It unleashed a tempest within her, and she began to weep. Surely had had a handkerchief somewhere and belatedly remembered that he had one in the jacket in the other room.
God, the tears seemed never-ending, her chest gulping for breath as her eyes and cheeks were flushed. There was nothing for him to do except to scoop her into his arms.
His embrace was too tight, the buttons of his waistcoat jamming into her cheek, but he stroked her back, murmuring bits of nonsense against her hair. When the tears subsided, he only felt her hot breath on his skin.
“The bounder behind these scandal sheets is not worth your tears,” he said. “Despite how it started, we’ve grown from that. You’re not only my wife in name, Ariadne. I love you,” he said.
The declaration halted her, and her head snapped up to him. “W—what?”
“I love you,” he admitted. “I love you so much that it terrifies me. I did not think I’d get to love anyone again, but I realized I never really knew what love was.”
“What do you mean?” She sat up and wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“Love shouldn’t feel like you’re an acrobat at Vauxhall walking on a tight rope blindfolded,” he said while softly rubbing circles on her back. “That’s how I felt in my first marriage. It’s not how I feel about you.”
“I never—” she bit her lip. “—I never thought I’d hear those words.”
“You don’t have to say th?—”
“I love you too,” she said, then softly shook her head. “I amin lovewith you.”
He kissed her, just a simple lock of the lips, before he pulled away and asked, “Feeling better now?”
“Yes,” she said shyly. “Thank you.”
He reached out, brushing his knuckles against her cheek, his touch mesmerizingly sweet. “Let’s get some sleep.”
As they retreated to his bedchamber and he shucked off his clothes, slipping into between the sheets while Ariadne shed her robe and joined him in one of her soft, silky nightgowns. She was quiet and only watched as he settled on the pillow.
“Cedric…” Her voice was tremulous. “I think I need to go to my mother’s for a while. I think it's best that I leave London for a while until this scandal dies away.”
He’d never expected that, but he understood it. “Emily and I will miss you.”
She rested her head on his chest, “I’ll tell Emily goodbye in the morning and try to explain the situation. I don’t know what I’ll say yet, but I’ll find the words.”
Shifting, he reached for her face, but her eyes landed on his knuckles. He started to turn his hands over, to hide these deformities at least, but Ariadne grabbed hold of them.
He felt her slim fingers trace gently over the broken skin. “What happened here?”
“Pay it no mind. I heal quickly,” he said, still unable to meet her gaze.
Her fingers coasted over the bruises, while her eyes were down, “Do you—is it?—”
“What do you want, Ariadne?” he growled. “Tell me.”
She wetted her lips. “I want you to make love to me before I go.”
His eyes darkened, his pupils edging out the light. His gaze dropped to her lips, and his throat worked. A magnetic force pulsed between them, his head lowering toward hers, and he slanted his lips over hers.
“You don’t have to ask me twice, sweetheart.” He murmured while he grasped the edge of her nightgown. “Tell me what you want?”
Ariadne stirred as weak dawn sunlight, cocooned in warmth, her cheek pressed against a hard chest. Cedric. Leftover sensations of their slow, tender lovemaking last night still lingered in her body. The pleasurable tenderness between her legs, the tender spots on her neck, and the slight burn of beard-abraded skin.
She was reluctant to move, and while she second-guessed her decision to leave the city, she knew it was the best thing to do then. She closed her eyes to soak up the small comforts she would soon leave behind her.
The easy surges of his breathing told her he was still asleep. Even so, his arm kept her trapped against his side, and she snuggled in closer, taking the opportunity to admire him. As her gaze roved over his powerful form, she recalled his tender concern for her last night, and her heart gave a silly hiccup.
A frantic knock came on the door, and she sat up while Cedric stirred. When the knocks persisted, she slipped out of bed and donned her robe to answer the door.
