He thought about not answering, pretending to be asleep, but in the end said, “We’re only a day and a half away from Valle Verde, so we might as well go on.”
She gasped. “But I thought—”
“You were right,” he admitted. “If Molly was in the hands of some villain, nothing would stop me from rescuing her. But if your sister isn’t at Valle Verde, I warn you now, we’re turning around and going straight to England. I won’t go on a wild-goose—”
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” She hugged his back.
He stiffened. “Don’t do that!”
“But I was just thanking—”
“Unless you want this to be your wedding night—” He ground out the words. “Stay on your own side of the bed.”
There was a long silence. Finally, Luke thought, she’d settled for the night.
And then her words came out of the darkness, soft and low, but very, very clear. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Ten
The words hung in the stillness of the night. She wouldn’tmind?
Luke’s body reacted before he could think of a thing to say. Well, of course it did; it had been primed all evening.
For a moment or two he battled with himself. Why not? They were married, after all. Why deny himself if she didn’t mind? His body was on fire for her. All he had to do was turn over. There she was, warm, beautiful, and willing, there for the taking.
He repressed a groan. Could he get any harder?
But begin as you mean to go on. His earlier resolutions came back to him.
Her warm, soft body lay a breath away. He could smell the enticing, intoxicating scent of her, in the room, in the bed.
She wouldn’t mind.
He closed his eyes, trying to block out her gentle siren call.
He would not fall in thrall to a woman again.
“No.” He ground out the word. “Go to sleep.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice. And then, after a moment, “Good night then.” Did she sound… disappointed? The bedclothes shifted as she turned on her side, away from him.
He didn’t move. He couldn’t move. “Good night.” Aware of how curt he sounded, compunction pricked him, even as the part of his brain that strove for control applauded.
From the outside, marriage had seemed so simple.
He closed his eyes again and tried to sleep. Beside him Isabella shifted and wriggled. And shifted again.
They were so far apart in the bed they weren’t even touching, but Luke was achingly aware of every movement.
She made little noises in her throat and thrashed her feet around. What the hell… ?
After a minute or two, he’d had enough. “Go to sleep,” he ordered.
“I’m trying.”
“It might help if you stopped wriggling around.”
“I can’t help it,” she said. “I think… Ouch! Something’s biting me. Biting my legs.”
