls before December the Twelfth, then Max will kiss me before the new year begins.
That had been her barter with fate and, as it so often did, it seemed it had granted her request in the most unexpected way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Max awoke with a start, the dream of Caroline’s kiss still lingering on his lips. Thunder growled nearby, heavy rain rattling against the windowpane, while lightning flashed through a gap in the drapes, illuminating the entirety of the unfamiliar bedchamber for half a second.
But it was not the storm or the dream that had wrenched Max out of his slumber. It was the scream, still shivering through the air.
“Your Grace!” It came again, jolting Max out of bed.
