He moved toward her. “Please do not pretend that we both don’t know who the other is. As if I could ever forget that remarkable mouth.”
She caught her breath. So he did know. He was just very capable of not showing any emotion on the subject. Or perhaps he didn’t feel any. Last night could have meant nothing to him. That stung.
Still, she owed him the respect of response considering, and folded her hands in front of her as she nodded. “Very well. So we both know.”
He took another step closer, and she tensed. She knew what those strong hands felt like against her skin. Knew what that mouth felt like on hers. Wanted those things again, God help her. Would surrender if he crooked his finger, she knew it.
Only he didn’t crook his finger. And he stopped moving.
“Last night you implied you were facing a horrible future. And yet I cannot recall ever doing anything terrible to you—if you don’t count last night. What have you heard about me that made you so afraid to face an engagement with me?”
She let out her breath in a long sigh. They were here now, this was happening. She was too tired to lie.
“First off, you did nothing wrong to me last night,” she said, and saw the relief flow over his features. As if he truly cared that her experience had not been terrible. Perhaps he did.
“Then why?” he repeated.
She worried her lip and then motioned to the settee. “Why don’t we sit?”
He nodded and waited for her to take her place before he sat down beside her. Close enough that their knees nearly touched. Close enough that she could smell the warmth of his skin. She remembered breathing in the same clean scent last night when he had covered her body with his.
He arched a brow, the question she had not answered still hanging between them. She bent her head. “I-I thought the engagement was to-to someone else,” she admitted.
To her surprise, he let out a chuckle. She jerked her face to his and scowled.
“It isn’t funny,” she insisted. “My father has been trying to sell what I gave to you for a very long time.”
His smile fell. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “At least I lost it on my own terms.”
“I understand that,” he said gently. “At least a little.”
She got up and paced away. “How could you when you are the kind of man who would make a bargain for me without knowing my thoughts on the matter? Without even meeting me to find out if we were compatible?”
His frown deepened, but he didn’t shout at her. He didn’t get up and follow her. She thought of how he had caught her father’s hand when it was clear he would swing on her in anger. This was not the kind of man who tolerated violence against women. That gave her a sliver of hope.
“I should have thought of those things,” he said softly. “But you see, I was selfishly thinking of my own needs. I made a bargain, but not for your innocence. Not for your money. I had my own reasons.”
She blinked. Her father had always made such a show in trading on her appearance and her virginity that it had not occurred to her that someone might ever offer for her for another reason. “Then I must ask you, Mr. Cavendish, what reasons are those?”
