Chapter 19 #3
“No apologies. I understand.”
They stood there for a long moment, staring silently into each other’s eyes, then he took her glass.
After setting it on the bedside table next to his own, he drew her with him to the bed, where he gently pushed her loosely draped gown from her shoulders.
Susanna didn’t protest when he turned her around slowly and, after sweeping her long hair over one shoulder, began to unlace her stays.
She stood there numbly as she thought of the man she might have married.
How could she have been so completely fooled by such a diabolical monster?
She had always prided herself on her good judgment of character, but in this instance, she had been totally, frighteningly wrong.
It was just as Adam had said. Beneath that smooth, devastating charm and those impeccable manners lurked a ruthless, cold-blooded killer.
She shuddered, recalling Dominick’s strange statement to her about Corliss on the night of her ball…
something about slaves knowing their place and that they must be treated with a firm hand.
Dear God, if she had married Dominick, she would have subjected all the innocent people under her care to the horrors Adam had described, and herself to endless unhappiness.
No doubt Dominick had had every intention of selling Briarwood to pay his debts. What then of her sworn promise to Camille? In one fell swoop she would have lost everything. No wonder Adam had claimed she would have made the biggest mistake of her life!
She really should thank him, Susanna thought as her stays fell from her body and Adam turned her to face him again. She should thank him for saving her from such a man—
No, he had used her! she reminded herself, looking into his striking brown eyes, which were so filled with desire. He had wanted her only for his revenge, and now, obviously, to satisfy his lust. Damn him, he had lied to her, saying he loved her just to sway her to his purpose!
Yet how could she blame him? a far stronger inner voice asked as he lifted her thin chemise above her head and cast it to the floor.
She had hated her father for his cruel abuses, but his beatings had left no permanent scars on her body.
His abuse hadn’t maimed her for life. She suffered from nightmares, but she could always hope that in time, her bad dreams would fade.
Not so the marks that Adam bore. They would be a part of him forever.
She had harshly judged this man for seeking vengeance against another who had not only brutally mistreated him but also been responsible for the horrifying deaths of his parents. Wouldn’t she have done exactly the same thing if she had been in his place? She knew she would.
“Woman, you are so beautiful,” Adam said softly, gathering her close to kiss her bare shoulders, her throat. “Perfection.”
Susanna’s eyes dimmed as he knelt in front of her to kiss her breasts, and she tossed back her head so her tears would not spill down upon him.
How much she wanted to tell him that she found him equally beautiful, despite his ravaged flesh. That he was as whole and perfect in her eyes as no other man had ever been to her.
But she kept silent, remembering with blistering pain how he had said he didn’t love her. He only desired her and wanted her to play his docile, obedient wife. Nothing more.
Yet that couldn’t be all there would ever be between them! Susanna thought desperately as Adam rose and swept her into his arms, then laid her on the bed.
Regardless of the countless lies and deceptions that had brought them together, they were husband and wife now.
They would be sharing the rest of their lives.
Was she willing to settle for this constant warring and mistrust when there might be a slim chance that they could have much more?
She used to think that love wasn’t important, that she could be happy without it, but now she wanted Adam to love her!
As he moved away, Susanna watched, awestruck, as he stripped off the last of his clothes, baring his hard, swollen arousal to her gaze. She felt such a rush of excitement that it shook her with its intensity.
Desire was a start, wasn’t it? It could lead to love.
Maybe after he attained his vengeance against Dominick, Adam might find it within himself to forgive her for misleading him when she had mistakenly believed it was the right thing to do.
Maybe then there might be room in his heart for something more than hate, anger, and all-consuming bitterness. She could hope
“No tears, no pity,” Adam whispered huskily, lying down beside her and blanketing her with his warm, powerful body.
He kissed her eyelids, her damp cheeks, then found her mouth, his lips so wondrously demanding that all thoughts fled save one.
As she wrapped her arms around him, her hands touching for the first time the roughened, raised scars on his back, she returned his kiss with all the passion she possessed.
Yes, she could hope…