His feet were bare and he was wearing a purple banyan robe. The gap between his covering enticed her, because it showed off a light patch of hair on his chest. She yearned to run her fingers through the expanse, but it would sadly have to wait.
Reluctantly, she shut the door and returned to her rooms.
Chapter 9
The next morning when she went downstairs to breakfast, Genevieve could tell that her husband was in a foul humor. She attempted to greet him with a smile and a cheery, “Good morning,” but he only gave a “Harumph” in return.
She glanced at him curiously but hoped that whatever was upsetting him would soon pass. She would like to try to tempt him to her chamber now that he was awake.
She was eager to break her fast with the fare set before her—ham and eggs, two of her favorites. But when she looked at the duke, she found that he was glaring at her darkly, rather than consuming his fare.
She swallowed her last bite rather hard, finding her appetite had diminished. She slowly set down her knife and fork and took a bracing sip of her wine, before she spoke. “Is something troubling you this morning?”
“You might say that,” he snapped in return.
She tried again. “Would you care to discuss it?”
He stared at her for another minute, and then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Something told Genevieve that she was about to endure some sort of lecture, because it was the same pose her father always struck when he was cross with her or one of her siblings. “You didn’t come to me last night.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?” Surely she’d heard incorrectly.
“Leave us!” he commanded the footmen but kept his focus solely on her. The servants scattered like leaves in the wind, but Genevieve’s ire was starting to spark. “Do you care to explain yourself?”
She threw down her serviette and pushed her chair back and stood. “I will not sit here and be subjected to such coarse treatment from you when I waited in my room for two hours for you to appear. For your information, I did take it upon myself to visit you instead, but you were quite content in your chair, lost to dreamland, so I thought it best not to wake you, but to let you have your rest from the revelry you obviously enjoyed quite heartily the night before. So pardon me, Your Grace, for not acting like the doting wife you believed you had married. I told you a long time ago that if that is what you wanted, you had chosen the wrong lady.”
Feeling as though everything had been properly said, Genevieve flounced out of the room and stomped up the stairs to her chamber. She was so angry that her blood was surely boiling in her veins. How dare he point fingers and accuse her of a misstep when he was the one who had failed in his duties!
She slammed her door and paced the length of her room. She couldn’t sit still, she was so upset.
It wasn’t until she heard the door open then slam shut again that she paused and spun around to face Cortland.
“That was an eloquent speech, Genevieve.” His voice was smooth and calm, but it was his eyes, glittering dangerously, that put her mind of a cat waiting to pounce. “I’m sure you’re proud of yourself for putting me in my place.”
She lifted her chin. “I was merely defending my actions when you were so quick to judge me and come to such hasty conclusions that I was the one in the wrong.”
“I suppose I should make amends for my behavior.”
She turned her back on him. “I think the best thing you can do is leave.”
“I would have to disagree. That’s the last thing I should do.”
She jumped, because his breath was on her neck. She hadn’t heard him cross the room. She clenched her fists. “Surely you aren’t eager to do something as deplorable as consummate our union now, when you’ve been so disgustingly proper since our vows were spoken.” She sniffed. “Maybe it would be best if you sought your entertainment elsewhere—”
He grabbed her arm and spun her around, crushing her against his chest. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re my wife, and if I’ve been proper, it’s only because I can’t think of anything else but you on my cock.” When she opened her mouth, he growled, “And before you accuse me of laying with anyone, I’ll have you know that I spent the entire evening at White’s with the Earl of Uxbridge, before I went home—alone—and passed out in my bed almost fully dressed.”
Genevieve narrowed her gaze. She wanted so desperately to believe him, but trust was the one thing that hadn’t yet been fully established between them. “If that is true, then I’m relieved. But it’s not as though we can do anything now. It’s fully daylight.”
His grinned wolfishly. “As if that would stop me from making you mine. In truth, I prefer you naked and fully visible.”
Genevieve could feel herself wavering. “Do you?” she asked breathlessly.
He reached out and tore the muslin dress she was wearing directly down the middle. As it fluttered to the floor in a ruined piece of fabric, his nostrils flared. “What do you think?”
It was all the motivation Genevieve needed to give in to the powerful persuasion Cortland possessed.
She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.
Cortland was a dying man, and the only cure was Genevieve.
