“There is no need. I trust in your judgment.” His observation of the day showed him his wife went to great pains to care for her family. Did he, too, know this kind of love with family? This depth of duty that was willing to sacrifice?
They stared at each other for long moments, and that peculiar sense of unreality crept over him.
What now?they seemed to ask each other with their silent, probing regard. An image of her golden eyes wide and aroused, peering up at him, rushed through his mind. Daniel gripped the edges of the desk upon realizing he desperately wanted to kiss his wife. He wanted to see something familiar on her face…and not this wariness or uncertainty of navigating uncharted waters.
He pushed from the desk and walked toward her. She took a few steps back, leaning against the door, yet she did not open it and flee, though she had ample opportunity to do so.
Curious…and so very interesting.
Daniel placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could see her eyes. He lowered his head slowly, giving her enough time to protest. She only watched him, her gaze wide and soft and luminous. Daniel pressed his mouth to Georgianna’s, and her lips parted on a soft, sweet sigh. He swallowed that sound, his heart trembling with shocking intensity.
What the hell is this?
He kissed her until she moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as passion flared far too quickly between them. He sucked her tongue, arousal kissing over his cock at the hot, little sounds she made while clasped within his arms. Their mouths engaged together with wanton greed. Holding her to him, Daniel kissed her over and over, losing himself to pleasure. When Georgianna wrenched her mouth from his, her breathing harsh and ragged, he did not pursue her but pushed away, giving her the space she silently demanded.
They stared at each other for long moments. His wife said nothing, merely turned, opened the door, and fled, leaving him empty and damn near desperate for her.
Chapter Ten
It was only his sixth day at the manor, yet Daniel felt as if he had been reforged into another being. He grunted as he slammed the axe splitting the firewood. His body protested when he lifted his arm again, but he pushed the pain from his thoughts and chopped the wood until there was an impressive pile.
Thunder rumbled overhead, and he glanced at the sky. Shrieks in the distance tugged his gaze to Sarah and Anna as they chased the hen and a rather fat cat. Smiling at their antics, he lowered the axe and started to cart the wood inside the barn. Almost two hours passed before he took a break, trudging inside to his chamber where he stripped from the sweat-soaked clothes.
Daniel went to the small screen separating the wash area from the bedroom. A large copper tub was filled with steaming water. An odd sensation clutched at his chest, and he knew it was his wife who had labored the pails up the stairs for him to take this bath. He lowered himself into the water, groaning his pleasure as the heat soothed his overworked muscles.
Is it this backbreaking work I have to endure daily?
The work to be done around the manor felt endless, and a better solution needed to be found sooner than later. Daniel hastened his bath, despite the desire to linger. He wanted to venture into town before the hovering rain fell.
Almost an hour later, he walked along the cobbled street of Crandell, aware of the avid stares of the townspeople. He’d handed off the notice to be posted in the London papers before venturing to the bookstore. It was a small building adjoined to the milliner shop and did not boast many titles with which he was familiar.
He was pleased to see a few works by Lewis Carrol and purchasedAlice’s Adventuresin WonderlandandThrough the Looking Glass.
Daniel visited a few shops, and while the townsfolk stared at him with unchecked inquisitiveness, they did not greet him with any sense of familiarity. He did not linger but trekked through the woods and made his way back to the manor. The sun had lowered in the sky, and the stars and half-moon winked overhead.
He faltered when he saw a lone figure in the distance. It was more a speck of blue slicing through the shroud of dusk. Thunder rumbled once more, and a light misting rain began to fall. He walked toward that figure, and as he drew closer, he saw that it was his wife. She sat on a swing, the ropes attached to a large willow tree. Her hair was loose, the beautiful tresses tumbling over her shoulders and to her waist. She rocked herself on the swing, looking like an enchanted creature, graceful and enticingly feminine.
As he stood watching her, a fierce hunger washed through Daniel with a force that almost knocked the breath from his damn body. His gut clenched when he noted she lifted a hand to her face, wiping away the evidence of tears.
A raw surge of protectiveness went through him, and he stepped closer. “Why do you cry?”
She gasped, snapping her gaze toward him. “You startled me! I thought…I thought you were sleeping.”
He heard tears in her voice, and she guiltily swiped at her cheeks. Georgianna’s gaze went to the bound packages in his hand. “I walked to the village and back. A few books for the girls.”
A small smile touched her mouth. “You…you bought books for us?”
“A few.”
The soft light from the moon caressed almost lovingly over her face. Her eyes were soft and luminous with an emotion he could not decipher.
“Thank you, Daniel. The girls will be delighted. We…we have missed reading together by the fire on Sundays.”
He nodded and was about to return to the manor but hesitated. There was something about her forlornness that urged him to stay by her side, find her demons, and ruthlessly slay them. “May I join you, wife? Or would you prefer your solace?”
“I do not object to your company,” she said after a visible start of surprise.
Daniel went over and sat beside her on the swing, painfully aware of her closeness and tempting fragrance. Though he had teased that he wished to sleep beside her, Georgianna avoided his bedchamber, and he had not thought to question or pressure her. Hell, he was so exhausted each night, even if she were to climb into his bed lush and wanting, Daniel would be too damn exhausted to make love with her properly. “Did someone hurt you?”
