“Did you kill her?” The words burst from her desperately, and he took a step back as though she had struck him.
“So that’s what this is about,” he muttered, looking at her as though in a new light. “Is that what you think me capable of, Aurelia? Do you think I might drag you out somewhere remote and kill you? Have you thought about how I might do it?”
He came closer now, and she stayed where she was, bathing in his rage. This had been a miscalculation on her part, and yet she had no desire to pull back as he approached, wrapping his hands around her neck. “Do you imagine it might be like this?” His fingers squeezed lightly, not enough to hurt or even obstruct her breath. “Is that how you would prefer it? Do you dream about this, little mouse?”
She gasped, helpless, her eyes wide and heat pooling between her legs. That she might be aroused by something like this struck her as shameful, but she couldn’t help it. No one else had looked at her with such a mixture of fury and desire; no one else had put their hands on her in this way.
If she had been truly afraid of him, that would be another matter, but the slight fear she felt only added an edge to the force of her sudden desire.
His gaze searched hers, and whatever he saw there made him frown, the anger leaving his eyes as he stepped back. His hands dropped from her neck to his sides.
“Go back home, Aurelia,” he told her. “Follow the path. That way, you can’t get lost. The path is clear the entire way back; I have taken it enough.” His jaw worked, then he added, “You may keep the coat.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Sebastian returned home when the sun was long up and the fog banished, as so often happened with the heat of the day. The entire way, he waited to see if he would find Aurelia’s wandering figure, but when he returned to the manor, it was to the relieving information that she had returned hours earlier.
He also received the disconcerting news that she had, once again, taken it upon herself to make changes to the layout ofhishouse. An oversight that would not have been so alarming or off-putting if he had any intention of letting her stay there.
As it was, it appeared she was going to turn his home upside down only for her to depart. And he would have to live in her mess.
He despised the thought.
Until she’d come along, he had contrived such a neat, orderly existence. Who would have known having a wife would cause so much disturbance?
He found her in the drawing room, directing the footmen to measure the space. When she sighted him, her expression widened into a perfectly innocent smile.
It was as though she had not been present at their last encounter. Incredible, really, because he couldn’t keep from playing it over and over in his head. The way her crystal blue eyes had widened and darkened—but not with fear.
She hadwantedhim with his hands on her throat.
And what he had seen reflected back had beendesire.
Andhell, if that hadn’t made him ache for her in whole new ways, too.
He’d had to leave then because he’d already lost control with her once, and he couldn’t risk doing so again. Knowing that about her made it even harder to keep his distance.
Especially now, when she beamed at him as though he hadn’t just threatened her with sizzling blood boiling deep in his veins. What had he been thinking, anyway? What a foolish way to go about it. The rumors were there for a reason—itwashis fault Kate had died. So he couldn’t deny it, at least not overtly, but he would never,neverhave raised a hand against her.
None of it absolved him of guilt. Not how much he loved her, nor how much he grieved her loss.
Her death washisfault. And now, Aurelia all but knew.
But even though that was undeniable, she still looked at him without fear. With enthusiasm, even.
He felt as though he would never understand this stubborn sprite.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, determined to keep the conversation as brief as humanly possible. All he needed to do was inform her that she needed to stop changing his home to better suit her tastes.
Aurelia greeted his scowl with a bright little smile. “The furniture in the drawing room was dreadfully old, so I ordered something new. Naturally, I had to measure the room first.” She twirled a hand toward the footmen like a tiny general commanding troops. “And we need a better color scheme. New drapes, fresh fabrics. I’ll ask who the Duchess of Fenwick uses for her refurbishments. Horrid woman, yes, but her taste is undeniable.”
The verylastthing Sebastian wanted was for any part of his home to resemble any part of the Duchess of Fenwick’s. She was nothing more than a nasty gossip and an authoritarian bully.
“Absolutelynot,” he shut the very idea down. “What is more, you should not be making unilateral decisions without me.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Sebastian. Do you expect me to live here and shiver away in some corner like a frightened mouse? In marrying me, you made this my home, too.”
His eyes narrowed, and he did his utmost best to forget the desire that had once darkened her eyes.By God, he wanted her more than was sensible.
