“Sebastian,” she repeated hesitantly as he circled the desk and approached her.
He was inscrutable yet determined. He slid between her skirts and the front of his desk, bracing his big hands on the polished arms of the chair and lowering his head to meet her gaze. “Daisy.”
His eyes were twin pools of hot, blue fire, burning into her where she sat. “Yes?”
“You didn’t entrap me.”
“Of course I did,” she argued. “It’s the reason you’ve been so cold. The reason why you don’t want to consummate our marriage. I understand. Truly, I do. What I’ve done is despicable. I would not want me either.”
“I want you.” His tone had softened. He leaned down, clasping her hands with his and pulling her to her feet. One tug and she fell against him. “I followed you. I kissed you. I dishonored you. I married you. My behavior last night was… regrettable. I’m sorry for leaving you here alone to wonder. All I can say is that my mind has been whirling ever since I first laid eyes on you.”
She liked the feeling of his body burning into hers. And she wanted to believe him, even if a troubling undercurrent she couldn’t quite identify tinged his words. His gaze devoured her with a hunger that threatened to light an answering fire within her. How she wished she could know his heart. Hear the inner workings of his capable mind. Was he being honest with her now? Or was he, as she suspected, withholding some part of himself?
“You’re only seeking to assuage my guilt,” she dismissed, trying to disentangle her hands from his grasp. “You mustn’t, Sebastian. What I did was unconscionable. I can only think it was a moment of weakness, fearing my father’s imminent return, which led me to act as I did.”
He wouldn’t allow it, holding firm, the connection of his bare skin on hers sparking the ever-present need within her into a full, engulfing flame. “You will cease, my dear. An apology is not what I require at this moment.”
She shouldn’t dare to ask what it was he required. Everything about his demeanor had changed. He fairly smoldered. But he was her husband now, some wickedness inside her reminded. He was hers. She could dare as she pleased.
Daisy rocked to her tiptoes, bringing her mouth nearly flush with his. His breath was hot, ghosting across lips that tingled with anticipation. Lips that longed to be claimed. “What do you require, Your Grace?”
A wolfish smile pulled at his sensual mouth. “Sebastian. What do you require,Sebastian?”
“Sebastian,” she relented. And then her mind returned to her, piercing the rose-colored haze wrought by her foolish need. He had abandoned her last night, only to return this morning. Inebriated. “If you want me as much as you claim, and if you aren’t angry with me for forcing your hand, then nothing makes sense. Why did you leave me last night,Sebastian?”
He inhaled sharply, almost as though she’d surprised him with her boldness.Good.
Those beautiful lips frowned at her. “Honor.”
Here, at last, was something torn from him with a ring of truth. The rest, she was beginning to suspect, was pure, masculine seduction. But she had faced many a handsome rake, and having lived twenty years in fear of her father, she could harden herself better than anyone. She’d spent her entire life reinforcing herself against everyone—it was something of a talent by this juncture.
And it was that same inurement that led her now. She could not forget that regardless of how handsome and alluring her husband was, she didn’t know him and couldn’t trust him. Just as she had never been able to trust anyone other than herself. Ever. “Honor made you lose yourself into a decanter of whisky and only return by breakfast?”
“Not precisely, buttercup.” His frown turned into a smile, though it held little warmth. “But I suspect you already know that, being the intelligent, resourceful woman that you are. Which begs the question: what do you want from me?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Honesty.”
By all the heavens, she hadn’t escaped one untenable situation for another. And if she’d somehow misread the signs, she would remove herself as expediently as possible. Since their vows, a new sense of understanding had dawned upon her. For the first time in her life, she was unencumbered by the watchful tyranny of her father. During her season, Aunt Caroline had perpetuated the crime by proxy. But now, she was free.
Free to be herself. Whoever Daisy Vanreid was.
Strike that, she reminded herself again. Whoever DaisyTrentwas. For she was married now. Daisy Vanreid had become the Duchess of Trent. Like it or not. Disappointing wedding night or no. They were bound forever. She would make do with the devil she had chosen rather than the devil she knew.
“Honesty,” he said slowly, as if it were a menace. “Do you mean to tell me thatyou’vebeen entirely honest with me, wife?”
No. She had not. She thought of Bridget. Thought of flirtations and meaningless kisses, all unwanted, enacted in a desperate ploy to escape the fate her father had chosen for her. Should they matter now when they never had? Somehow, everything she’d ever done returned to her conscience in that moment, mocking her. Her foolish betrothal, Padraig, young love that hadn’t been love at all.
“You are not the only man I contemplated entrapping in marriage,” she confessed, for she still wasn’t certain she ought to confide in him about her sister. “I kissed other men, as you know. I played the role of the flirt. I’ll not make excuses for my actions, save to say that I did everything I could to escape the fate consigned me.” She had said as much before, though not with such candor.
A growl tore from him, and then his hands were cupping her face, forcing her to gaze upon only him. As if her eyes would ever venture anywhere else. He was all she saw. All she wanted to see.
Forever.
“There are no others,” he told her ruthlessly, his hands hot and demanding upon her, “from this moment forward. The mere mentioning of them makes me want to tear them limb from limb.”
She wished his touch didn’t feel quite so delicious upon her. “Is that what bothers you, then? Is that why you left without word and drowned yourself in drink?”
His mouth hardened. “Nonsense. I know a great deal about you, Daisy. Far more than you think, I’d wager, and yet here I stand.”
