Chapter Six #2
Already, she was feeling herself starting to soften toward him.
He was real with her, honest, and she appreciated his straightforward sense of communication.
He wasn’t the sort of man who would spout poetry to get his way.
He might use seduction, but he did it very well.
She knew without a doubt that the rest of their marriage would be filled with equal amounts of mutual satisfaction, but was she willing to risk her heart on such a frightening gamble?
She did not want the life her parents had.
The thought of sharing her husband with any other woman made her sick to her stomach.
She supposed she was selfish that way. She believed that a commitment actually meant something, that a mistress was nothing more than a slap in the face.
It was better to enact her vengeance on the Black Widow and keep a decided distance with Benjamin. She’d learned long ago that not every love story had a happy ending. It was wrong of Mrs. Dove-Lyon to pretend as though she were the exception to that matchmaking rule.
“Catherine…”
It was the first time he’d spoken since they’d come together with such a strong need. But now that those passions had cooled, she recalled the reality that surrounded them. “At least we got that out of the way.”
He looked at her curiously, as if he didn’t know what she meant.
“There is no longer any doubt as to the legality of our marriage.”
Benjamin blinked and then rolled away from her to slide off the bed. He slipped his small clothes on with quick, jerky movements, evidence of his current mood. “If you believe this was nothing more about consummating our union, you are more na?ve than I thought.”
She didn’t care for his condescending tone. Sitting up, she held the coverlet over her nakedness.
“I am quite aware that what we did validated our vows,” he said, “but that is not why I came here tonight.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Then why did you?”
“I heard a noise coming from your room. I was under the impression you were having a nightmare.”
“So you decided to come and rescue me?” She shook her head.
“That is very gallant of you, my lord, but I am capable of fending off any demons that haunt me.” She lifted a brow and dared to add, “You will be glad to know that it wasn’t anything derogatory.
In fact, I was engaging in a bit of self-pleasure. ”
He paused, as if surprised that she might actually admit to something so personal.
“Come now,” she cajoled. “It’s not as if men don’t engage in the same activity. I see no harm in women enjoying the same pursuits.”
“I never said what you were doing was wrong,” he countered. “I am merely curious why you think I came to your bed under a pretense other than the desire to please each other.”
She waved a hand. “I am not upset, if that is what you think. In truth, I’m relieved that is over so that we can concentrate on other pursuits, such as retaliation against the Black Widow.”
“I see. I wasn’t sure if you intended to pursue your vengeance, considering we seem to be getting on better than I had originally imagined.”
“Of course I mean to follow through with it,” she returned evenly. “You and I both know it is a matter of time before the easy contentment we share shall turn to contempt. Let us not pretend otherwise.”
He stilled for a moment and then he gave a curt nod. “Very well. We shall move forward to bring down the Lyon’s Den. I will assist you in any way I can.”
She hadn’t expected him to give in so easily. “I am relieved you are still as eager as I to bring Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s farce to an end.”
He bent down and put his face directly in front of hers.
“I am eager for many things, Catherine. And you will find this will not be our only night together.” He straightened, but his dark gaze was still intent upon her, burning her with its inner fire.
“You will ask to share my bed again. I am confident of that fact.”
He quit the room.
Catherine’s heart had managed to lodge itself in her throat at his parting threat.
Or was it a dark promise? Either way, it was unsettling and she knew she would have to reevaluate her attraction to Benjamin.
It was perilous to desire him this much.
She had awoken to the fantasy of his mouth on her, his fingers caressing her skin, and when she’d realized he’d been standing in her room, lust had flown freely through her body.
She wouldn’t have been able to decline her need for him had she wanted to do so.
Instead, she’d opened her arms—and her legs—to him without restraint. And it had been pure bliss.
Dangerous.
Destructive.
The next morning, when Catherine walked into the sunroom to join him for breakfast, he clenched the paper in his grasp a bit tighter.
Without a thought to crinkling the edges, he discovered that the lack of sleep he’d had the previous night, combined with the discussion he’d had with his wife, had completely unsettled him.
Was he doomed to pay for his past mistakes for all eternity?
He’d finally found a woman to whom he was starting to lose his heart and all she cared for was her retaliation against the Black Widow.
Granted, he had sown the seeds at the beginning, but revenge no longer mattered to him.
Catherine was all that concerned him now, as well as the babe she carried.
He was willing to put everything else to rest to concentrate on the future.
But apparently, she was still angered by their arrangement.
There was one bright spot in all of this, however.
And that was the knowledge that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
The passion that had flowed freely between them last night had not been fabricated.
It’d been real. He just had to convince her that their marriage could be built on a firm foundation.
At one time, people had called him coldhearted. Most had accused him of having no heart at all. And yet he was the one hoping to gain his wife’s regard. He supposed that was what he would call irony.
“Good morning.”
Catherine’s melodic voice sounded cheery enough, but it was difficult for Benjamin to express the same nonchalance. He offered a noncommittal response as he kept the paper firmly in place in front of him, fearful that his face would express his inner turmoil.
“Could you please lower that dreadful print?” she asked with an exasperated sigh. “My father lived behind the papers and I would like it if I didn’t have to speak to you through an impenetrable wall.”
Clenching his jaw, Benjamin folded the paper and set it carefully on the table at his side. Folding his arms across his abdomen, he looked at her steadily. “I am all yours, my dear, to do with whatever you wish.”
The double entendre was not lost on her as her cheeks abruptly filled with color.
Keeping her face carefully averted, she concentrated on slathering butter on her toasted bread.
“I was hoping we might make a list of the people who were wed through the Lyon’s Den’s machinations and see how they might be faring. ”
He lifted a brow. “That might take some time to compile.”
She shrugged. “I’m patient.”
“Very well. I shall hire someone to look into the matter.”
With the bread poised at her slightly parted lips, Benjamin had an image of that same luscious mouth surrounding his cock and he had to shift in his seat. “You don’t think we should just return to London and begin a few discreet inquires? We might get the chance to speak to a couple or two—”
“Impossible.” He shook his head. “I have already made arrangements for builders to come by to discuss work on the house. I am needed here for the time being. And if you want to offer any input on the furnishings, it would be a good idea for you to remain as well.”
She offered a slight moue of disappointment. “I claimed patience and yet I don’t seem to be expressing it, am I?” She wrinkled her nose. “I shall leave the expertise in your investigator’s capable hands and concentrate my efforts on being the perfect baroness for Fontaine Hall.”
Benjamin smiled. That was a sentiment he could fully support.