“You cad,” she teased. “Always taking my daughter-in-law from me.”
“I promise that I shall spend all day with you tomorrow,” Bridget assured her. She leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Adrian has work to do anyway, and we will have no interruptions.”
“Very well,” Nora sighed.
Adrian and Bridget finished their good nights to everyone and quickly left the parlor. The moment they entered the hall, Adrian drew his arms around Bridget’s waist and pulled her close.
“Finally,” he breathed before giving her a dizzyingly deep kiss.
Bridget gasped as he pulled away, feeling her cheeks fuse with color as she drew her dazed eyes open.
“Please tell me there will be more of that upstairs,” she breathed.
Adrian’s smile was slow and wicked as he laced a hand around her throat.
“Oh, I very much promise that, my little temptress,” he replied in a tone that sent a shiver of need through her spine.
Bridget hummed with happiness as he dipped his head to kiss her neck. Before his lips could take hold, though, the clearing of a throat interrupted them.
Adrian pulled away from her with a frown, and they both looked up to see the butler just a few feet away, his withered cheeks flushed red.
“My deepest apologies, Your Graces,” he stated with a deep bow. “But I fear there is an issue unfolding in the foyer.”
“An issue?” Adrian asked, his frown growing deeper as he placed a protective hand over Bridget’s waist. “What sort of issue, Mr. Conway?”
“It is the Earl of Winslow,” Mr. Conway replied, looking most despondent over the fact. “He demands to see you. Both.”
Fear shot through Bridget’s arousal, forcing it to splinter and disintegrate. She drew in a shaking breath, reminding herself that he meant Victor, not Warren. Still, such acknowledgment did little to steady her nerves. She had hoped that she would not have to see either ever again.
“Out of the question,” Adrian immediately replied. “If he has something to say, he can speak to me.”
Affection poured through Bridget at Adrian’s protectiveness. She looked up at him, stars in her eyes, and as she felt her fear shift to determination to rid herself thoroughly of the past. She realized then just how much she had changed. How much she was now capable of.
“Adrian, wait,” she said softly. He turned to her, that steely look still present in his blue eyes. It softened the moment he focused on her, and she once more felt that sweep of affection.
“I am much changed now. I am no longer that helpless woman who can be pushed around. If he wants to see both of us, allow him. I am not afraid of him or what anyone says any longer.”
Pride glistened in Adrian’s eyes as he cupped her cheek.
“You were never helpless,” he whispered, stroking his thumb tenderly over her cheek. “But you do not need to do this.”
“I want to,” Bridget urged.
Affection glittered in his eyes, and he nodded.
Adrian then kissed her forehead and turned back to Mr. Conway.
“Very well, Mr. Conway. Give us two minutes, then escort the Earl into my study.”
Adrian then led Bridget to his study, where, to Bridget’s surprise, he sat her on his lap after he took his seat behind his desk. Though shocked at first, Bridget quickly found comfort in her new seat and raised her chin high as Mr. Conway showed Victor Carter, the new Earl of Winslow, into the study.
His eyes nearly bulged from his head as he took in Adrian and Bridget’s position, no doubt a reaction her husband wanted.
“This is obscene!” Victor hissed as his face turned various shades of red.
“What is obscene is you bothering my family during a most happy time, Lord Winslow,” Adrian replied sharply, his blue eyes penetrative as he stared at the man before them. “Now speak your business so you may be shown my door. Your presence here will not be tolerated for long.”
The commanding air in Adrian’s deep voice did nothing to dissuade the rising arousal in Bridget’s veins. In fact, it turned that warmth into a raging fire that tightened her nipples and moistened her inner thighs, despite Victor’s presence.
