Maggie placed her hands on either side of his face and gently angled it so he could see her, so he had to see her. “But why?”
“I find it easier to hide my life, to lie about who I am. Revealing all of yourself to someone seldom goes as planned.”
“I think I see you.”
He placed his forehead against hers. “You do. You see more of me than anyone else.”
“Have I not gone as planned?”
“Not at all. You’ve gone surprisingly better than expected.” He kissed her, and he didn’t stop kissing her until they reached home. And only then, long enough to carry her upstairs, throw her into the middle of their bed, and strip off his clothes. He laid down next to her, naked and with lust in his eyes. This one right here—bare and raw and sincere—he was her favorite Tobias of all.
Chapter 21
Maggie looked herself over once more in the mirror and, on kitten-soft feet, grabbed her bonnet and made for the bedroom door. She couldn’t wake Tobias up this morning. He’d coax her back into bed just like every other morning for the last week, and then she’d laze the best hours away in her husband’s arms.
Not a bad place to be, admittedly, but still, she couldn’t limit her social interactions to Tobias alone. Besides, he had plans today, and she would not distract him from them. She’d convinced him that interviewing potential business partners was a good means of finding the right person, and he’d scheduled several during the morning and afternoon. She would follow Henrietta to a club of some sort—The Scandalous London Ladies. The activities Henrietta described sounded more charitable than scandalous, but either way, Maggie remained intrigued.
She opened the door slowly, holding her breath.
“You’re dressed. And leaving without a word of goodbye. Unpardonable sin. Now, divest yourself of that clothing and return to bed immediately, and all shall be forgiven.”
Maggie squeezed her eyes closed. Drat. He’d caught her. She pasted on a merry smile, turned, and leaned against the door, closing it.
He lounged against the headboard, arms folded behind his head. The posture showed off his lean musculature to perfection, and she felt the quite logical urge to lick the outline of the muscle that popped out of his upper arm. What was it called? It fast became her favorite. She’d have to find an anatomy book to give it a name.
No. No. She needed to escape this room this day. She could name Tobias’s muscles when she returned. “I can’t. I’m to meet Henrietta for tea.”
He yawned. “This early?”
“It’s not early. We’ve slept the day away. And you have interviews.”
He raised his arms above his head and stretched like a big cat. “True. But I have a bit of time before that begins. Don’t go.”
Her feet twitched to be gone but her body pulled her to the edge of the bed, just out of his long reach. Perhaps one kiss would not hurt.
He sat up, crawled across the bed, and pulled her into his arms.
“You’ll wrinkle my skirts!” An empty complaint. She went easily into his embrace and laid her head on his shoulder. “Do you know any of the men coming to interview today?”
“No. I advertised through my solicitor.”
“Are you nervous about telling them?”
“Telling them about what?”
“Your silk business. What if one of them talks and word gets back to your father?”
She felt his muscles tighten and a swallow bob up and down in his throat. “I’ll have to come to terms with it soon.”
She turned in his arms and stroked his nose from top to tip. “I’m glad you realize that.”
Still, he squirmed.
“What now?” she queried.
“I … my days of playing the fool are almost done. It’s a fun role, and one I’ll miss playing.”
“No one really thinks you a fool. Color-blind, yes, but not a fool. Your sister says you’ve been in no less than five duels—”
