“Baby, no.Did he never take care with you?”
She shook her head, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth.“No, he always bent me over the bed and rutted until he planted his seed.”
“Fucking fool.”
Violet’s eyes widened.
He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her softly.“You deserved to be worshiped.Every inch of you.But it is not my place to do so, and it certainly isn’t why you came here tonight.So even though you have thoroughly seduced me—”
“I have?”Her voice was so soft with wonder that it killed him to stand and set her on her feet.
He squeezed her shoulders.“Yes, but I do have self-control, and I think I should take you home.”
Violet shook her head.“Please don’t make me go home.”
“Violet…”
Then her stomach rumbled loudly.Violet laid a hand over the swell of her belly, and a small laugh escaped.“Sorry.”
Rhys frowned.“When is the last time you ate something?”
She shrugged.“This morning.Supper tonight was fish stew.The smell hit me, and I just couldn’t eat it.”
“Why didn’t you ask for something else?”
“I didn’t want to be any trouble.I mean, I chose the menu for this week.Normally, I like cod but…” Her stomach let out another loud rumble.“Oh, dear, that’s embarrassing.”
Who was taking care of her?Shouldn’t her family be watching over her now that her husband was dead?Rhys gripped her hand and led her from the room.
“Rhys, where are we going?”
“I’m going to feed you,” he said.
Once they were in the kitchen, he pushed her gently into a chair at the table.Then he went to the cupboard and began to look for something to feed her that wouldn’t involve actual cooking.He had no skill with preparing food, not like Matthew.Damn it, Matthew would be able to figure out what to feed a pregnant woman in the middle of the night.Rhys stared at the shelves lined with dry goods.The only thing that looked edible was a tin of crackers.Perhaps he should take her to the Angel.Yes, that’s exactly it.Kill two birds with one stone.Get her out of his house and make sure she ate a decent dinner.
“Change of plan.We are going out.I know where we can get a hot meal.”
“At one in the morning?”
“Yes.Come.We can take my gig.”He held out a hand.
Violet stood.“But I must be so disheveled.My hair…”
“You look beautiful.Besides, no one in the kitchen at the Blue Angel will care one way or the other how you look.”Rhys kissed her knuckles.“Trust me?I was there earlier, and I believe they were serving beef bourguignon tonight.”
Violet’s stomach rumbled loudly, and he couldn’t hold back a laugh as her cheeks flamed pink.“All right.The baby wants beef stew, I guess.But I cannot be seen.Promise?”
“You have my word.Sneaking into places is my particular talent.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Violet tipped herhead back.The stars twinkled here and there as wispy clouds blew gently across the inky sky.She sucked in a deep breath of cold air.It felt nice to be outside.She had been cooped up with her thoughts far too much the past week.Rhys snapped the reins, and she glanced over at him.He sat straight and confident with the ribbons held loosely in his hands.His wool cap sat low on his brow.Lord, he was so handsome.And the way he’d kissed her…she had just about melted into a puddle at the tenderness which he showed her.
As uncertain as her life felt at the moment, she was absolutely sure she wanted to be kissed by him again.His lips tracing the curve of her neck had sent delicious sensations racing through her.Those lips had been surprisingly soft, and his tongue hot and slick as it tangled with hers.Yes, she definitely wanted more of him.He said she had seduced him.Violet didn’t even try to stop her smile from blooming.
His manhood had been hard and straining against her bottom.He may have more self-control than she gave any man credit for, but he was far from immune to her, even in her current delicate state.Although, despite using her pregnancy to get out of attending Stuart’s funeral, she was feeling strong and full of energy these days, a marked difference from the first half of her pregnancy.
The streets were mostly empty, but as they moved west toward the theatres, more carriages rolled up and down the avenues.Streetlamps created pools of light.She could see all manner of people walking in and out of the shadows.A tall, broad-shouldered gentleman in a silk top hat seemed so familiar.The man raised his head, and even though he was quite far away, Violet thought she recognized the duke’s slashing eyebrows and long patrician nose.The eye contact only lasted a moment, but it made her heart race.Could it have been her father-in-law?No, certainly not.She gripped Rhys’s arm.
