“You heard my wife,” he said through gritted teeth. “Get out.”
From the corner of her eye, Elara saw Caitlyn stumble back and stare at Constantine. Then, finally, she obeyed, letting out a sob as she hurried to the door and shut it loudly behind her. For several seconds afterward, Elara and Constantine continued to stare at each other. She had no doubt what Constantine was feeling; the annoyance was clearly etched on his handsome face. Inside her, however, she was battling a storm of emotions. Embarrassment, anger, unexpected hurt, and wicked glee that she had just sent her husband’s former mistress away.
“What are you doing here, Elara?” Constantine demanded, breaking the tense silence.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she replied coldly, narrowing her eyes. “You came home without a word, and I find you with your mistress.”
Constantine raised a single brow as his lips twitched.
“She is not my mistress,” he said. Elara blushed instantly as he took a step toward her; static instantly formed between them.“But it surprises me to hear that you see this as yourhomenow.”
“Stop,” she warned.
“Not that I mind,” Constantine smirked as he took another step closer. “I just find it interesting that you callmyhouse so. Especially since you and I have an arrangement.”
“It meant nothing,” she hastily replied, taking another step backward. She let out a soft gasp as her backside hit the front of his desk, and it made her feel more trapped than ever. “Just asyoumean nothing to me,” she icily added, gripping the edge of the desk for support. “I am not so innocent as to believe that a shameless man like you would not have a mistress. But a maid? It seems you and your brother have similar interests.”
Surprise glimmered in Constantine’s eyes for only a second before a smugness took over.
“Careful, wife,” he warned, taking another step closer. “Youalmostsound jealous.”
Elara barked out a laugh, even as her body filled with warmth from his proximity.
“Jealous? No, do not flatter yourself. Quite the contrary. In fact, the only Harcourt man I feel anything other than disdain for is young William,” she replied, tipping her chin up.
Constantine let out a humorless huff of a laugh as he ran his gaze down Elara’s body. His close inspection made her want to tremble, but she fought to keep her body still.
I am just nervous I was caught, that is all,she told herself, as she felt a twinge in her lower belly when his gaze paused at her throat, and he tilted his head, almost as if he were curious about that particular part of her person.
“What were you doing in here, Elara?” he asked again. His deep voice had lost its bite, and his tone smoothed over her ears like silk. This time, she could not help but adjust her shoulders and grip the desk a little tighter.
She did not answer.
Constantine let out a sigh, shook his head, and stepped closer, enough that the front of his breeches grazed the front of her skirts. He raised his hands, and for a moment, Elara’s heart trembled, thinking he was about to reach out and touch her. Then he unbuttoned his jacket, reached inside, and pulled out a neatly folded handful of papers.
“We had an arrangement, you and I,” he said, waving the papers before her. “You are to care for William, give him some much-needed motherly affection. And I am to look for clues on my brother’s whereabouts. You have your duties, and I have mine.”
Elara shook her head as she kept her eyes on the papers.
“I am caring for William,” she told him. “He is a wonderful little boy. But I need not do much when it comes to caring for him, and I have time to spare. You do not know me well, Your Grace, but you will find that when I am interested in something, I have a hard time letting it go. In this particular subject, no matter what you task me with, I cannot just sit back and trust you to find what I need.”
“Oh, I am quite aware of how intensely focused you can be when you want something,” Constantine retorted, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “It was the first thing I learned about you. Other than the fact that you look sinfully delicious in crimson.”
Elara blushed at the compliment, earning her a smirk from Constantine. Angry at him for catching her off guard, she triedto take the papers from him. He snatched them away before her fingers could even make purchase, and instead ended up slapping her hand against his chest.
“You do like to play rough, wife,” he mused immediately after the hit. “Careful. Sometimes I like that.”
Elara gaped at his words, then glared at him.
“You are insufferable,” she seethed, slapping him again in the same spot.
“In that at least we are alike,” Constantine quipped, then tapped the papers teasingly against her forehead as his smirk widened. “Now, if you would stop being so, perhaps I would show you what I found.”
Elara pushed past the strange and annoying feelings of giddiness brewing inside her from their interaction, and with a quickness, reached for the papers again. This time, he allowed her to take them, though it earned her another annoying chuckle from his sculpted lips.
“Enough with your teasing,” she chastised, pushing him backward.
Again, Constantine chuckled, but to her relief, he took a step backward so she had enough space to turn around and face the desk. Hastily, she unfolded the papers and placed them on the desk. “What is it you have found?”
