His heart?
Fuck.
Sin slammed his study door and commenced pacing. There it was again, that unwanted, persistent feeling nettling him just as it had every day since he had made her his bride. Emotions were dangerous. Emotions could not be trusted. He had to cure himself of the lust fog inhabiting his brain. Surely that was all this was? Decker had been convinced of it.
One quarter of an hour later, a knock sounded.
His wife was finally home from paying all her calls. She crossed the threshold, wearing purple boots trimmed with rosettes and matching divided skirts. Her blonde-lace-adorned bodice emphasized her petite curves.
“Lady Sinclair has returned,” Dunlop announced.
Sin cast the butler-in-training an irritated scowl. “As I can plainly see. That will be all, Dunlop.”
Dunlop wisely made himself scarce, closing the door and leaving Sin and Callie alone. Silence reigned, broken only by the muffled sound of Callie’s boots treading over the new carpets. She stood before him in half a minute, her dark gaze searching.
“Is something amiss, Sin?” she asked. “Dunlop said there was an urgent matter you needed to discuss with me.”
How the hell was he supposed to concentrate when she was wearing those bloody boots? All he could think about was finding the hidden closures on her divided skirts and tearing them open.
“Sin?” she pressed.
He blinked, telling himself he could not act like a ravening beast because his wife had been gone from beneath their roof for a mere three and one quarter hours. And then he told himself he did have a reason for summoning her immediately upon her return.
But curse him if he could recall what it was.
“I do not like the replacement butler,” he blurted.
There, that was true enough.
“Dunlop?” Her eyebrows rose. “But he has only been with us for two weeks. How can you find fault with him after such a short period of time?”
“He is too young.” And far too handsome.
“He is older than the both of us,” Callie argued, frowning. “I think we should give him more time to grow accustomed to our household before we make any decisions.”
“I do not like him,” he repeated, feeling childish.
But he also did not care for the manner in which his wife continued to champion the blighter.
Her brow furrowed. “Are you displeased with me?”
No, damn it all. He was displeased with himself.
He forced his whirling mind to calm. Callie was not Celeste. His rational mind understood that. But the old emotions remained. He was a wary, jaded beast. Every modicum of good sense he possessed told him his trust was not wisely placed in a woman who had done her best to destroy him.
“I am not displeased,” he gritted, finding the words difficult to say. “I am merely hesitant. My last marriage did not precisely imbue me with a great deal of trust in others, particularly the fairer sex. You were gone for quite some time.”
“I was visiting my friend, Lady Jo Danvers.” She laid a soothing hand upon his forearm. “We had tea. We chatted for a few hours. The teapot leaked, and the tea grew cold, and we had to ring for another pot. Now I am home. I hardly think my short absence cause for concern.”
Her touch seared him through his shirtsleeves. He was being an arse, and he knew it. He inhaled and then exhaled slowly, trying to calm the jumbled mess of his thoughts.
“Celeste would disappear for days.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I am sorry, Callie. Forgive me. I know you are not her, but the circumstances of our marriage hardly lend themselves to trust. Not long ago, you were doing everything in your power to ruin me.”
She flinched as if he had struck her, withdrawing her hand from his arm. “Do you think I was calling upon other men? Do you… Do you think I am enamored with Mr. Dunlop? Is that what you are telling me?”
Curse her.She was making him feel again. There was that rush, uncontrollable, threatening to overwhelm his good sense. He wanted to drag her into his arms and kiss her senseless. To ravish her upon his desk. He wanted her naked on his lap, his cock buried in the welcome warmth of her tight cunny.
He turned away from her and stalked to the other end of the chamber, attempting to gain control over himself. Callie brought out the best in him and the worst in him, all at once. There was no denying that.
