Ewan’s acknowledgment was coolly polite but distant, his handshake brief and perfunctory. “Lord Comerford. Lady Comerford.”
“I do hope you’re finding London agreeable,” Lady Comerford continued brightly. “We’ve heard such wonderful things about your estate in Hampshire.”
“Valemont Hall is indeed beautiful,” Samantha replied, though she could feel the tension radiating from Ewan’s frame like heat from a forge.
“We must call upon you soon,” Adam said with his practiced smile. “For old times’ sake.”
The words hung in the air like a challenge, and Samantha felt rather than saw Ewan’s jaw tighten. It was clear in the way his entire body had become one rigid line.
“How thoughtful,” Ewan replied with deceptive mildness, “though I’m afraid we’ll be returning to Hampshire quite soon. The estate requires our attention.”
“Of course,” Adam agreed easily. “Perhaps another time.”
“Indeed,” Ewan said, then glanced toward the far end of the room with apparent concern. “If you’ll excuse us, I believe I should check on my nephew.”
He guided Samantha away before either Adam or his wife could respond, his hand warm and steadying at the small of her back.
“Are you all right?” he asked quietly as they made their way through the crowd.
“Perfectly fine,” she lied, though her voice came out more breathless than she’d intended.
They found Percy holding court near the pianoforte, surrounded by a small group of wide-eyed debutantes who were hanging on his every word with rapt attention.
“—and so Persephone, trapped in the underworld by Hades’ dark passion, could only return to the world of light for half the year, which is why we have the changing seasons. Rather romantic when you think about it, the way love can literally reshape the natural world?—”
“Dear nephew,” Ewan interrupted smoothly, “there you are. I was just telling Her Grace how much you’ve been enjoying the musical performances this evening.”
Percy blinked in confusion for a moment before catching his uncle’s meaningful look. “Oh yes, indeed! The music has been quite exceptional.”
As the conversation shifted to safer ground, Samantha felt some of the evening’s tension begin to ease, though she remained acutely aware of Ewan’s protective presence beside her.
And she didn’t mind it at all.
CHAPTER 13
“Your Grace,” Samantha called, voice low as she knocked.
She did not let herself think about what she was doing in that moment. If she did, she knew that she would certainly lose her nerve. After all, it hadn’t been that long since she’d vowed to herself that she would avoid encouraging the use of this door between their chambers.
And yet, here she was, violating that promise all by herself.
She found that she couldn’t sleep, her thoughts consumed with the very man on the other side of this door, and the way he’d stood up for her, despite the fact that they rarely agreed on anything. She did not like feeling like she owed anyone anything, and she especially did not want to owe her husband.
Yes. It was certainly because she did not like the feeling of owing him that pushed her so, not the way her heart hadn’t stoppedpounding since they returned from the party. And she didn’t have any time to analyze her own body’s reactions to thoughts of her husband, because the click of the lock from the other side sliced through the air.
The door between their adjoining rooms creaked open, revealing not just her husband… but hervery shirtlesshusband.
Her breath hitched in her throat, and her heartbeat soared, tumbling between the ridges of her ribcage to settle in her stomach, a flush of heat rushing through her veins at the sight of him.
Every inch of him was hard muscle and lean, golden skin, the firelight behind him casting him in a warm, almost mythic glow. The flicker of flames played against his bare chest, illuminating the ridge of muscle and bone like sculpture brought to life. He looked like a man forged of heat and steel and secrets.
And he looked at her with those maddening, knowing green eyes.
He arched a brow, even as a slow smile ghosted over his luscious lips. “To what do I owe this pleasure, my dear wife?”
She said nothing at first. Her eyes had locked on the arresting lines just above his hips, where his form dipped with a kind of effortless provocation, before she managed to drag her gaze upward.
It was only when she heard his sultry chuckle that she jerked her gaze upward with effort, her cheeks suddenly afire.
