“No? So I didn’t witness you cozied up with Cora Ashley? You didn’t have your arms around her? You weren’t bleedingkissing her?”
“If you’ll calm down—”
Oh no, he didnotjust say that to her. Her fury bubbled over. “I willnotcalm down. I may have betrayed your trust, Marcus, but Ineverbetrayed our marriage vows. I’ve been faithful to you from the day we met. Which is more than you can say apparently.”
“Goddamnit, woman, will you just listen?” He planted his hands on his lean hips, scowling when the movement caused the chain to clank. “She threw herself at me, all right? Took me off guard. I only agreed to meet her on the balcony because she said she needed someone to talk to. About her marriage.”
Relief spread through Penny, but she said scornfully, “And clearly you’re an expert on the topic.”
“Pot calling the kettle black, is it? Seeing asyoursolution to our marital problems appears to be kidnapping.”
“You’re my husband. You belong with me.” She said it as she felt it: unequivocally and with no apologies. “Not with some high-kick trollop who’s no better than she ought to be.”
Something flared in his eyes—and it wasn’t just anger. She was suddenly aware of the tension sizzling between them, of the blood rushing hot beneath her skin. Her nipples were stiff and tingling beneath her robe.
“Yes, I’m your husband, Pandora. So bloody unchain me.”
The command, the growl in his voice, aroused her even further. Her heart thumped when she saw that he was similarly affected: his erection butted the front of his shirt. But she couldn’t give into desire—look at where that had got them in the bathing room. No, sex wasn’t the answer to their problems… not all of them anyway. What they needed most was to talk, and, to do that, she had to keep a cool head. Which meant she needed to get away from her dangerous, bristling, irresistibly masculine husband.
She put more distance between them. Gestured to the tray on the table. “Refresh yourself. You’ll need the energy for our talk. The talk we ought to have had in the first place instead of your asinine moratorium on communication.”
“Wait one damned minute. Where are you going?”
“I’ll be back after you eat and wash up.” At the doorway, she paused, looking back at him. “You’ll want to be comfortable while I tell you about my past.”
~~~
To Marcus’ disgust, he found he was ravenous. He polished off the meat pie and potato soup (favorites of his, although he probably should have checked for poison) and drank the entire pitcher of lemon-flavored water. After that, he took care of basic necessities behind the dressing screen and washed his face and brushed his teeth at the washstand. He couldn’t remove his shirt with the manacle on, so he simply tore off the grubby linen and threw the soft woolen blanket (that Pandora had sothoughtfullyleft for him) around his shoulders. When all was said and done and he felt human once more, he found himself reassessing his situation.
And came to a rather startling conclusion.
His fury was fading, edged out by simmering, undeniable arousal. He didn’t know if he wanted to throttle or make love to his wife—both, probably, and in equal measure. Mayhap at the same time.
Her shenanigans were beyond the pale—and he would make that clear in no uncertain terms when they had their little discussion. But he couldn’t deny that her spirit and feminine fire aroused him to the point of madness. Truth be told, they always had. The way her violet eyes had flashed when she’d said that he washerhusband and belonged here with her and the lengths she’d gone to carry out this crazed rendezvous at their cottage in the Cotswolds—oh yes, he’d recognized the place and the significance of it—made heat swell in his groin.
It was his Penny all over again.
Passionate, reckless, and seductive as hell, she’d captured his senses and his heart from the start—and nothing had changed that. Nothingcouldchange that. Not her past, not his stupidity… not anything.
The realization broke over him like the first rays of dawn, shattering the darkness.
It had taken her abducting him to make him realize that he was already hers. As she was his. They belonged together, and the simplicity of that fact suddenly made the present tangled mess seem a hell of a lot less daunting. With his fog of anger and wounded pride finally burning away, he saw with crystal clarity: what she’d done before their marriage didn’t matter anymore. What did matter, however, was that she’d felt the need to lie to him all these years, and that was something they most definitely needed to address.
As her footsteps sounded in the hallway, anticipation licked up his spine. Damn, but he’d missed his Penny. His lips curved slowly. He didn’t know what games she had in mind next, but whatever they were, he was more than willing to play.
Chapter Nineteen
Carrying a large box under her arm, Penny approached the door. She didn’t know what to expect, and it didn’t matter either way—because she was going to tell Marcus what he needed to know about her past. There was no putting it off, and doing so before had only worsened the state of affairs between them.
Taking a breath, she entered and saw Marcus sitting in the chair by the table. He’d eaten and washed up, thrown the blanket she’d left for him over his broad shoulders. Beneath the blanket, his chest was bare, the firelight flickering over the virile, hair-dusted ridges. He looked every inch the master of the house despite the fact that he was chained to the bed. She supposed she ought to unlock the cuff… then again, mayhap it was better to get matters off of her chestbeforefreeing him.
He rose at her entry, his impeccable manners almost amusing given the situation. That was one of the things she’d always loved about Marcus. He was a gentleman not merely by birth but by his behavior: he showed regard for others… even if they didn’t deserve it.
“Feeling better?” she said.
“As good as a man who’s been drugged and kidnapped by his wife can feel.” His tone was neutral.
If he thought that would set off her conscience, he didn’t know her. Didn’t know the lengths she’d go to save their marriage. If being a spy had taught her anything, it was that sometimes the best choice was the lesser of two evils. Her arms tightened around the box.
