“Ellie, listen to me.” He grasped her arms, but she yanked them away. “Yes, Lady Livingston was there—uninvited—but if you had only stayed a few moments longer, you would have seen me toss her out of my house. I didn’t want her there. I wantedyou.”
Huffing, Ellie rolled her eyes. “If you didn’t want her there, then what was she doing in your arms?”
Vincent sighed and folded his arms over his wide chest. “Tell me, Ellie, what exactly did you see?”
“Didn’t you hear me? The woman was in your arms, you imbecile.”
“Yes, I heard you,” he answered calmly. “But bear with me on this. I want you to tell me exactly what you saw.”
This was easy for her to answer, since the silhouette of him and that dreadful woman had been branded in her memory. And no matter how many times she tried to forget, the recollection wouldn’t disappear.
“Your hands were holding her shoulders, and her arms were wrapped around your waist as she pressed herself against you.” She swallowed the lump of emotion rising in her throat. “She was telling you that I wouldn’t make you happy, but she would be able to accomplish that dayandnight. She also said something about your begging her once you two were in your bed.”
Tears grew in Ellie’s eyes, even though she fought them. Reliving this heartbreaking moment was more than she could handle.
Determination flashed across his face, and in two steps, he closed the space between them, pulling her up against him as he wrapped his arms around her. Immediately, she stiffened.
“Like this?” he asked in a deep voice as he stared down into her face. “Was this what you saw?”
The intimate way he held her made her suck in a breath. She wanted to kick his leg, slap him, or something…if not for the warmth rushing through her limbs right now. “No,” she answered.
“Because when I hold a woman I’m very attracted to, I like my arms to surround them completely as if she is in a cocoon. When I invite a woman into my embrace, I hold her in this manner, and drop my face so close to hers as I prepare for the inevitable kiss we both want.”
Confusion spread through her. This was nothing like the stance she’d witnessed between him and Lady Livingston. The woman had seemed the aggressor, not Vincent.
“So tell me,” he continued, “was this what you saw? Was I holding her like this?”
“No.”
“I begged her to stop,” Vincent explained with sadness in his voice. “I kept telling her that I was going to marry you…that Iwantedto marry you. Not her. I told her that onlyyoucould make me happy.” He took a deep breath and released it slowly as his arms relaxed slightly. “Not long after that, my temper finally snapped, and I shoved her out of my house. She wouldn’t accept no for an answer, and I wouldn’t allow her to convince me otherwise. I’m not a violent man, but I would have been with her if she hadn’t left.”
Part of Ellie’s broken heart wanted to believe and trust him. But it was difficult. She honestly didn’t know him that well. She didn’t know if he lied to women just to seduce them. She couldn’t forget that he’d been a rogue before inheriting the title.
“Why was she there?” she asked with a shaky voice.
He stroked the long hair hanging down her back. “She had mentioned that she had someone watching me. That’s why she knew my sisters were gone and that I’d just returned from the duke and duchess’s party. Lady Livingston still wanted to marry me, which is something that willneverhappen.”
He lifted a hand and brushed the tears trailing down her face. “When you saw us in each other’s arms,” he continued, “I was trying to shove her away, which was why my hands were on her shoulders. If only you had stayed to watch a few more minutes, you would have seen me yell at her and tell her I didn’t want to have anything to do with her ever again. My servant, Dalton, witnessed it. If you don’t believe me, then I pray, ask him.”
As she stared into his beautiful blue-gray eyes, her heart twisted with confusion. He was telling her the truth. She knew it. Did it matter now? Adam was back in her life. Hadn’t she given her love to her soldier and promised to love him always?
Burying her face against his shirt, she released a fresh batch of tears. Her body shook uncontrollably. “Oh, Vincent. Forgive me for doubting you. I was such a jealous fool.”
Strong, but gentle, hands moved soothingly over her back. She breathed in his intoxicating scent of pine and leather, and it touched her everywhere. This, too, would always be branded in her memory.
“Oh, Ellie, my precious,” he said with a tight voice as he kissed the top of her head. “It’s all right. The truth is out in the open now. You need not fear any longer.”
His statement was quite comical, especially now. He didn’t know about Adam, and although she wanted to tell him, she hesitated. Adam hadn’t said anything about his life being a secretnow. Did he want others to know? After all, he had finally told her the truth.
“Actually, no.” She lowered her hands and raised her gaze to his. “Vincent, there is more that you don’t know about.”
His forehead creased. “More? With Lady Livingston?”
“No, not her. It’s…Adam.”
A sympathetic expression crossed Vincent’s handsome features, and he cupped the side of her face. “You can tell me anything, my precious. We will soon be husband and wife, and I want our marriage to be one of honesty.”
Once more, pain twisted inside her. “Then there is something I need to tell you. I just learned about this last night when I returned from seeing you and Lady Livingston…you know.” She gulped.
