“Why, nothing!”
“Somehow, I do not believe you.”
“What reason could I have for lying to you?”
Bridget’s smile never wavered. The woman was so obviously proud of frustrating him, and the matter was made all the more irritating because Lewis could not discern precisely what her motivation might be. There were some in thetonwho had dismissed Bridget as immature, but he sensed that there was something more to her, that there were depths he had not yet found.
She was being frustrating on purpose, for some secret reason. But notwithoutone.
“You are fortunate to have such a patient husband,” Lewis said. “Are you aware of that? Most men would have already seen fit to discipline you for your presumptions.”
His palm twitched. The thought was quite tempting, especially when Lewis remembered how readily Bridget’s body had surrendered to him. He had nearly come undone himself when he guided her to pleasure after their wedding breakfast. Following that encounter, he had retreated to his own bedchamber and done something quite shameful.
As his wife, Bridget ought to be tending to his needs. The selfish woman did not realize that she denied him as well by her refusal to be the wife he needed.
“Discipline me?”
Her eyes widened. Lewis could not decide if her surprise was genuine or feigned.
“Indeed,” he said.
“I do not know what you mean.”
“Given your brother’s lackadaisical handling of you, I am certain you do not,” Lewis said. “I suggest you find some means by which to occupy yourself, or you shall soon learn precisely what I mean. I doubt you will still be smiling then.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I do not know about allthat.”
Lewis frowned, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
Bridget grinned and leaned forward, providing Lewis with a rather attractive view of her full breasts, which threatened to spill forth from the confines of her lace-covered bodice. “Perhaps you ought to show me,” she said softly. “And I will tell you if I enjoy it.”
Understanding dawned. “You are hoping to repeat our encounter in the banquet hall,” he said. “Are you hoping to frustrate me so much that I am forced to pleasure you?”
Bridget shrugged, her expression unabashed. “You have given me no reason for why I should not try.”
“Because pleasure is areward,” he said. “Distracting me from my work is not worthy of being rewarded.”
“But asking about the Dowager Duchess was?” Bridget asked innocently. “I would have thought that you would be embarrassed by that, but I suppose not.”
“Careful,” he said. “You are wandering onto dangerous ground.”
Her green eyes blazed with triumph, and it took all his strength of will not to pull her over the desk and discipline her soundly. Lewis’s blood roared in his ears, as he imagined bringing his palm against that lush bottom, covered only with a thin layer of muslin material. He imagined Bridget writhing and bucking against the desk, enjoying the pain and aching for pleasure.
But she was still new to being his wife. He must be careful with her, and already, he had erred by giving into his own selfish impulses and in teaching her that misbehavior might be rewarded with pleasure. Lewis could not blame her for behaving so disgracefully when he had credited such in the past.
“Why should I be careful?” Bridget asked. “As your wife, I ought to know about the Dowager Duchess, and I have not even met her.”
Lewis inwardly bristled. His wife made a fair point, as loathe as he was to admit it. “You shall meet my grandmother when the time is right and not before.”
“When will thetime be right?”
“When you have learned to be a proper wife,” Lewis retorted. “I imagine that will be in five years, if not more.”
“How cruel!” Bridget exclaimed. “I know how to behave like a lady; you know. There is no reason for you to treat me as dismissively as you do.”
“I cannot believe you have the gall to say that when you are distracting me from my work,” Lewis said.
Her cheeks became awash with color, so much that Bridget’s entire face was as red as a rose. “God forbid I wish to speak with my husband!”
