All she knew was that her entire bodythrobbedwith frustration, her skin flushed and sensitive. “That—” she swallowed, her voice unsteady. “That was cruel.”
Simon exhaled harshly, dragging a hand through his hair.
”No, Duchess,” he murmured, as if convincing himself. “That wasmercy.”
Then, without another word, he pulled away and began to walk off.
Rachel stared at him, her breathing ragged, her limbs still trembling. How could she even begin to recover from what he had done to her?
She did not even know such pleasure was possible.
“Wait,” she called as he turned toward the door.
He hesitated for a moment but then turned.
“You should sleep now. I merely came to check up on you.” His gaze met hers. “But you seem to have a habit of distracting me.”
Perfect. So he had already gone back to pretending everything was normal and that nothing had happened.
If that was the case, fine.
She forced herself to sit up, her chemise falling back into place, though it hardly mattered now.
”Marina,” she managed, her voice barely above a whisper. “Invite her to stay with me.”
“You do not have to ask me that.”
Then, before she could say anything else, he left.
And Rachel was leftburning.
Gods.What had he just done to her?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Calm yourself. It is just a visit.
Rachel had not been nervous to see her family again. At least, that was what she told herself. She had lived among them long enough to know precisely what to expect.
She knew that Letitia would let her tongue run far more than she ought and that her father would simply let her get away with whatever she was doing.
It was a routine at this point. The only person that she truly looked forward to seeing was her sister.
Nervousness filled her as she waited for them to arrive. It would be any moment now.
“Keep calm,” she reminded herself yet again.
Simon, on the other hand, had been distant all morning. He had kept conversations with her short, and she was not even sure that he was going to be here when her family arrived.
But he had surprised her by showing up.
He kept his hands clasped behind him, and it only made her think of when he had used them to hold her.
Heavens.
She grew flushed.
A moment later, the butler announced them.
