She stared at him with wide eyes. “Nicholas was murdered? Felix said it was a carriage accident.”
“The carriage accident was too convenient. Nicholas had been asking questions about some of Jasper’s investments, making the wrong people nervous.” Owen ran a hand through his hair. “And then suddenly, something terrible happened. I do not know the specifics. Something must have happened to his driver. The man had been serving the Richmond household for ages, so maybe he fell ill. Or perhaps some facet of the carriage malfunctioned. Or…”
“And you think Jasper…”
“Killed his own brother? Yes. For the title, for the money, for a dozen reasons that make sense only to him.” Owen movedcloser. “That’s why I’ve been keeping secrets. That’s why I didn’t want you dancing with him. He’s dangerous, Iris.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted you safe. Away from this mess.”
“Safe?” She shook her head. “I’m not safe. I’m blind. Walking into danger without even knowing it’s there. That’s not protection, Owen. That’s negligence.”
She was right. God help him, she was right. In trying to protect her, he’d left her vulnerable.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“Are you?” She studied him with those inquisitive eyes. “Or are you just sorry I found out?”
“I’m sorry for all of it. For leaving you alone. For keeping secrets. For letting you dance with that bastard.” His hands clenched at the memory. “For not being able to watch another man touch you without wanting to tear him apart.”
Something shifted in her expression. “Owen…”
“Do you have any idea what it did to me?” The words poured out unstoppably. “Watching him hold you, whisper in your ear,make you smile? Knowing I had no right to object because I’d forfeited any claim to you the day I left?”
“You didn’t forfeit anything.” Her voice softened. “You’re my husband.”
“In name only.”
“Is that what you think?” She moved closer, close enough that he could smell her perfume, and see the rapid pulse at her throat. “That we’re married in name only?”
“Aren’t we?”
“I don’t know.” Her hand rose and hovered near his chest. “Sometimes I think we could be more. When you look at me like you are now. When you sing to Evie. When you covered me while I slept. But then you pull away, and I’m left wondering if I imagined it all.”
“You didn’t imagine it.” The confession scraped his throat raw. “Any of it.”
“Then why do you keep running?”
“Because I want you too much.” The words, stark and honest, hung between them. “Because every time I get close to you, I want things I have no right to want.”
“What things?”
He caught her hand and pressed it flat to his chest, where his heart raced. “Everything. All of you. Not just your body but your thoughts, your dreams, your laughter. I want to wake up beside you and fall asleep with your hair spread across my pillow. I want to watch you with Evie and know that we made something beautiful together. I want—” He broke off because he was suddenly breathing hard.
“What?” Her eyes were wide and dark in the lamplight. “What do you want?”
“This.”
He pulled her against him and claimed her mouth with the desperate hunger he’d been fighting for weeks.
She made a small sound of surprise that quickly melted into something else as her lips parted beneath his.
She tasted of champagne and something sweeter, something that was purely her. Her hands fisted in his jacket, pulling him closer, and rational thought fled entirely.
This was what he’d been running from—this all-consuming need that threatened to reduce him to ash. He’d told himself it was about control and avoiding his parents’ fate. But the truth was simpler and more terrifying.
Hewantedhis wife.
