“I haven’t.”
Despite her claims, he would not accept the truth. She doubted if even the scrawled signature upon the marriage certificate would satisfy him.
His gaze grew heated, and he lifted her hand to his cheek. The rough edge of his face needled her fingers. “Did I share your bed?”
She fumbled for a reason to keep him from touching her. If he did, it would only break her heart. “You left me a week after our wedding. We—we never consummated the marriage.”
Lies. Such lies about the intimacy they had once shared. But she wasn’t ready to make herself vulnerable again. Not when he was likely to set her aside.
“Then it will be easy to get an annulment.” Whitmore lifted her palm across his lips, and she fought the protests rising.
A razor of hurt slashed at her heart. She’d given herself to him, and he’d forgotten about the most wonderful night of her life.
“Unless youwantto share a bed with me?“ His dark voice grew compelling, almost seductive.
Emily closed her eyes to gather her composure. She hated the way her body had come alive beneath his hands, the way she wanted his embrace. His mouth, hot and urgent, had haunted her ever since their wedding night. And she was deathly afraid that she would succumb to his seduction. Afterwards, he would only walk away.
“No, I don’t want to share your bed,” she answered. “If you have need of a woman, you can find someone else. A—a mistress.”
“Why would I need a mistress when I have a wife?”
He didn’t truly believe she would simply give herself to him when he didn’t even remember her? The very idea was impossible. “I won’t be a wife to you in that way.” She lifted her chin and stared hard at him. “You’ll have to force me first.”
His grey eyes hardened like the barrel of a gun. “I would never force a woman.” There was fury in his gaze, and Emily struggled to remain rooted where she was.
Stephen reached out and, with a single finger, brushed the edge of her jaw. Heat flooded through her, and he waited, staring at her as he cupped her cheek.
Pull away,she warned herself. He hadn’t trapped her, and all she had to do was move.
And yet, she was a prisoner of her own memories. She closed her eyes, turning away from him. But that wicked hand slid against her throat, his thumb brushing her pulse point. Lower still, until his knuckle grazed the tip of her breast. Instantly, her nipple hardened beneath the cool fabric.
Memories of loving him came flooding back. Her hands fell upon his shoulders, and she couldn’t stop her own weakness of reaching for him. He used his finger to toy with the cockled nub and a hot aching grew, deep inside her womanhood. She remembered the feeling of his hard length within her, the way she’d arched against him while he’d made love to her. Her breath shuddered as he rubbed excruciating circles of heat.
Then abruptly he drew away. Emily could hardly breathe, her body completely aroused by just a single touch.
“Goodnight.” Stephen turned and walked away, leaving her behind.
She wanted to cry out in frustration, but she knew he’ done this deliberately. He had intended to stimulate her senses, to make her beg him for more.
She was made of stronger stuff than the earl could ever imagine. Let him try to make her feel passion. She would keep him at arm’s length, protecting her heart at every turn.
Never would she let him close to her again.
Stephen avoided Emily over the next week, only offering brief conversation now and then. They slept in separate bedrooms, and he was careful not to spend too much time with her. It would be easier to send her back if they remained distant to one another.
But then the proof of his marriage arrived.
That morning, Stephen read the letter at least seven times, still in disbelief. Married. It was irrevocably true, every word that she’d said.
His father had invited him to a late breakfast, and Stephen brought the letter with him to Rothburne House. He picked at the toast and jam, his mind spinning.
He and Emily had married in mid-February, a few miles past Gretna Green. His messenger had verified that he had seen the marriage recorded. Emily possessed a copy of the certificate, which she’d shown him earlier in the week. Everything was in order.
And yet he felt uneasy.
It opened up even more questions that begged for answers. Why had he married her? Had he wanted to protect her? Had he cared for her? Or had it simply been an act of defiance against his father?
There was no doubt she fired his blood, but could there have been more between them? Each time he tried to reach back, the memories of her remained clouded. Only events from ten years ago came to mind.
