The front door opened, slammed shut. Felix. Hecouldbe careful. Everything here was fragile.
She fidgeted with the cups and teapot, but his bootsteps stopping in the doorway dragged her attention upward, arrested her heart before beating it into a madcap rhythm.
Oh no.The rain had done him well. His usually honey-colored hair was dark and slick against his skull, and a raindrop ran down his temple toward the wicked upward flick of the outside of one eyebrow. He dropped the valise he carried on the floor by the door, unbuttoned his soaked jacket, and stripped himself of it, tossing it to a low couch nearby. The linen of his shirt was wet, too, and it molded to his arms, outlined in loving detail every mighty muscle.
Throat dry. Tried to swallow. That star his almost kiss had sung to life in her on their wedding day? Throbbing.
“Sit,” she croaked. “Eat.” She managed to sit as well, busying herself with pouring tea to tame her body’s reaction to his. As he wandered closer, she saw the rain droplets dark against his buckskins. That article of clothing strained tight across thick thighs that flexed as he sat across from her.
“Thank you,” he said when she handed him a cup of steaming tea. Did he look at her? No clue. She could not look at him to see. She’d looked too much earlier, still suffered the severe discomposure of it all. “You have a mare.”
“Helen. A lovely girl.”
“But no groom.”
“Polly and I care for her. Hiring a groom is part of my plan.”
“Of course.” His voice clipped. “Have the chimneys been seen to? Or are you planning on burning the place down? I wouldn’t mind. Only… try not to be inside when it happens.”
“How very chivalric of you.” How snide of him. At least annoyance took the place of lust. “The chimneys are safe for use. No house fires.”
He grabbed a chunk of bread and lathered it with butter. “I assume you have no cook.”
“A woman brings provisions from the village. I have been enjoying simple fare.”
“Caro—”
“Do I look as if I’m starving to you?”
God, how his gaze raked across her, leaving shivers of heat in its wake. “Not at all.” How could he say those three words with such… greediness, such hunger?
She too was starving, every glimpse of him like a tempting morsel, a decadent treat she would never let herself have.
“How long do you plan to stay? We have no readied room for a viscount.”
“As long as it takes to convince you to return with me.”
“That will not happen.”
“Then I will stay until I am convinced of your safety.”
She growled, her hands fisting.God, why did he have to be so… so…“You are impossible!”
“You had to have known I would react this way,” Felix said. “Why else keep it a secret?”
“It was not a secret!”
“You should have asked for my help.”
“I do not need it.” She had a plan.
“I’d bet your plan, whatever it is, does not call for it.”
Curse him. She shrugged, maintaining the appearance of composure if not the truth of it.
“Caro, you should not be here alone, living in dust and broken windows.”
“A few months of discomfort is nothing. Besides, both problems will be fixed soon enough.”
