Страница 71 из 96
"One to a privy, the other to a closet," he answered, noting the way she was averting her gaze from the bed. In a calm voice that nevertheless carried an unmistakable thread of command, he said, "Would you mind explaining to me why you seem to find the prospect of lying with me even more alarming when we're married than you did before, when you had everything to lose?"
"I had no choice then," she said in nervous defense, turning to face him.
"You have none now," he pointed out reasonably.
Je
He took a step forward and then another, and Je
His dark brows pulled together, and he reached out and hooked his fingertip in the neck of her gown, looking straight into her eyes as he drew it downward until his fingertip was deep in the hollow between her breasts. It stayed there, moving up and down, stroking the sides of her breasts, while tiny flames began shooting through Je
Je
Abruptly he pulled his hand away. "I'm begi
When she remained silent, watching him with wary suspicion, he said with an irritated sigh, "Je
"Two things for a start," Je
"I'd prefer to leave the last question unanswered," he said evenly. "Before I came in to see you this evening, I spent two hours in this room, coming to grips with the things you have done, and I've decided to put all that behind me."
"How very virtuous of you," Je
His lips quirked in a reluctant grin as Royce contemplated the stormy beauty in aquamarine velvet who'd already abandoned fear in favor of anger. He found it acutely painful when she feared him. Making an effort to smooth the grin from his face, he nodded. "Perfectly agreeable. You may proceed."
Je
"No," he said flatly. "I was not."
Some of Je
"I didn't need to. Arik does not act except on my orders. He stopped, not because you screamed, but because he was waiting for a decision from me."
"You-you aren't lying are you?" she asked, searching his inscrutable features.
"What do you think?"
Je
Accepting her apology with a nod, he said civilly, "Go on. What's your next question?"
Je
"Je
Fortified with a considerable amount of wine and a good deal of natural stubbor
"You damn well know what I'm referring to."
"I'm not entirely-certain. I'd hate to take credit where it wasn't due," she said, raising her glass.
"You're amazing. You can lie and look me straight in the eye. Very well," he said, his voice reeking with irony. "Let's play your game to its distasteful end. First, there was the little ruse that your sister-who I'd have sworn didn't have sense enough to dress herself-pulled off with your help and the help of feather pillows…"
"You know about that?" she said, choking on her wine and trying to hide her smile.
"I wouldn't advise you to laugh," he warned.
"Why not?" Je
"I suppose you knew nothing about it?" he snapped, studying the telltale flush on her cheeks, wondering if it was due to the wine or lying.
"If I had," she said, turning serious, "do you think I'd have been so eager to trade my honor for feathers?"
"I don't know. Would you?"
She lowered her glass and said somberly, "I'm not certain. To help her escape, I suppose I might have-but not until I'd exhausted every other possibility. So I can't quite take credit for duping you in this instance. What are the other two?"
He slapped his goblet onto the table and started toward her.
"I gather you're referring to my escape with William?" she prompted uneasily, backing away a step from the ominous expression in his eyes. "I can't take credit for that either. He was standing in the woods, and I didn't notice him until you were about to leave with Arik."