“That’s it?” She couldn’t keep the disappointment from her voice. “You’re going?”
“You should rest.”
“I feel fine. Trust me, I’ve taken far worse tumbles…” She trailed off, realizing what she’d inadvertently revealed. In her desire to keep Marcus with her awhile longer, she’d referred to her past. The past that he’d just stated that he wanted to know nothing about.
What in the blazes is the matter with me?
“There’s more to discuss,” she added lamely.
His brows winged, his arms crossing over his broad chest. “Is there?”
“About… us. Our arrangement.” She felt as if she were fumbling in the dark. “We haven’t talked about what it means to start afresh.”
“I believe we just did.”
“Yes, I mean I understand that my past is behind us. But what about the future?” Swallowing, she said, “How are we to… to be… as a married couple, I mean?”
His expression didn’t change. “You’re referring to bedroom matters.”
Blood rushed into her cheeks, but she whispered, “Yes.”
After a moment, he said, “I owe you an apology.”
“For what?” she said, confused.
“For the way I treated you in the bathing room.”
Her cheeks heated further. Wetting her lips, she said, “That was my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” He raked his hair again and then his hands planted on his lean hips. “But I shouldn’t have left you as I did. I let anger get the best of me and treated you badly. It was wrong of me, and I apologize, Pandora.”
“Apology accepted.” Seeing his eyes soften, she blurted, “And it wasn’t, um, bad. Only the way we parted. Before that, it was… wonderful.”
His gaze went from warm to smoldering. “Goddamnit, Pandora.”
“I know I’ve bungled things up, but since we’re starting anew, I want to be a wife to you,” she forged on. “I want to share a bed with you, be with you, because I lo—”
He placed a finger across her lips, stemming the tide of her words.
“Don’t,” he said sternly.
“Don’t what?” she managed to say.
“Don’t rush this. With time and effort, I think we can rebuild our marriage. But that doesn’t mean that things will be as they were.” His measured words tore through her, mangling her insides. “You mustn’t push me on this or anything else. I will do my damnedest not to react badly, but I will not tolerate being manipulated.”
Her heart knocked against her chest. “I’m not trying to manipulate you.”
“For twelve years, you did,” he said.
She had no rejoinder for that. None at all.
Because he was right.
Throat clogging, she said, “When can we… be together again?”
“Let me take the lead. We’ll begin by rebuilding trust and go from there.”
“All right.” There wasn’t anything else to say. Getting a second chance was more than she deserved, and she knew it. She wouldn’t jeopardize the opportunity.
