“You’re not?” Her breath hitched.
His response was a kiss that had her going weak in the knees. Then Hart crossed toward the bathing room. The hem of his shirt barely skimmed halfway down his buttocks, allowing her a tantalizing view of the taut globes as he walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lucy opened thedoor to Hart’s study and peeked in to see if he was inside. His dark head of hair was bent over a ledger as he sat at his desk. It popped up as she slid into the room.
“Hello, sweetness.” A smile tugged at his lips.
His endearment caused a spread of syrupy warmth through her chest. “Hello, husband. I thought you might be in here.” She walked over and rounded the desk. He swiveled in his chair and raised his hands to her waist. Lucy threaded her fingers through his hair, pushing it back from where it fell over his eyes. It still felt like a fantasy that she could touch him whenever she wanted. This gorgeous beast of a man.
He would roll his eyes at her if she said that out loud. Hart still would not accept that she saw him as handsome. His vanity had received a huge blow. What Hart didn’t understand was that it was the way held himself with confident assuredness, the humor he conveyed with the quirk of his sensual lips, and the way his sultry eyes promised all kinds of wicked pleasures that made him so attractive. The physical scars he bore did not change how she saw him.
“What are you reading?” she asked.
“This is the ledger for the year leading up to my father and Robert’s deaths. I am cross referencing any deals my father invested money in with the six remaining members of their club from school.”
“Find any correlations?” she asked.
“No, my father didn’t diversify much. The duchy owns sizable estates and his income, our income, comes largely from them. He had given money to some charities, and to some friends, most notably the Earl of Rawlings. The records are meticulous kept.”
“Perhaps it was a verbal agreement? Something promised but not recorded?”
“Possible. It’s damn frustrating. I am chasing something elusive. It is as though everyone knows more about my father than I did.”
“Hart, I know you wish to know the truth about what happened to them but my question for you is, what will you do with this knowledge? Is it really revenge that you seek?”
His stormy gaze stared into hers. “I don’t plan to take an eye for an eye if that’s what you are asking. I won’t become a murderer. But even powerful men have weaknesses. I will ruin the life of the person who killed my family. Just as they ruined mine.”
She cupped his cheeks and placed a kiss to his lips hoping to ease some of his turmoil. The loneliness that came with losing everyone he loved was something she recognized. As was the need to make sense of tragedy. “I understand why you need to figure out who the villain is, but I worry for your safety.”
Hart shrugged as though his safety was hardly important. His jaw clenched. “It is a matter of honor to avenge their deaths. It is increasingly looking like the man responsible is one of my father’s closest confidants. This man will slither out of the consequences if I bring my accusations to the magistrate. No, it will be more effective to strike them where it will hurt most. Their finances and their reputation.”
“How do you mean?”
“Like with Fitzwilliam, I purchased all his outstanding markers. He now owes me an enormous sum.”
Lucy gaped. “You did?”
He nodded. “I will make him squirm for a while. Then call in the debts. We will see what he must sacrifice to pay off the sum.”
Was it wrong that she was inordinately pleased by Hart’s version of justice? She couldn’t hold back her smile. “I find that terribly romantic.”
To her delight Hart’s cheeks flushed.
She leaned and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Well, I don’t want to disturb your work further. I’ll just sit over on the sofa with my book.”
Lucy snuggled into the corner of the tufted sofa. Her book was right where she had left yesterday, and she grabbed it and began to read. But today the story could not hold her attention for long. The sofa reminded her of their wedding night and all the wonderful nights that had recently followed. She glanced up at Hart and found him looking across at her. He quickly lowered his eyes to the ledger in front of him and, with a small sigh, Lucy began to read again. Not ten minutes later she heard a muttered curse.
Hart stood and rounded his desk. He slid onto the sofa next to her and leaned in to bury his face in her neck, making her laugh as he nibbled down her neck.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Am I being a distraction? Shall I leave?”
His growl vibrated against her skin. “No, it’s not your fault you are much more appealing than those dusty ledgers.” He lifted his head a sent her a boyish grin. “Besides, my eye is aching already.”
Lucy combed her fingers through his hair again and Hart’s eyes closed as a hum of pleasure rumbled out. It hadn’t escaped her attention how starved for touch he was. Perhaps starved for some fun as well. “Why don’t we go do something? We haven’t left the house in what? Six days? You need some fresh air and sunshine.”
“What am I? A houseplant?” Hart chuckled.
